CLARA MAASS

Kelley’s nonfiction portrait of a nurse who died in a medical trial explores the context of her life and the profound legacy of her death.

Clara Maass was a 25-year-old American nurse from a German immigrant family who died in Cuba in 1901 after volunteering as a human subject in a yellow fever trial. Maass, driven to help people and make a difference in the world, overcame the odds to become head nurse at Newark German Hospital and to be accepted as a contract nurse in the Spanish-American War. Kelley is attuned to the context of class and gender, and he stresses the gendered nature of sacrifice in health care and the social pressures that might have encouraged a young woman to agree to a risky experiment. In addition to a biography of Maass, the text includes a chronicle of women’s progress in medicine and society alongside a history of medical ethics. These topics provide rich context for Maass’ story, but with all of the elements combined the narrative can sometimes feel labored—the material would have a greater impact if it was more focused. The book’s main flaw is repetition; the narrow focus of many of the sub-chapters results in overlapping material, and facts, anecdotes, and quotes are often repeated up to five times. Still, Kelley has an unflinching eye for ethical gray areas and convincingly makes the case for the historical material’s contemporary relevance, citing similar issues in debates over Covid-19 human tests, gene-edited babies, and pharmaceutical trials in low-income countries. As quoted gene-editing tech pioneer Jennifer Doudna observes, “[Maass’] story reminds us that with great scientific power comes great ethical responsibility. In our pursuit of knowledge, we must ensure we never lose sight of the individual lives at stake.” Though this book is a little more academically rigorous than much narrative nonfiction, it is still accessible for casual and non-specialist readers.

A fascinating study of the far-reaching impact of one brave nursing pioneer.