Dissecting Death: Secrets of a Medical Examiner (ISBN 0767918800)

A Cut Above:
This is one of the better popular forensics books I've read. Zugibe doesn't display the egotism that you feel seeping into the recently published books of a number of other well-known medical examiners/coroners/forensics experts and that casts some doubt on their conclusions. You have a sense that Zugibe is allowing the facts to speak to him directly, without letting a screen of self-aggrandizement get between him and his subjects. There are good sections analyzing bullet wounds. There is an interesting chapter summarizing the errors the investigators/prosecutors made in the O. J. Simpson case - errors that could rightfully have cast doubts in the jurors' minds about the validity of the evidence against O.J. Then there is an interesting chapter refuting the factual basis of Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ." I was just thinking how relatively level-headed and normal Zugibe was in comparison with some of the prima donnas in the field, when he revealed that he had studied crucifixion for fifty-two years, and so was well-qualified to pronounce on the accuracy of Gibson's movie. Fifty-two years studying crucifixion? That gave me pause. Nevertheless, the information he presents is telling. He says that from a medical point of view, Jesus could not humanly have remained alive, much less conscious, during the punishment he's shown receiving in this movie. Zugibe also found other inaccuracies, some of which are more common in movies about Jesus. For example, he says that Roman crucifixion never entailed having the victim drag his entire cross through the streets. The weight of the actual crosses would have made that impossible. Rather the Romans just had the victims shoulder one partial beam. I didn't expect to find this bonus of history in a book of forensic case studies. Zugibe also has a few things to say about the Jon Benet Ramsey case that I hadn't read before. However this chapter shows again how much of forensics is still an inexact science. There can be as many interpretations of the evidence as there are forensic scientists. So while each analysis here is enlightening and adds to the picture, the main lesson you'll probably learn from this book is - you can't take any one scientist's opinion as gospel.

You won't be able to put this one down....:
If you have any interest at all in forensic investigations, like to watch CSI, Foresnsic Files, Cold Case Files or Law and Order, this book is a MUST BUY. I literally could not put it down until I was finished! Easy read, ten case files that will have you riveted page after page. Ends with blunders in investigations.

Impressive Display of Logic and Science:
Using eleven of his most challenging cases, Dr. Zugibe takes readers through the analytic process followed by good pathologists. He then concludes "Dissecting Death" with reflections on two major murder cases that did not result in conviction - Jon Benet Ramsey, and O.J. Simpson. Zugibe also points out that until the early 1960's, most crime-solving bureaus in the U.S. worked under the old coroner system - staffed mainly by pharmacists, laymen, general practitioners, or even undertakers. Most of the high-tech equipment routinely used today had not yet been invented. Then major leaps were made in analyzing fingerprints, body fluids, tissues, and trace materials. My major "take-away" from "Dissecting Death" is that a competent pathologist is essential to good law enforcement, and that we are fortunate to have them. As for the Jon Benet Ramsey case, the most important failing raised by Dr. Zugibe was the delay in allowing the medical examiner to enter the scene and examine the body. However, it is also doubtful that this would have made much, if any difference. The O.J. case, however, suffered from at least three major prosecutorial blunders: 1)Requesting that O.J. try the suspected murder glove on - despite the fact that moisture makes leather shrink and it was very unlikely to have fit. 2)Trying to educate the jury on DNA with too many details. 3)Failing to admit that there had been some evidence-handling errors and that there were problems with Fuhrman's racial beliefs - and then insisting that the key issue was the fact that DNA evidence was the key - it DOES NOT provide false positives!

In a word: fantastic!:
Amazing book from begin to finish. If you thought The Crucifixion of Jesus was a good book, you really gotta check this one out. Dr.Zugibe is in his prime here; and the cases presented make this book a must for any forensic professional or just lay people that can find the subject attractive. A page turner!

"Dead Men Do Tell Tales" is much better than this!:
As I read this book, I felt like the author was talking down to his readers, as if they were too stupid (or such huge fans of CSI) that they couldn't fully comprehend what he was doing throughout. Granted, not everyone picking up this book is going to have a background in police work or forensic sciences, but the individuals seeking out and reading this type of fare are above being treated like simpletons. I am a forensic anthropologist and even I felt sneered at when reading this.