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Summary: Author of 'A Disturbing Presence' recommends STIFF
Review: Aren't we all a bit curious about death? Admit it. You would love to know the chemical changes that take place after we expire. What causes rigor mortis? In what order does the cadaver decompose? Okay, so most people have their boundaries and prefer those details be left to the mortician. Fortunately, Ms. Roach does not go into details on the grotesque aspects of death. Not only does she treat it with great sensitivity, her humor kept me riveted to the book. It held me captive from the moment I opened it. The only problem is that when I took the book to work, co-workers were disturbed to discover my morbid fascination. I did not find 'Stiff' to be morbid. It is more entertaining, than macabre. The book does not read like 'Anatomy 101' or 'Forensics for Dummies'. I highly recommend it; however, I regret that I missed it before completing my first published novel, 'A Disturbing Presence'. My research into the forensics field yielded systematic details. It is not easy to find humor in the fine art of mortuary sciences, unless you are of the same mind as Mary Roach.
http://www.authorsden.com/joyleerutter
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Summary: Oh, Gross!
Review: I have enjoyed Mary Roach's writing in Salon and other magazines for some years, and was pleasantly surprised to find she'd written a book. Then I was unpleasantly surprised to see the topic. . .Stiff was great. It was informative and a riot, all at once. I loved the chapter about the plastic surgeon's conference, where Roach showed up early to interview the people setting up the disembodied heads for a hands-on practice session later. They seemed suspicious of her many questions (the set-up people, not the heads). I'm not sure Stiff should be used as a reference. Roach didn't even mention Da Vinci in the chapter about the history of using cadavers for medical and artistic research. But as as entertaining book on an unusual subject, two thumbs up, stiffly.
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Summary: Unreliable resources
Review: I bought this book and was amazed at the sort of historical things described. And so, like any enthusiast, I did research. And very sadly I discovered that a good deal of the historical background does not exist. I mention especially the description of "Mellification" in Chapter 10. The author didn't make any of it up herself, but simply used many poor and unreliable sources and her basis.
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Summary: What will you do when your dead?
Review: I was attracted to this book from the moment it arrived at the library where I work. Unfortunately it took months for me to get my hands on it. Everyone who read it loved it and then made their friends, spouses, cousins and uncles read it.
The humor is dark, naturally due to the subject matter, but I was laughing out loud! There are some rather gritty details and descriptions about cadavers so those who are offended by such things would probably do better skipping this book.
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Summary: Massage By Morgan
Review: I picked up this book while originally looking for a book on human cadaver photos for my lab classes I take for school on the subject. I bought it solely on the reviews of Amazon customers. Well, I gotta say, Mary Roach has done the impossible. She has made being dead interesting, appealing and funny all at the same time. She never disrepects the dead, she just finds new ways to lighten up the subject just when it needs to be. This book is shocking at times, gross at others and just flat out weird sometimes. It's amazing what they do with human cadavers when you never really gave it any thought before. Mary, if you ever read this, write another book on something most people will never really think about and I will be order it! You are the best!
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Summary: Everything You Wanted to Know About Corpses ...
Review: But were Afraid to Ask. Mary Roach is a journalist who writes about subjects that fascinate her. Is she "quirky" for writing about a subject that is more obscene than sex? Roach writes a regular column for 'Readers Digest', and these twelve chapters read like magazine articles. You won't have to run to the dictionary with this book. Chapter 1 tells you to avoid surgery by residents if you are in a teaching hospital. Chapter 2 tells of the historic problem of providing medical specimens. Sometimes these "resurrectionists" only took the teeth (don't ask!). Chapter 3 explains the experiments at the UT Anthropological Research Facility. Don't read this after eating! The Civil War need for shipping bodies promoted embalming. Chapter 4 tells how corpses are used to measure damage from driving accidents in order to build safer cars; dummies are then used for measuring forces. This resulted in safer windshields, and collapsible steering wheels and front halves to save lives. So do lap-shoulder belts, air bags, dashboard padding and recessed knobs. Even if air bags sometimes injure or kill when deployed! Increased survivability has led to study of ankles, knees, feet, and shoulders. Chapter 5 discusses the damage done by airplane crashes. The cockpit flight recorder and black box are the first source of information; afterwards it is the pattern of injuries on "the human wreckage". "Sit near an emergency exit", next to a window, in First Class. Chapter 6 is a history on the use of cadavers to test firearms. Mary doesn't know the meaning of the word "bolo" (p.133). Nor does she understand the effects of stimulant in combat (p.136). Gelatin products include marshmallows, nougat candy fillings, liquorice, caramels, vitamin gel caps (p.139). This chapter ends on a discussion of the best footwear to use for land mine clearance. Chapter 7 tells about the use of cadavers in crucifixion experiments. With the pain, the crucified die from asphyxia. The nail went in through the palm and out the back of the wrist (Zugibe, p.163), not through Destot's space. Chapter 8 discusses "organ recovery", usually from young healthy accident victims. Mary doesn't understand the fear of live burial in the 19th century 9p.188). At least one example in New Orleans (1850s) is known from the recurrent cholera epidemics. Chapter 9 tells about experiments on detached heads. People put into isolation chambers without sensory input "have gone literally crazy" (p.211). Could a head transplant be done in the future? Not if the insurance companies won't pay (p.215). Chapter 10 gives the history of medicinal cannibalism! Mary is not making this up. Aren't you glad to be living in modern times? Mary offers an explanation for these cures (p.227). The use of alcohol in these elixirs may explain their success. We still use human blood in transfusions, and HGH. Mary explains the Soviet use of cadaver blood (p.230). Read the rest of this chapter on an empty stomach. Chapter 11 introduces a new method for corpse disposal: cooking in lye (p.253). It's fuel efficient. Another method is human composting as a cheaper burial method (p.264). The chapter discusses the problems with each method. Chapter 12 recycles a Salon.com column about going to Harvard. Mary tells of "polymer-preserved" bodies: $50,000 to last ten thousand years. Mary's personal history suggest your remains should be handled according to your family's wishes. This book is written in a smirky, sarcastic style that detracts from any serious treatment of this educational topic.
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Summary: Which way to the lab?
Review: I had no idea what happened to bodies when we pass on, but after reading Stiff, I not only know what happens, I know in detail the process of death, the shedding, the bloating, the leakage - you get the point. It ain't pretty. This is one of the most informative books on cadavers and death in general, I've read. While Roach's wit can get tiring after the first few pages, she does a great job detailing the jobs of people who work with the dead, whether it be the beheaders, or the forensic students. The fact that she was able to stay in the room while the experiments on the cadavers went on is incredible and since most people will never be able to witness first hand what goes on this books wraps everything up nicely. Mind you, it isn't for the squeamish. There are some parts in the book which can be rather disturbing, such as the chapters on animal experiments and bodies being used in crash tests, but if you can stomach this, it's definitely worth the price. I can also honestly say that I do not plan on being buried or cremated any longer, but wish to donate to the medical science, my poor, lifeless body when I die. I just hope I don't get thrown from a plane.
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Summary: LOVE IT
Review: I brought this book to the court house when I had jury duty before I read it and immediately felt embarassed by the title! I thought, these people are going to think Im weird and morbid reading a book about dead bodies! I opened the cover and started reading and I coulnd't put it down! I didn't care if people thought I was sick, this was a good book! It is funny, informative and desensitizes you a little to death, making you think it as something everyone goes through regardless of factors. I can;t say enough about it and I will never stop recommending it!
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Summary: Have a heart!
Review: While visiting, my brother handed me this book, "You'll like this," he remarked, "I read it on the plane, it's about dead bodies." Since I never told him I couldn't get through another book he gave me "How We Die," I guess he thought I was ready for this next step. Even though it often made me queasy, I did like this book. It treats what we can do with our bodies after death, and especially what happens to bodies which are donated to science. Just what can be done with a donated body in the name of science makes for adroit nighttime reading. No details will be disclosed here. However, readers be forewarned that chapter titles as stylish as "A head is a terrible thing to waste" can only hint at the bemusing revelations within their pages. The author does an excellent job of treating an upsetting subject with the kind of levity that makes it interesting and understandable. She never loses focus on the irony of the fact that we have no control over our bodies in the afterlife. When it comes to the living, and the considerations of donation, she drops the punchlines and describes the options with sensitivity and thoughtfulness. For example, in discussing vital organs, Mary Roach describes the number of people on waiting lists and the shortage of actual donators. "H. has no heart," she says after attending an organ "harvest" from a donor called simply "H.," "but heartless is the last thing you'd call her." Although this is one of the oddest books I've ever read, I found it particularly well researched and written.
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Summary: I never would have thought a book about cadavers...
Review: This book immediately caught my attention, and from the moment I picked it up, I could not put it down. Some parts of the book were a little bit hard to handle (decomposing body farm), but over all I was excited about the information and humor. As soon as I finished the book, I went on the internet to find pictures of plastinated bodies. I'm hooked.
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