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Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
by Mary Roach
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers (some willingly, some unwittingly) have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.
In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries; from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting. In her droll, inimitable voice, Roach tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.
Review:
"Fascinating, unexpectedly fresh and funny look at the multiplicity of ways in which cadavers benefit the living....Informative, yes; entertaining, absolutely." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review:
"Roach's dry, irreverent wit makes for a delightful — though never disrespectful — read." Les Simpson, Time Out New York
Review:
"[A] book as informative and respectful as it is irreverent and witty....Even Roach's digressions and footnotes are captivating, helping to make the book impossible to put down." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review:
"A laugh-out-loud funny book....[O]ne of those wonderful books that offers enlightenment in the guise of entertainment." Washington City Paper
Review:
"As weird as the book gets, Roach manages to convey a sense of respect and appreciation for her subjects." Los Angeles Times
Review:
"One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year....Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting." Entertainment Weekly
Review:
"Roach displays her metier in tangents about bizarre incendents in pathological history. Death may have the last laugh, but, in the meantime, Roach finds merriment in the macabre." Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
Review:
"Fascinating and oddly fun." San Francisco Chronicle
Review:
"Acutely entertaining, morbidly fascinating." Forbes
Review:
"Our own instinctive discomfort with death provides fodder for Roach's dry sense of humor throughout the book." Ana Marie Cox, The Washington Post
Review:
"Roach exhibits both a keen sense of humor and a sincere respect for the dearly departed." American Scientist
Review:
"Roach's conversational tone and her gallows humor bring her subjects to life....Morbidly entertaining." Alex Abramovich, People Magazine
Review:
"Roach...goes into gruesome detail, but she also succeeds in not making the subject at hand too morbid." Kim Colton, Willamette Week (Portland, OR)
Review:
"As fascinating as it is funny....The research is admirable, the anecdotes carefully chosen, and the prose lively; and they combine to produce a book that everyone in the health care field should have to read, and everyone else will want to." Caleb Carr, author of The Alienist
Review:
"Droll, dark, and quite wise, Stiff makes being dead funny and fascinating and weirdly appealing." Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief
Synopsis:
Oddly compelling and often hilarious, Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.
About the Author
Mary Roach's writing has appeared in Salon, Wired, Outside, GQ, Discover, Vogue, and the New York Times Magazine; her column, "My Planet," appears monthly in Reader's Digest. She lives in San Francisco.
Table of Contents
Introduction 9
1 A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Practicing surgery on the dead 19
2 Crimes of Anatomy: Body snatching and other sordid tales from the dawn of human dissection 37
3 Life After Death: On human decay and what can be done about it 61
4 Dead Man Driving: Human crash test dummies and the ghastly, necessary science of impact tolerance 87
5 Beyond the Black Box: When the bodies of the passengers must tell the story of a crash 113
6 The Cadaver Who Joined the Army: The sticky ethics of bullets and bombs 131 7 Holy Cadaver: The crucifixion experiments 157
8 How to Know if You're Dead: Beating-heart cadavers, live burial, and the scientific search for the soul 167
9 Just a Head: Decapitation, reanimation, and the human head transplant 199
10 Eat Me: Medicinal cannibalism and the case of the human dumplings 221
11 Out of the Fire, into the Compost Bin: And other new ways to end up 251
12 Remains of the Author: Will she or won't she? 281
Acknowledgments 293
Bibliography 295
1 A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Practicing surgery on the dead 19
2 Crimes of Anatomy: Body snatching and other sordid tales from the dawn of human dissection 37
3 Life After Death: On human decay and what can be done about it 61
4 Dead Man Driving: Human crash test dummies and the ghastly, necessary science of impact tolerance 87
5 Beyond the Black Box: When the bodies of the passengers must tell the story of a crash 113
6 The Cadaver Who Joined the Army: The sticky ethics of bullets and bombs 131 7 Holy Cadaver: The crucifixion experiments 157
8 How to Know if You're Dead: Beating-heart cadavers, live burial, and the scientific search for the soul 167
9 Just a Head: Decapitation, reanimation, and the human head transplant 199
10 Eat Me: Medicinal cannibalism and the case of the human dumplings 221
11 Out of the Fire, into the Compost Bin: And other new ways to end up 251
12 Remains of the Author: Will she or won't she? 281
Acknowledgments 293
Bibliography 295
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 5 comments:
-
Tracy Bock, June 1, 2008 (view all comments by Tracy Bock)
Thoroughly entertaining read. Who would have thought a book about cadavers would be so compelling. Truly a diamond in the ruff!
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Shoshana, September 30, 2007 (view all comments by Shoshana)
Roach's enjoyable inquiry into the history and uses (and misuses) of human cadavers, while not exhaustive, explores emblematic activities (cremation, research, etc.). Roach is a genial guide, willing to endure a great variety of smells, body parts, and activities most of us prefer not to watch in order to pursue her narrative. She tells the tales entertainingly yet respectfully, and with obvious affection for both the living and the dead.
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mannabsn, March 20, 2007 (view all comments by mannabsn)
Excellent book - I couldn't put it down. Irreverently funny, it offers a unique insight into what happens to our bodies after our spirits have passed on. I recommend it to all!
View all 5 comments
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780393324822
- Subtitle:
- The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
- Author:
- Publisher:
- W. W. Norton & Company
- Subject:
- General
- Subject:
- History
- Subject:
- Anatomy
- Subject:
- Forensic Medicine
- Subject:
- Human experimentation in medicine
- Subject:
- Human dissection
- Copyright:
- 2004
- Edition Number:
- Reprint ed.
- Publication Date:
- May 2004
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Language:
- English
- Illustrations:
- Yes
- Pages:
- 303
- Dimensions:
- 8.26x5.64x.77 in. .63 lbs.
