Charlatan

The Fraudulent Life of John Brinkley

Pope Brock

This is the enormously entertaining story of how a fraudulent surgeon made a fortune by inserting goats' testes into impotent American men.

So-called 'Doctor' John Brinkley became a world renowned authority on sexual rejuvenation in the 1920s, with famous politicians and even royalty asking for his services. His nemesis was Dr Morris Fishbein, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, but it took him fifteen years to destroy Brinkley in a dramatic courtroom showdown. In the meantime, despite mounting evidence that his quack treatments killed many patients, Brinkley became a millionaire.