Don't be afraid to whiff this Stiff.Cadavers can be fun.

books:

	• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Mary Roach W. W. Norton & Company, 2004 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 360 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Mary Roach is a RIOT

VERY Interesting book. I LOVE MARY ROACH STYLE'S OF WRITING

Couldn't Put It Down!!!!!

I'm the squeamish type. I can't watch the surgery shows on TV and have to turn away when there is too much violence in movies. But when I read the excerpt for this book on Amazon, I had to have it. From the moment it arrived I couldn't put it down!!!! What a fascinating read!!! Mary Roach approaches this subject with such humor and tact that you don't have a chance to feel disturbed or grossed out by the content. I laughed through most of this book at the many under-the-breath statements she makes; her wit is engrossing. This is now one of my favorite books ever!!! I recommend this book to everyone I talk to... the only problem is, most people don't want to discuss what happens to our bodies after we die and they get freaked out. Nonetheless, I can't say enough good things about this wonderful book!!!!!

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Don't be afraid to whiff this Stiff.Cadavers can be fun.

I am a psychiatric nurse so death is not so prevalent in my field. It occurs ever so often, mostly self inflicted, despite our best efforts to protect the patient from his or herself.It is inevitable and there is nothing we can do about it if the patient is that intent on doing themselves in, period,end of story.When I told my 13 year old daughter all about the book I just finished,about how cadavers or dead bodies could have such interesting lives after death,how I told her she would enjoy it, how interesting it would make her lunchtime conversation with her friends all she was able to say was ok dad, ewwwww as she ran upstairs.Despite her unseen review,I myself have to say that this is one cool book.I admire the candid, quite regular, friendly tone it delivers as if you were talking to a close friend about their uniquely, morbidly, exquisite report on what makes cadavers tick.The sometimes extended existance of said cadavers after death and how much we don't know about them,and just what is or can be done with them is explored in a reporter like fashion and is highly readable and you will fly through this book,guaranteed.Research mostly, but a myriad of other conventional and not so conventional uses that span the globe.Every culture has a viewpoint about what to do with or dispose of their dead.Roach tackles this with class and grace as well as a humorously good attitude.The journalistic approach is apparent as she goes after her prey.No one is immune including funeral directors,crematory bosses,airline and auto crash analysts and others,none are safe from her prying but sensitive approach.This book is a wonderful addition to the bookshelf of anybody who finds this stuff even remotely exciting.This is a book that can only lead one to future inquiry about the subject matter.It may make you think twice about taking an airplane or just what your plastic surgeon does to keep his skills fresh for your next nip and tuck.Stiff is for stiff upper lip readers who enjoy reading about the unseen,unreported world of our dearly departed, who sometimes travel more than most of us in a lifetime.

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Fantastic and Daring

Mary Roach has put together an absolute masterpiece. Wow! What a page turner. Many rave over her wit and humor, which are cunning and entertaining, but the content of this book is fascinating. It is well-researched and masterfully done.

The opening chapter takes the reader into a continuing education course for facial plastic surgeons. The catch is that each physician is to practice new techniques on a dismembered cadaver head situated in an oven roasting pan. Needless to say, the book quickly draws you in.

Ms. Roach then offers a synopsis of the history of human dissection in medical curricula. Details of body snatching and the sale of pilfered cadavers to upstanding, otherwise law-abiding, members of the medical community illustrate the social constraints on the advancement of medical knowledge that permeated the world for centuries. Also covered is the body decay unit at the University of Tennessee. Some may have seen documentaries on this facility on TLC, Discovery Channel. The unit is home to decaying cadavers, some buried in shallow graves, others left out in the elements and some of the more unfortunate left to bask in trunks of cars. The unit serves as a source of specimens for ongoing forensic science research. A fascinating, but gruesome place. Details about the biochemistry and entomology of human decay are offered, but, believe it or not, with a light and tasteful touch.

Mary Roach was allowed to enter and observe experiments in a human cadaver crash test lab. Come to find out, crash dummies are only useful for registering and analyzing the forces rendered on the body during collisions of various types. Knowledge about how much impact various human body parts can endure must be gleaned from experimentation on dead humans. Cadavers are brought into the lab, instrumented with sensors and subjected to impact with various hammer wielding contraptions. It's gruesome, but very necessary research that enables auto-makers to improve safety standards on our automobiles. Another fascinating chapter covers the forensic investigations of airline crashes. By identifying bodies and reconciling the inventory of remains with seating charts for the unfortunate flights, forensic teams are able to ascertain an incredible amount of information about the causes of crashes. For example, bombs blow bodies apart, fires scorch skin etc. Human free fall experiments are also mentioned. These studies allow us to understand the specific anatomic effects of impact after freefall.

Cadaver use in military research is yet another topic covered. The efficiency and effects of weapons on human tissues are researched simply by testing weapons on corpses, strangely enough. Crucifixion experiments are also mentioned in which cadavers have been hung on crosses to analyze the effects of being nailed to a cross. A very morbid set of experiments involving live volunteers being fixed to crosses in a pathologist's garage are reviewed. I'll spare you the details (don't want to spoil all the fun).

A chapter on the history of live burial is also included. I have always found the topic intriguing - probably due to the horror I feel when imagining awakening six feet under.

A very fascinating review of experiments conducted on freshly decapitated (French execution victims) heads is offered. The tests were conducted to test the theory that the brain functions for a few seconds after the head is cut from the body. Unfortunately, the victim cannot vocalize his or her horror due to being detached from the source of vocalization, the lungs.

Cannibalism is covered as well as moribund ancient medicinal remedies consisting of human cadaver derived concoctions of all kinds, excrement included. I know it sounds horrific, but I couldn't stop reading.

The book ends with the history of funerary practices including interment, cremation and newer digestion and composting methods.

This book ventures into the taboo; however, innate human curiousity will prevent you from putting it down. You may feel a bit guilty at times, "My God I'm actually reading about human buttock dumplings being served at a Chinese restaurant".

Get it, you will not be disappointed.

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reviews: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, page 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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