Law professor and historian Paul Lombardo does a superb job of revealing, for the first time, all the facts in the infamous Buck v. Bell case of the 1920s, the Supreme Court decision ratifying Virginia's compulsory sterilization of 'feebleminded' people. Publishers Weekly (starred review) 2008 Highly recommended for academic, public, and law libraries. -- Philip Y. Blue Criminal Law Library Blog An engrossing look at a shameful case. Booklist 2008 Lombardo tells a compelling and heavily documented story of injustice to society's less fortunate citizens. His sympathy for the abused is evident, but that does not turn Three Generations, No Imbeciles into a polemic... Armed with knowledge from this excellent book, we can hope we never return to the mistakes of our past. Internet Review of Books 2008 The book is lucidly written, well researched, thorough, and provocative... Three Generations, No Imbeciles is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of Buck v. Bell and its implications for ethics, law and public policy. New England Journal of Medicine 2008 Lombardo reminds us that the same incentives to improve public health and lower tax burdens exist today. Pathophilia 2008 Startling. -- Damon W. Root Reason 2008 A sad and fascinating book... With his legal and historical background, Lombardo is particularly suited to give us a book that explains a surprisingly ignored injustice, its antecedents and consequences, and helps us to think about the ongoing struggle to find a health balance between privacy and government power. -- Stephen Murdoch History News Network 2009 This book is a legal and historical masterpiece, combining meticulous ethical analysis with a liveliness that belies its scholarly roots and exhaustive footnotes and research. -- Michael B. Blank PsycCRITIQUES 2008 Compelling and well-researched... Three Generations, No Imbeciles gives Carrie Buck's long-untold story the attention it deserves. Harvard Law Review 2009 In a very readable 279 pages, Paul A. Lombardo sets forth the facts about the eugenics movement in the United Sates. -- Robert T. Adams Virginia Lawyer 2009 Meticulously researched... As Lombardo conclusively demonstrates, those who sought to have Buck sterilized did not let the facts get in the way of the story the law required them to tell. -- Paul Lauritzen Commonweal 2009 Meticulously detailed and researched history... this book is enjoyable, thought provoking, and troubling in equal measure. I highly recommend it. -- Susan Stefan, J.D. Psychiatric Services 2009 Three Generations provides valuable, new, and timely revelations for students and professional scholars across many disciplines. -- Susan Burch Disability Studies Quarterly 2009 For almost 30 years, Lombardo has tried to uncover the full story of the wrongs. -- Andrea Pitzer USA Today 2009 Most thorough examination to date... Readers will be both intrigued and disturbed by what they encounter. -- Lynne Curry H-Law, H-Net Reviews 2009 What makes Lombardo's analysis so important is that issues about the fate of our mutant genes, about the use of technologies to monitor pregnancies at risk for birth defects, and alternatives to relying on chance alone are subverted by our fear of eugenics. -- Elof Axel Carlson Quarterly Review of Biology 2009 Overall, a fascinating book on one of the darker decisions in US law. An excellent addition to collections on US constitutional law, history, and reproductive rights. Choice 2009 The struggle for justice goes on. Bioethicists typically ask 'ought' questions, but not all follow up with activism. More bioethicists should accept the social activist role. Paul Lombardo demonstrates exactly how it can be done. -- Ruth Levy Guyer American Journal of Bioethics 2009 Heartbreaking and riveting... There is likely to be no better account of Buck v. Bell than Lombardo's book. -- Ian Dowbiggin, Ph.D. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 2010 A remarkable work of investigation and narrative synthesis, Lombardo connects Buck v. Bell to a broader debate over the place of eugenics in American life and law... Having amassed over two decades of research, including interviewing Carrie Buck, Lombardo is uniquely qualified to tell this story. -- Jason Morgan Ward Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 2009 Three Generations, No Imbeciles manages to be both a meticulously researched work of history and a compelling story. -- John G. Browning Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2009 A powerful commentary on the dangers of politicized medicine and social engineering. -- Daniel P. Murphy Magill Book Reviews 2009 This painstakingly researched book will surely be the definitive study of Buck v. Bell for many years to come. -- Diane B. Paul American Historical Review 2009 As a historical endeavor, it is rich and rewarding, permitting the reader a broad understanding of the social, cultural and legal context for the case that inspired Oliver Wendell Holmes' famous quotation, 'Three generations of imbeciles are enough.'... Equally important as the excavation of this history is the manner in which Lombardo's writing surfaces the emotional consequences of fertility-related policies. -- Michelle Oberman Journal of Legal Education 2010 Lombardo does an excellent job of meticulously laying out the sham nature of Buck v. Bell, and by the end of the text, the reader is left with no doubt that the case, which has never been overturned, was mired in deceit... Fascinating nuggets of racial politics, class inequality, and fear of the female body. Law & Society Review 2009 Lombardo convincingly shows that the eugenics of the 1920s, despite professional reversals and government apologies, still echoes in discussions of designer babies, grumbling about the costs of social programs and attempts to calculate the financial value of life. -- Edward Slavishak, PhD Nursing History Review 2010 Three Generations, No Imbeciles chronicles Buck's tragic life and reviews the larger history of American eugenics in a moving narrative that will appeal to a broad audience of lay readers interested in controversies over reproductive rights, public health, science, and the law. -- Brent Ruswick Isis 2009
