I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

Although it's a short story, I think a lot more research was needed before releasing Doctor Ice Pick. For that reason, I'm going to have to give this one two stars. Interesting source material, but not all of it is accurate.

“Doctor Ice Pick” is a quick glimpse into the dark world of mental health history. It introduces the infamous Dr. Walter Freeman and his “perfection” of the frontal lobotomy.

This book was both fascinating and horrifying. To think that one person can go on a merry spree to lobotomize so many people to make a point that it's safe and "helps" them is frightening. The book was fascinating in the sense that it lays out how this was done in a logical manner and that you could follow easily the way that it happened. Conditions in mental asylums were terrible, lack of staffing, lack of funding and the answer was lobotomies where people could then be sent home. Yikes! Great book!

A haunting true short story about Dr. Walter Freeman from the 1950s. In 1952, Dr Freeman arrived at a West Virginia asylum ready to demonstrate the future of lobotomies which was a quick and easy 10 minute procedure with two metal picks and a hammer. In 12 days, he had lobotomized 228 men, women and children in WV's public mental health hospitals. Determined it was the future of health care, he continued throughout his life to lobotomize patients, promoting it for all kinds of ailments.

This short story was truly horrifying to read, simply due to the nature it covered. The author presented how Dr Walter Freeman rose and fell in public favor throughout his lobotomy crusade in a quick 85 pages. I learnt about how he gained support from the state and was authorized to conduct lobotomies in WV to basically save money and reduce the burden on the mental health hospitals.

I do however feel this could be fleshed out into a 300ish page book that covered lobotomies in general in more detail, with Dr Freeman being the main vein. It could have included studies/information related to Dr James Watts who split from working with Dr Freeman due to his opposition to the cruelty and overuse of the transorbital lobotomy. It also would have been great to have more details and information on his son Paul, who became a psychiatrist, specifically his thoughts on lobotomy and what he went on to do in the mental health sphere.

Despite this, I felt for a short story it was great. Gave a succinct story telling of Dr Freeman and his famous "Ice Pick" lobotomy. A quick read and nice introduction to anybody who likes to learn about history, medical procedures etc without it being a full in depth overwhelming read. Would fit nicely in an anthology of gruesome medical procedures or harrowing doctors of the past.

"Doctor Ice Pick" by Claire Prentice is, a short story of Doctor Freeman who used lobotomist over thousands of Americans in Asylums.

I would give "Doctor Ice Pick" by Claire Prentice because, honestly, I was truly disappointed by this, and it seems to be missing things.

I am quite a fan of medical history, and in particular anything to do with psychology or the brain. This short story (approximately 60-70 pages or 2.5 hours of audio) gives a brief overview of Dr Walter Freeman, who popularised lobotomy in the United States, and invented the transorbital lobotomy method. Touted as a cure for anything from depression to being a teenager, this non fiction story covers Freeman’s life and career as well as the rise and eventual fall of lobotomy as medication is discovered.

For a short story, this is well researched and packed with information. For anyone wishing to read more in depth, there’s a bibliography at the back. I felt this was a perfect introduction to lobotomy and Freeman, and I felt it covered the issues around lobotomy, the skewed studies and data collected by Freeman, and the effects it had on the patients and their families afterward.

I’d recommend this to anyone who’s wanting to know about lobotomy or mental health care in the early to mid 1900s.

It’s not clear exactly what this is – fiction or non-fiction. It’s billed as a short story but if indeed that is what it is, I would expect some fictional elements, perhaps an attempt at insight into Dr Freeman’s character, his thoughts and motivations, imagined meetings and so on. However, what we get is a non-fiction account of an already well-documented history of Freeman and the lobotomies he popularised. There is some invented dialogue, but not more than you would expect in creative non-fiction. I didn’t feel the author added anything to the known facts, and there didn’t seem to be anything new here that isn’t readily available for free online or in other publications. And because it’s such a scandalous and chilling tale, there is an enormous amount already available. This short account is readable and accessible and for those who are new to the subject, it’s a useful introduction. But short story? I don’t think so.

A haunting and true short story of the lobotomist who cut a brutal swathe through the lives of thousands of vulnerable Americans from the author of Miracle at Coney Island. Wow!!! Started this book and could not stop reading it until I'd finished!!

After the first few pages, I knew this was a book I wasn’t going to be able to put down. And, I was right! I read this straight through in one sitting. This story is simply SHOCKING! I was stunned that the medical profession allowed Freeman to run rampant for SO long, unchecked. What he did to these people is just heartbreaking unfathomable. I think the "good doctor" was the one who needed a lobotomy! You can't go wrong with this book!

#DoctorIcePick #NetGalley.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

I've read a lot around Dr Freeman's work and from his victims, including Howard Dully's memoir.
I find this was short but sweet and at times lacked citations for the points it made.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Orginal Stories for this non-fiction E-book.


This was a such a fast-paced read. I was interesting through out the whole book that I finished this in one sitting. A terrifying man, named Walter Freeman became a "pioneer of prefrontal and transorbital lobotomies". It's crazy to think back then that people we subjected to these terrifying life altering procedures in hope for a cure for different conditions.

A fascinating read on a horrifying subject. Thoroughly researched and compelling, this is a real insight into how so many people were subjected to a terrifying procedure, the impact it had on them and their families and the man that lead the campaign.

Shocking, harrowing and unfortunately factual. This book is an expose which goes beyond the acts of the lobotomist to highlight the power which the medical profession wields disproportionately over disempowered societal groups. Highlighting misogyny and racism as tools used by doctors to further their own ends, the author cleverly analyses the lobotomy phenomenon as a case study.

I have heard a bit about Walter Freeman and his lobotomy procedures through various podcasts. It is incredible to read about how such a barbaric procedure could have been considered in such recent times. The people were amongst the most vulnerable, and the doctor was maverick, and a showman in his approach. He cherry-picked the cases he presented to his colleagues, to ensure he was presenting his procedure in the best possible light. Poor outcomes were justified by him as being that the patient was bought to him too late for his procedure to help. If not for the development of drugs to effectively replace the transorbital lobotomy, how many more years and how many more patients, people, could have been subjected to this?

Well, they do say that fact is stranger than fiction and nothing better illustrates this dictum than this book.

It is a fascinating, if somewhat disturbing, tale skilfully told by the author. The key takeaway is perhaps that the medical profession is as prone to fashion, group think and a convincing sales pitch as any other walk of life. It’s well worth reading to gain that perspective.

I really enjoyed the book especially as it caused me to think about what we, as a society, are doing today that will provoke incredulity from future generations.

God this book was hard to read due to the subject matter but also couldn't stop reading. God I hope to never meet a doctor like this!

Wow, what a story! Walter Freeman, neurologist, showman and self styled medical visionary, persuades the state authorities in West Virginia to give him free rein of their mental institutions, lobotomizing long term patients in a bid to "send them home," Cheered on by an uncritical press, and largely unchallenged by medical and political authorities, he criss crosses the state, operating on men, women and children. When his operations fail he blames someone else, and brushes aside criticisms from those who have good reason to doubt the efficacy of his savage treament. This is a chilling little morality tale, tightly told and based on original research in West Virginia. I liked the way that the writer Clare Prentice gave names and dignity to the people Freeman operated on. Five Stars.

Dr. Walter Freeman literally is THE WORST- the most arrogant, stubborn, sexist and infuriating man.

Doctor Ice Pick is the disgusting and engrossing journey into the life of Dr. Walter Freeman as he beguiles, enchants and hammers his way into the brains of hundreds of men, women and children in the 1950s.

It's been a LONG time since I was thoroughly livid about a book, but reading Doctor Ice Pick had steam coming out of my ears. I'm absolutely fascinated by non-fiction centered around science and medicine, especially when it dives back into some of the archaic procedures used in the past.
I LOVED this and felt that even though it was non-fiction it was really fast-paced and it's the perfect length! Claire doesn't bog you down with too much technical detail and therefore the storyline flows nicely into soooo many WHAT THE HECKO moments you'll have to pick your jaw up from the floor.

I cannot wait to look into all the books and articles referenced within. As horrific as this TRUE short story as, it's fascinating to a science junkie like myself!

Thanks to Netgalley, Claire Prentice and the publisher for the DRC!

I loved this book and read it in one sitting. It tells the story of lobotomist Walter Freeman through Operation Ice Pick, Freeman's campaign to lobotomize thousands of patients in West Virginia's state psychiatric hospitals. It is a difficult subject but an important one. I found it fascinating and felt like I learned a lot. The author has clearly done a ton of original research as shown in her footnotes. I was surprised at the archivist from George Washington University saying the author doesn't cite the Walter Freeman Papers there -- she cites them multiple times. I highly recommend Doctor Ice Pick.