Doctors’Riot of 1788 by Andy McPhee is an enlightening book about a little-known subject, except for medical students and history buffs. As long as there have been schools of medicine, there has been a need for human subjects to practice on, unfortunately. The local graveyards became a source of supply until townspeople discovered the number of disturbed graves and posted watchmen in the cemeteries. Graverobbing became so lucrative that some resting places were vandalized more than once a night, and while early on, it was not a crime to steal a human body, it was, however, a crime to steal any clothing or effects that were with the body, so a loved one would be taken from the grave, sans clothing. Laws were passed in time to staunch the desecration, but some had tired of the dirty job and killed to order as many bodies as needed. The book is a fascinating history of how laws were written to address the needs of the day, and to what lengths the people had to go to in the writing of the laws. The book covers body and tissue donation, which may not be well-understood by the general public, and was very interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!

Very interesting and informative to read about an event I had no idea about prior. I knew grave robbing existed, but nothing else about it. Highly recommended

This is not my typical type of book but I really enjoyed it! The history of body snatchers and the Doctors Riot of 1788 was fascinating!

I was hoping for so much more from this book. The description promised the gritty details about body snatching in the 1700s, but it was so jammed with boring historical facts that I quickly lost interest.

When I read the title of this book, I was very excited to dive in. Medical history is of particular interest to me and, while my own reading and research has been primarily focused on British history, I was intrigued to compare early American medical history to what I already know.

The book details the events surrounding what the author calls 'the doctors' riot of 1788.' The riot itself occurred in a bustling, post-independence New York at a time when legal, cultural, and social opinions surrounding death, disease, and surgery were shifting. McPhee is a retired nurse and contributes a lot of his knowledge to the narrative.

I felt that the book was well written and maintained a narrative pace that kept my interested as a reader. McPhee is clearly passionate about the subject and does an exceptional job researching and detailing the history of early America and medicine, surgery, and anatomy in a broader context.

That being said, I felt that McPhee apologized to a certain degree for the lack of source material related to the riot itself. I have never looked at this particular event in the archival records, but I can understand the author's disappointment with the amount of historical material. It may have been of more benefit to do a comparative study with some of the other riots, legal cases, or challenges to the practice of 'body snatching' that McPhee details.

I enjoyed learning about early American medical history and thought the author did a great job with the material available. The last few chapters even provided information on current training methods and tools for modern surgeons and doctors, which I thought was interesting and a great way to close the book.

This book is for anyone interested in American or medical history. I would also think that this book would be of interest to current medical practitioners to see how their field has developed over the last 230 years.

Overall, I found McPhee's 'Doctors' Riots of 1788' informative. I learned a lot about both historical and modern teaching methods for students of anatomy. I would say that this book is worth rereading.

KGS

This could have been so good. The research has clearly been done but it's just such a boring read for about 70% of the book. It only really gets interest in the last chunk... perhaps this ought to have been a few chapters in a more general book about body snatching, rather than trying to be a standalone.

The true story of body snatching. It's not a subject most of us are well informed about, Andy McPhee's new book, The Doctors' Riot of 1788, attempts to fill that hole. As such, it is bound to provide new information for nearly any reader, teaching about a topic that is seldom addressed. It is well-researched and an easy read.

McPhee has used this information to address a need and make a plea: The medical profession (and thus, the world) needs more bodies to further the education and research of those who endeavor to help us and improve our lives. It is McPhee's hope that more of us will donate our bodies to science after reading this book. It is a book on a mission.

The book explores the history behind body snatching, going back to medieval and early modern times - who does this, how, and why. His work culminates, in a sense, in the public's reaction, a revolt, lasting for several days. In 1788 New York City - a riot targeting the doctors/students using the bodies. More than a riot, it was really an attempted lynching waged against the practice. McPhee then moves on from that event, showing how the the use of bodies (still obtained both legally and illegally) has continued and refined even into modern days.

It's an interesting story. But let's be honest: this was not an event of major nor lasting import, then or now - it did little to stop or even modify the practice. Even the title of the book is somewhat misleading. The titular riot is only the direct subject of a handful of chapters in the book, McPhee's book goes into details of body snatching in many times and places as well as related topics - a rather long and at times graphic description of how the human body decomposes, for example, which might help explain the concerns of timing and the pressures on the perpetrators of this act, but is not exactly a part of history.

The bottom line is an unusual book that advances an argument and has current social relevance.

Andy McPhee’s Doctors’ Riot of 1788 is a gripping reconstruction of one of the more unsettling and overlooked episodes in early American history. In April 1788, New York City erupted into chaos when rumours spread that medical students and doctors at the city’s hospitals were robbing graves—often from Black and poor burial grounds—for dissection. What began as whispers of desecration spiralled into a violent confrontation that exposed the fragile trust between ordinary citizens and the medical profession, and revealed the stark racial and class divisions of the new republic.
McPhee approaches this dark moment with both the precision of a historian and the narrative flair of a storyteller. He situates the riot not just in the streets of New York, but within the wider anxieties of a young nation struggling with questions of science, morality, and social order. By weaving archival research with vivid scene-setting, McPhee brings to life the fear and anger of the city’s residents, the defensiveness of the physicians, and the uneasy role of civic authorities caught in between.
What makes this book particularly effective is its refusal to treat the riot as an isolated event. McPhee traces its legacy through medical ethics, the rise of anatomy laws, and the evolving relationship between medicine and public trust. He is especially strong on the racial dynamics of body procurement, unflinchingly examining how Black and Indigenous communities bore the brunt of medical exploitation.
While the book is rich in detail, it never feels bogged down by academic heaviness. Instead, McPhee writes with clarity and urgency, making the Doctors’ Riot feel both shocking in its particulars and disturbingly familiar in its themes—public mistrust of science, unequal treatment of the poor, and the struggle to reconcile progress with ethics.
Doctors’ Riot of 1788 is history that disturbs, informs, and lingers. For readers interested in early America, the history of medicine, or the social tensions that shaped the republic, McPhee has produced a compelling and necessary account.

Doctors’ Riot of 1788 is a fascinating dive into a little-known but pivotal moment in early American history. Andy McPhee brings the story of the riot to life with vivid detail, weaving together the social, cultural, and political tensions that sparked the violence. I came away not just informed, but genuinely absorbed in how this forgotten event shaped the city and its people.
The research is clearly meticulous, and McPhee has a knack for turning history into something compelling and accessible. At times, I wished for a slightly tighter narrative flow—certain sections lean heavily into background when I wanted to stay in the immediacy of the riot itself—but overall, it’s a captivating and enlightening read.
If you enjoy history that spotlights overlooked events with real impact, this book delivers.

Doctors’ Riot of 1788 is a fascinating and well-researched account of a little-known but gripping moment in American history. Andy McPhee brings the events of post-Revolutionary New York vividly to life, showing how grave robbing for medical study collided with issues of race, class, and justice to spark a shocking riot.

McPhee’s writing balances strong scholarship with clear, engaging storytelling, making complex history accessible without losing depth. This is a compelling and thought-provoking read that sheds light on both medical progress and the human cost behind it. Highly recommended for anyone interested in history, medicine, or social justice.

A well-written, informative and interesting novel about a most fascinating subject. I have read quite a few books on the subject of body-snatching and anatomists in England, most notably about the horrific deeds of Burke and Hare. It was really interesting to see it all from a different perspective in a different place.

There were so many dates and facts, names and places that sometimes it was difficult to keep track of it all, but I found myself impressed with the sheer amount of research that must have gone into this book.

Very well done by the author, and my thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

This was an interesting read about 1788 grave robbing and body snatching, if you’re into history and the history of this subject as I am. The information worked well overall and was hooked from the first page although it tended to drag at times making the reader feel as though it was more of a school read then for pleasure. I thought this was written well by Andy McPhee and the research was clearly well invested, I did think it should have included more about the doctors riot and more into the medical aspect of the subject.

I never knew about Britains history of illegally obtaining bodies for 250 dollars after they banned bodies to be studied on yet students needed corpses to practice on in medical school. I learned about the creation of “bone bills” before the civil war. All in all for any history bluff of this kind of nature would love this read.

Doctors’ Riot of 1788 by Andy McPhee shines a light on a fascinating and often forgotten piece of American history. The research is thorough, but at times the pacing felt uneven—some sections dragged while others rushed by. This book is great for readers who love history that’s off the beaten path, the kind you probably won’t hear about in a classroom. Informative and eye-opening.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

For a book titled Doctor's Riot of 1788, there's very little talk of doctors, riots, or the year 1788. If I wanted to read a book about the American Revolution, I would have picked up a book that said it was about the American Revolution. The title and blurb is misleading to what the bulk of the book is about. It reads like an unhinged college essay of some student going off the rails because they forgot what the rubric required them to do.

Amazing book, so well-written. Informative and keeps you wanting to know more. Everyone should learn about this part of history.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given, and my opinions are my own.

Although I've obviously heard of body snatching before, I'd never heard of the Doctor's Riot prior to reading this book. The book was so interesting. The whole thing was absolutely wild, especially since there were no laws protecting the corpes, so after digging up the bodies, they would remove all the clothing and jewelry and put it back in the grave. It would be a felony if they took the clothes. Not a single law broken if they took just the body. Crazy. After this, the laws were changed, though.

Also, Harvard. Seriously, what is is with Harvard, and their secret societies? They had a whole secret society just for those students who really, really wanted to dig up body so much they formed a secret society to do. Okay, yes, I understand the importance of it, but seriously, it seems every other non-fiction book I read lately talks about some secret society in Harvard.

Definitely would recommend this.

I thought this was very cool. I have always been into the darker side of life. I never knew all of the positive medicinal things that came from it! It gives a a whole new meaning to “you have to take the good with the bad”. Great historical references. The book wasn’t dry either. Good job.

As a UK reader, I have some knowledge of graverobbing practices on my side of the pond but had previously no knowledge of the development of medicine and anatomy in the US, and this gave me a great introduction. The actual Doctors' Riot forms the central point of this book, a fixed point in time which the rest of the book leads to or from - and not only did I gain information on the riot itself but also a much broader understanding of the nationwide events leading up to it, and the developments in medical study right up to today.

The book comes back to a couple of central points - the key one being that in order to learn, students needed to practice on real cadavers; however demand usually outstripped supply, creating the need to find alternative sources. As a background to the riot, the author about how the first medical schools in the US were formed and by whom and also gave some interesting insights into new-born America under the actual leadership of its founding fathers. There were mentions of quirks in the laws (e.g. removal of a body not actually classing as theft), moral questions (e.g. abolitionists still being slave owners), and overtly racist undertones (e.g. the riots only started when the graves of respectable white folk started being desecrated). More hopefully the book concludes with a look at how attitudes have changed and the reverence with which bodies donated for dissection are rightfully treated.

Thoroughly researched, this was a surprisingly enjoyable read. I did struggle to keep track of the high number of names and dates thrown in and the jumping around of the timeline, but definitely an engaging book - far more compelling and yet easy-to-read than many non-fiction titles. The author's tone makes this very accessible, and despite the subject matter the writing style prevents things from feeling too gruesome (most of the time).

This was a fascinating read about 1788 and thought it worked well as a introduction to this morbid concept. The information worked well overall and was hooked from the first page. I thought this was written well and had that educational elmeent that I was wanting in this type of book. Andy McPhee wrote this so well and had that passion that I was looking for and glad I read this.

I thought that The Doctors Riot of 1788 was a good book, my only “issue” is that there wasn’t much about the actual doctors riot, but still a great book about history.