[.ca] Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner (ISBN 0804105995)

From Amazon.com:
Forensic pathologist Michael Baden was a medical examiner in New York City for more than 25 years. Now he works for the New York State Police and teaches forensic medicine. This engrossing book covers: (1) several famous cases, including Baden's personal re-examination of the autopsy findings for Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy; (2) unusual cases Baden had as medical examiner for NYC, such as an autopsy on a dining room table at the Plaza Hotel; (3) how medical examiners decide on means of death, with a section on poisons; (4) the history of coroners and medical examiners since 12th century England; (5) disturbing politics involved in the office of the Chief Medical Examiner of NYC; (6) identification of the dead; (7) time of death; (8) multiple-murder cases; (9) an almost perfect murder; (10) close calls, including near deaths during sex; (11) cases of mistaken diagnosis; and (12) autopsy findings that shed light on what happened in the Attica uprising.

When great stories go bad:
This book had amazing potential in its premise alone: the former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City gives us insight into the medical (and often political) twists and turns behind the scenes of highly publicized unnatural deaths. Unfortunately, this book turned out to be a HUGE letdown. The writing was poor and often confusing. Not a smooth read by any means - very fragmented, scattered and random. The stories themselves pull you in because they are interesting, true and controversial, but then the author leaves you with about a dozen loose ends and unanswered questions. For example, in Chapter 11, he talks about the murder of Gail Morris. We are taken through the story only to be left hanging at the end. Why did Leonard Barco confess? Too many important details are left out. I feel like I only read half a book. Then, there is the story of Miriam Weinfeld (Chapter 5). Baden claims that she could not have been raped because her hymen was intact, making her a virgin. This is misleading, since that is not a definitive test of virginity (it is possible for a small percentage of women have an elastic hymen, which does not break). So, for someone who does know that, that definitive statement is misleading. Little details like this - statements made without any qualifications - made me distrust the book. I am sure Michael Baden has some great stories to tell (and is obviously qualified to tell them), but the writing screwed them up. It's too bad...it could have been an incredible book.

Interesting But Jaded:
In 1977, Congress set up the Select Committee on Assassinations to look into JFK's assassination. Baden was in charge of the forensic pathology investigation and set up a panel of nine medical examiners. Others investigated the non-forensic areas. Baden feels that the conspiracy theories abounded due to a poor medical-legal autopsy performed on the president by Commander Humes who'd never done one before. Baden feels these theories still abound because he was not allowed to testify about the committee's forensic findings. The Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that theirs was a second gunman based on acoustical evidence. I think the book was poorly organized. In his Introduction, Baden explains the science of forensic pathology. He followed this with a chapter on Heroes and Conspiracies possibly for the sensationalism. It makes more sense to follow the explanation of forensic pathology with the following chapter order History, The Education of a Medical Examiner, Autopsy, Manhattan Postmortem (about city politics and how they interfere with ability of the ME to do his job), Earthly Remains, Time of Death then Heroes and Conspiracies with the remaining chapters in the same order. The book provides a lot of valuable information on the profession however I recommend reading Cause of Death (which I also reviewed) by Cyril Wecht, M.D., J.D. with Mark Curriden and Benjamin Wecht for the story behind JFK's assassination. Wecht was also on the Select Committee on Assassinations.

excellent and fascinating nonfiction:
You might have seen Dr. Michael Baden as a guest commentator on the cable news shows or as a featured expert on HBO's Autopsy series. He's one of the best forensic pathologists in the country, and he's written a definitive and concise treatment of his profession in Unnatural Death. Near the front of the book is one of the best and most convincing segments on the JFK assasination and the single bullet theory. This alone makes the book worth getting, especially if you want a solid but short objective treatment of the single bullet theory (and don't want to delve into Gerald Posner's Case Closed). But that's just the beginning. Baden goes on to look at a variety of celebrity deaths and types of deaths through the eyes of the forensic pathologist. He makes a great case for the need for this specialty and for how much it can contribute to society by a fuller understanding of death and its processes. The celebrity parts are reminiscent of the Coroner books by Thomas Noguchi (which I would also recommend if you're into this sort of thing), but it's the comprehensive treatment of the specialty of forensic pathology that sets this book apart.

The best of the two . . .:
I thought this book was better than Michael Baden's other book "Dead Reckoning." This was a very interesting read. I learned a few things about the industry of medical examiners and forensics. I wouldn't recommend this book to those who have a weak stomach, because the author doesn't hold back the details in quite a few areas of the book. For those people who love C.S.I. (you know, that popular forensic television show?) or are simply curious about the industry this book will be an interesting read! I even gave this book to some friends of mine and they enjoyed it just as much as I did. The style of writing makes the topic easy to understand for the average Joe Smoe. Good book, I like it!

Not a great as I wanted it to be.:
I was looking forward to a good read about forensics and how the ME's office helps the police and court case. This book was a bit of a disappointment. Dr. Baden went through a lot professionally, both with case experience and in the political arena, but all of this is brushed over in this book. There are (what I feel to be) good introductions to several cases that were highly publicized in their day, but the depth of explainations and case history and character development leaves something to be desired.