The research ethics system was created without the help of people who know what it is like to be a research subject. This is a serious omission. Experts have overlooked ethical issues that matter to subjects. Silent Partners moves subjects to the forefront, giving them a voice in research ethics. Much scholarly writing seems like a bare tree festooned with strings of citations. Dresser's argument flows on its own, and the reader can travel on its currents; the references help guide the flowwithout demanding notice. What this accomplishes is straightforward: it makes the book accessible and potentially interesting to many audiences, from institutional review board (IRB) reading groups to students at many levels to clinicians learning to be investigators.