Acres of Skin

Allen M. Hornblum teaches Urban Studies at Temple University. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia Prison System and as the Chief of Staff of Philadelphia's Sheriff's Office.

Introduction Part One The Subjects, the Doctors, and the Experiments 1. “The Money Was Good and the Money Was Easy.” Inmates recall life and experiments at Holmesburg Prison 2. “It Was Like a Farmer Seeing a Fertile Field.” Dr. Albert M.Kligman enters Holmesburg Part Two Twentieth-Century American Penal Experimentation 3. “They’re Dropping Like Flies Out Here.” History of U.S. prisoner experimentation Part Three Cruel and Unusual Experiments 4.“The Walls Seemed To Be Breathing.” The Army tests chemical warfare agents 5.“I Am Not Part of the Program.” Radioactive isotopes are introduced 6.“Danger! This Material Is Extremely Toxic.” The dioxin experiments Part Four The End of Experimentation at Holmesburg 7.“Where Are We Going To Do These Things Now?” The slow demise of inmate experimentation 8.“Retin-A®’s Birthplace Was at Holmesburg Prison.” The discovery of Retin-A® 9.“A Conspiracy of Silence.” Conclusion