[.ca] Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (ISBN 1400100976)

Engrossing To The End:
Mary Roach has taken it upon herself to research the history of cadaver research, which can't have been a barrel of laughs. Nevertheless, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a concise, intensely readable, frequently hilarious survey of the strange uses to which human bodies are put. "A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste" follows the author as she observes a group of surgeons giving face-lifts to decapitated heads. Sounds like a frivolous use for a body donated "to science," but plastic surgeons need to practice somewhere, and a corpse can't sue over a botched nose job. Roach points out that "heads aren't cut off out of ghoulishness. They are cut off so that someone else can make use of the other pieces: arms, legs, organs." And indeed, the unembalmed heads are treated respectfully, covered with cloths before and after the seminar; nobody's making impromptu hand puppets or throwing eyeballs around. They're here to learn, and the heads, though discomfiting, are an invaluable aid. "Crimes of Anatomy" explores the history of body-snatching. Historically, the religious believed that the physical body was necessary for resurrection, so people weren't too eager to hand over their ticket to heaven; for this reason, dissection was sometimes tacked on to a death sentence for particularly heinous crimes. Enterprising anatomists worked around the lack of donors by nabbing corpses out of graves, or hiring someone (who couldn't possibly have been paid enough) to do it for them. French anatomists had it easier, as the unclaimed bodies of those who died in city hospitals were up for grabs. Now that human anatomy is understood and exhaustively documented, whole-body dissection is being phased out; some schools are switching over to computer simulations. Still, this doesn't mean that the need for donated bodies has been eliminated. "Life After Death," one of my favorite chapters, explores the University of Tennessee Medical Center's body farm, where cadavers are dumped in a variety of positions and settings and carefully monitored. The objective is to learn more about the process of human decay and various factors affecting it; ultimately, this information can be used, among other things, to assist in solving crimes. There's a whirlwind tour of the decaying process, followed by an equally graphic description of modern-day embalming. Other chapters explore the use of human crash test dummies to develop safer automobiles; forensic analysis of human remains to help determine how accidents happened (as with TWA Flight 800); and the military applications of human remains for bullet and bomb testing. More colorful and gruesome are the stories on so-called "scientists" who used cadavers to prove the Shroud of Turin's authenticity; experiments on consciousness after decapitation and whole-head grafts; and the history of medicinal cannibalism. For fellow pragmatists, there are new options for corpse disposal; a pioneering Swede is working on human composting, and then there's "tissue digestion," which handily reduces your body to a small amount of sterile, flushable liquid. I find all this stuff fascinating, and Roach takes pains to keep it entertaining; she's aware of the absurdity and downright grossness of her topic, and presents the humor in all its reeking, rotting glory. Which is not to say that she makes jokes at the cadavers' expense; on the contrary, the author clearly has great respect for those who selflessly donate their bodies for medical advancement, and, without exception, so do the professionals of various fields with whom she meets. At UCSF, medical students hold a memorial service for their cadavers (they're assigned one each, and keep it all year long), just like a real one; floral arrangements are brought in, and students give speeches commemorating their cadavers, which are often named ("Not like `Beef Jerky.' Real names," explains one student). If nothing else, Stiff is a lively, informative account of cadaver research; but if it convinces people to donate their bodies to science, it will have served an even better purpose. Either way, you need to read this book before you die. Pick up a copy! Along with this book, another entertaining Amazon quick-pick I highly recommend is THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez.

You laugh, you'll cry, you'll vomit - and it's worth it all:
This book gets two severed thumbs up. I enjoyed it immensly, I just don't recommend reading it on your lunch hour - if you actually want to enjoy your lunch. Many fascinating and funny facts are packed into this little gem!

Engrossing To The End:
Mary Roach has taken it upon herself to research the history of cadaver research, which can't have been a barrel of laughs. Nevertheless, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a concise, intensely readable, frequently hilarious survey of the strange uses to which human bodies are put. "A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste" follows the author as she observes a group of surgeons giving face-lifts to decapitated heads. Sounds like a frivolous use for a body donated "to science," but plastic surgeons need to practice somewhere, and a corpse can't sue over a botched nose job. Roach points out that "heads aren't cut off out of ghoulishness. They are cut off so that someone else can make use of the other pieces: arms, legs, organs." And indeed, the unembalmed heads are treated respectfully, covered with cloths before and after the seminar; nobody's making impromptu hand puppets or throwing eyeballs around. They're here to learn, and the heads, though discomfiting, are an invaluable aid. "Crimes of Anatomy" explores the history of body-snatching. Historically, the religious believed that the physical body was necessary for resurrection, so people weren't too eager to hand over their ticket to heaven; for this reason, dissection was sometimes tacked on to a death sentence for particularly heinous crimes. Enterprising anatomists worked around the lack of donors by nabbing corpses out of graves, or hiring someone (who couldn't possibly have been paid enough) to do it for them. French anatomists had it easier, as the unclaimed bodies of those who died in city hospitals were up for grabs. Now that human anatomy is understood and exhaustively documented, whole-body dissection is being phased out; some schools are switching over to computer simulations. Still, this doesn't mean that the need for donated bodies has been eliminated. "Life After Death," one of my favorite chapters, explores the University of Tennessee Medical Center's body farm, where cadavers are dumped in a variety of positions and settings and carefully monitored. The objective is to learn more about the process of human decay and various factors affecting it; ultimately, this information can be used, among other things, to assist in solving crimes. There's a whirlwind tour of the decaying process, followed by an equally graphic description of modern-day embalming. Other chapters explore the use of human crash test dummies to develop safer automobiles; forensic analysis of human remains to help determine how accidents happened (as with TWA Flight 800); and the military applications of human remains for bullet and bomb testing. More colorful and gruesome are the stories on so-called "scientists" who used cadavers to prove the Shroud of Turin's authenticity; experiments on consciousness after decapitation and whole-head grafts; and the history of medicinal cannibalism. For fellow pragmatists, there are new options for corpse disposal; a pioneering Swede is working on human composting, and then there's "tissue digestion," which handily reduces your body to a small amount of sterile, flushable liquid. I find all this stuff fascinating, and Roach takes pains to keep it entertaining; she's aware of the absurdity and downright grossness of her topic, and presents the humor in all its reeking, rotting glory. Which is not to say that she makes jokes at the cadavers' expense; on the contrary, the author clearly has great respect for those who selflessly donate their bodies for medical advancement, and, without exception, so do the professionals of various fields with whom she meets. At UCSF, medical students hold a memorial service for their cadavers (they're assigned one each, and keep it all year long), just like a real one; floral arrangements are brought in, and students give speeches commemorating their cadavers, which are often named ("Not like `Beef Jerky.' Real names," explains one student). If nothing else, Stiff is a lively, informative account of cadaver research; but if it convinces people to donate their bodies to science, it will have served an even better purpose. Either way, you need to read this book before you die. Pick up a copy! Along with this book, another entertaining Amazon quick-pick I highly recommend is THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez.

Engrossing To The End:
Mary Roach has taken it upon herself to research the history of cadaver research, which can't have been a barrel of laughs. Nevertheless, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a concise, intensely readable, frequently hilarious survey of the strange uses to which human bodies are put. "A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste" follows the author as she observes a group of surgeons giving face-lifts to decapitated heads. Sounds like a frivolous use for a body donated "to science," but plastic surgeons need to practice somewhere, and a corpse can't sue over a botched nose job. Roach points out that "heads aren't cut off out of ghoulishness. They are cut off so that someone else can make use of the other pieces: arms, legs, organs." And indeed, the unembalmed heads are treated respectfully, covered with cloths before and after the seminar; nobody's making impromptu hand puppets or throwing eyeballs around. They're here to learn, and the heads, though discomfiting, are an invaluable aid. "Crimes of Anatomy" explores the history of body-snatching. Historically, the religious believed that the physical body was necessary for resurrection, so people weren't too eager to hand over their ticket to heaven; for this reason, dissection was sometimes tacked on to a death sentence for particularly heinous crimes. Enterprising anatomists worked around the lack of donors by nabbing corpses out of graves, or hiring someone (who couldn't possibly have been paid enough) to do it for them. French anatomists had it easier, as the unclaimed bodies of those who died in city hospitals were up for grabs. Now that human anatomy is understood and exhaustively documented, whole-body dissection is being phased out; some schools are switching over to computer simulations. Still, this doesn't mean that the need for donated bodies has been eliminated. "Life After Death," one of my favorite chapters, explores the University of Tennessee Medical Center's body farm, where cadavers are dumped in a variety of positions and settings and carefully monitored. The objective is to learn more about the process of human decay and various factors affecting it; ultimately, this information can be used, among other things, to assist in solving crimes. There's a whirlwind tour of the decaying process, followed by an equally graphic description of modern-day embalming. Other chapters explore the use of human crash test dummies to develop safer automobiles; forensic analysis of human remains to help determine how accidents happened (as with TWA Flight 800); and the military applications of human remains for bullet and bomb testing. More colorful and gruesome are the stories on so-called "scientists" who used cadavers to prove the Shroud of Turin's authenticity; experiments on consciousness after decapitation and whole-head grafts; and the history of medicinal cannibalism. For fellow pragmatists, there are new options for corpse disposal; a pioneering Swede is working on human composting, and then there's "tissue digestion," which handily reduces your body to a small amount of sterile, flushable liquid. I find all this stuff fascinating, and Roach takes pains to keep it entertaining; she's aware of the absurdity and downright grossness of her topic, and presents the humor in all its reeking, rotting glory. Which is not to say that she makes jokes at the cadavers' expense; on the contrary, the author clearly has great respect for those who selflessly donate their bodies for medical advancement, and, without exception, so do the professionals of various fields with whom she meets. At UCSF, medical students hold a memorial service for their cadavers (they're assigned one each, and keep it all year long), just like a real one; floral arrangements are brought in, and students give speeches commemorating their cadavers, which are often named ("Not like `Beef Jerky.' Real names," explains one student). If nothing else, Stiff is a lively, informative account of cadaver research; but if it convinces people to donate their bodies to science, it will have served an even better purpose. Either way, you need to read this book before you die. Pick up a copy! Along with this book, another entertaining Amazon quick-pick I highly recommend is THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez.

Caution - Read in public at your own risk.:
Picture sitting in an airport laughing until you cried while reading a book called "Stiff" with a picture of a cadaver on the front of it. I'm lucky I didn't get pulled aside at security. Every page of this unlikely book is a gem. I found myself reading out loud to anyone who would listen. Mary Roach has a curious mind and an entertaining way of writing and the two combined make for a top notch read.