Rating: 
Summary: good browsing book--informative and enjoyable quick read
Review: As one might expect from a columnist, Stiff is a collection of mostly short, somewhat breezy chapters, each detailing a particular aspect of "life after death", or more accurately, death after death. Substance-wise, the book is for the most part entertainingly informative, with more than enough detail to inform and interest while still allowing the writer (and the reader) to get in and out of a particular section relatively quickly. This holds true for almost the entire book, though as is typical of such a construction, some chapters hold more substantive details than others and some are better paced than others. It's surprisingly consistent in quality though; I personally felt only one or two chapters could do with a lot more cutting and perhaps slightly more could do with a bit more substance or depth, though none were lacking so much as to be a severe detriment.
For the most part, Roach does not offer up stomach-turning detail, preferring to merely make clear that she could do so if she wishes. That isn't to say there aren't some points you may wish she had been less true to the facts, but if you're reading a book with the word "cadaver" in the title, I assume you know what you're getting into. The interesting details are less in the physical occurrences of what happens to the human body in death (though this is covered in some sharp detail in chapter three) as to what use the bodies can be put or in some of the most interesting cases, have been put in the historical past, as Roach examines the use of corpses in car testing, medical school practice, organ donation, etc.
Stylistically, Roach maintains a mostly amused and amusing distance, sometimes self-deprecatingly so. It is not a particularly reflective book, which would lower its ranking in my mind, but at least it doesn't aim at that and fall flat or sound pompously introspective. The humor certainly lightens what could obviously be a very dark book and is mostly used effectively, though sometimes it's a bit strained or adolescent, causing the occasional wince or two. But again, the book being titled "stiff" should give you some clue before going in as to what the tone will be throughout.
Since the chapters are not really interrelated or self-referential, the structure of the book makes it a good browsing or "parallel" book--one you can pick up at scattered times or to take a break from that long, slow novel you're reading. And if you find some of the chapters to glide too quickly over interesting material, they make for good jumping off points--giving a solid overview and offering up lots of opportunities for further reading. A bit more depth here and there, a little better judgment on some of the joking banter with the reader, and some more reflective moments and this would have been an excellent book. As it is, it's still a good one and quite enjoyable
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting info but stylistic problems...
Review: I greatly enjoyed this book and even continued to read it despite, at times, feeling utterly revolted and a tad creeped out (the 'head' chapter gave me too much info., but then again, much of the book did!). My only concerns with the book are as follows: 1) The author's voice shifts periodically. While the book is funny, some chapters or some page clusters turn into every-other paragraph jokes leading me to believe that Roach was on a "roll" when writing those pages. She also makes a couple of comparisons/uses colloquilisms for humor but that are juvenile and completely out of place with the rest of the book. I don't want to be specific, but I'm thinking of one in particular in the cremation chapter that was highly uncalled for (Roach jokes about a particular bodily fluid going into food vats).Roach also often oscillates between using first names and last names which can be confusing and irritating (in the airplane chapter she refers to the crash expert by his last name for awhile, switches to his first name, etc.). I don't deem that sort of writing professional. Overall, the book was entertaining and seemingly well researched (although I think some of the historic information relied a little too heavily on just a few sources). After reading it once, though, I will never read this book again (I don't want to be reminded of this stuff!)
Rating: 
Summary: not for the faint of heart
Review: Stiff is a very funny, well researched and well written examination of a really gross subject. Like a car accident on the freeway, the content is repulsive, but you can't help looking at it anyway. A very good read, if your stomach is strong enough to avoid vommiting between chapters. Do not read this book one hour before or after eating.
Rating:
Summary: Just a fun read!
Review: If you are planning to become a forensic pathologist, this book won't give you anything you need to know. If you want a good read; a lighter and funnier look into what we all one day will become (DEAD) than this book is for you. It is pretty informative and filled with many good facts, but it reads like a novel, not like a textbook. I would have expected something like this from the late Douglas Adams, had he ever written about cadavers. All in all, a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Funny but often misinformed
Review: The author writes very well about her experiences, and is often quite entertaining but she fails regularly to understand the thought processes behind the actions of those about whom she writes. She assumes she knows, infers their emotions without asking. This ignorance is the result of not having been through the process of medical training herself and is made clear in her writing. Read the book. It's interesting. But take it with a grain of salt. Not everything in it is truth.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful book
Review: This is a very entertaining and interesting book about human cadavers--what happens when you die, the history of dissection, the University of Tennessee "body farm," what dead bodies can tell you about airline crashes, how bodies are used for impact testing, flaws in Dr. Pierre Barbet's studies of crucifixion found by Frederick Zugibe, the process of "organ recovery" from "beating-heart cadavers" for transplants, the survival of severed heads (guillotine and transplantation), mummies and cannibalism, etc. Roach writes in a somewhat flippant style that somehow seems appropriate for the topic, it's never quite irreverent.
My only complaint: p. 126: Roach seems to think that the FAA should force the implementation of safety measures that come out negative on a cost-benefit analysis (given the value of human life at $2.7 million, if shoulder harnesses save 15 lives over 20 years, that's not enough if it costs $669 million to implement). What she fails to recognize is the opportunity cost of such spending--$669 million spent to save 15 lives over 20 years could save thousands of lives if spent elsewhere instead. There is no infinite fund of money available to save lives at any cost.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting book with a dark comedy tinge
Review: I enjoyed "Stiff" in that it explored a topic that is a bit taboo in our modern Western culture. For me, an engineery type, it answered a lot of carnal questions I've had bumping around in the back of my mind -- the facts were presented head-on without beating around the bush, but also in a generally respectful and non-tasteless manner, mostly with a "human interest" article's tone. The author's writing style tends a bit toward black-humor/sarcasm, but this is not necessarily a bad thing when dealing with a topic that could easily degenerate into either scientific techno-babble or a macbre gore-fest. The author explores a wide range of death related topics of practical and historical interest. It was a fast read and I found it fascinating and enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating for the blood and and goar type person
Review: I loved this book. I have an indescribable interest in death and the dead. I love knowing how body parts decompose, what happens to the flesh? why doesn't our hair dissolve? And this book answered all those questions and more. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. And it doesn't get into all that scientific mumbo jumbo that can get the average reader, like me, lost. It basically tells you what can happen to your body after you die.
Rating:
Summary: Death and Corpses
Review: Stiff is a totally fun book that gives the science and odder than odd facts about death and corpses (sounds like an HBO series). Even if you don't like the book it's worth buying just to leave on your coffee table. Quite the conversation starter!
Rating:
Summary: I Can't Wait to Die!
Review: 'Stiff' is a fascinating look into the multitude of disgusting to delightful things that happen to human corpses. The possibilites are endless... will I be skinned and plasticized into a piece of anatomical artwork? Will I be left in a field to decompose and serve as a case study for some graduate student's thesis? Maybe a crucifixion experiment? I hope to be guillotined so my living head can be held up to look in awe at my lifeless body! Burial is soooooooo passe -- everybody who's anybody is donating their remains to be used as a human crash test dummy!
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