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Review: "Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach
Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Mary Roach
W.W. Norton (May 2004)
Ppb. 304 pages
$13.95
If you've ever found yourself fascinated by forensics programs, or have had your interest piqued by the mention of body farms, or enjoy watching the, sometimes gruesome, cgi recreations of bullet tracks and injuries in CSI, then Stiff is probably the book for you. Also, if you've ever wondered what might happen when a body is donated to medical science, then one of the possible uses is likely to be documented here.
Stiff is a book that illustrates the various uses of human cadavers in today's world, as well as what history has done with them. And it does so in an often surprisingly humourous way, whilst remaining respectful of the subject matter.
This is definitely not a book for the squeamish though. If your stomach is one to flip and roll at the sight of blood and televised operations, descriptions about decomposition, and some of the other things a cadaver might be put through, then I would suggest you read something else. Whilst a fascinating book, I doubt one would enjoy reading it if if one felt queasy doing so.
Mary Roach's book documents the use of cadavers over the ages, from the very first anatomical dissections, to the roles they now play in aiding forensics, furthering surgery, gathering accident and crash impact data, and other, sometimes much weirder, experiments and research.
She also looks at the history of cadaver donation, including the graverobbing of the 19th century, and the history and possible future of how we dispose of our remains.
I found this book incredibly fascinating, describing uses for cadavers that I had never even considered, and which often go unmentioned to the world at large because of the reactions some people might have, even though the service these cadavers provide is immeasurable and helps us in so many different aspects of our daily lives. Cadavers provide a priceless service to us all, and do so quietly and humbly, and we have much to thank those people for, those who are willing to donate themselves to this purpose.
Mary Roach
W.W. Norton (May 2004)
Ppb. 304 pages
$13.95
If you've ever found yourself fascinated by forensics programs, or have had your interest piqued by the mention of body farms, or enjoy watching the, sometimes gruesome, cgi recreations of bullet tracks and injuries in CSI, then Stiff is probably the book for you. Also, if you've ever wondered what might happen when a body is donated to medical science, then one of the possible uses is likely to be documented here.
Stiff is a book that illustrates the various uses of human cadavers in today's world, as well as what history has done with them. And it does so in an often surprisingly humourous way, whilst remaining respectful of the subject matter.
This is definitely not a book for the squeamish though. If your stomach is one to flip and roll at the sight of blood and televised operations, descriptions about decomposition, and some of the other things a cadaver might be put through, then I would suggest you read something else. Whilst a fascinating book, I doubt one would enjoy reading it if if one felt queasy doing so.
Mary Roach's book documents the use of cadavers over the ages, from the very first anatomical dissections, to the roles they now play in aiding forensics, furthering surgery, gathering accident and crash impact data, and other, sometimes much weirder, experiments and research.
She also looks at the history of cadaver donation, including the graverobbing of the 19th century, and the history and possible future of how we dispose of our remains.
I found this book incredibly fascinating, describing uses for cadavers that I had never even considered, and which often go unmentioned to the world at large because of the reactions some people might have, even though the service these cadavers provide is immeasurable and helps us in so many different aspects of our daily lives. Cadavers provide a priceless service to us all, and do so quietly and humbly, and we have much to thank those people for, those who are willing to donate themselves to this purpose.
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In a way a shame, because the book was so filled with interesting things that you just want to go "did you know...?", and now I lacked an eager audience ;)
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Unfortunately, most of the LJ communities I've seen related to forensics seem to be filled with either posts from people wanting to find study options or get into it as a career, or teenagers who get off on rotten.com images of death and dying. Personally, I just like to watch Discovery channel forensic science shows and read murder mysteries and books about criminalism - it's just... interesting, I guess. I don't think I'm a particularly morbid person, drooling over gruesome details, I just like the detective work side of crime and medicine.
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I think it's because the vast majority of people dislike death, and try to avoid any mention of it as much as they can. And I'm sure they especially do not savour thinking about what happens to you when you die, and the icky unglamourous reality of it, let alone what medical science puts cadavers through.
And you're definitely not alone in thinking it's interesting, just for interesting's sake. The various little things that can point out what happened, when and how, fascinating. It's basically a giant and intricate puzzle.