This book tells you everything you ever wanted to know about what happens to bodies after they die. From a plastic surgeon's convention, where the doctors test out the latest nip n'tuck techniques on the recently expired, to the quest for the perfect crash test dummy, Mary Roach tracks down the dead and the people who spend their days with them. For 2000 years human cadavers have been at the forefront of scientific exploration. From testing the efficiency of the guillotine, experiments to weigh the soul, calibrating crash ...
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This book tells you everything you ever wanted to know about what happens to bodies after they die. From a plastic surgeon's convention, where the doctors test out the latest nip n'tuck techniques on the recently expired, to the quest for the perfect crash test dummy, Mary Roach tracks down the dead and the people who spend their days with them. For 2000 years human cadavers have been at the forefront of scientific exploration. From testing the efficiency of the guillotine, experiments to weigh the soul, calibrating crash test dummies, to advances in modern medicine such as heart transplants, the deceased body has been a silent partner to many of the major advances in the understanding of ourselves.
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Add this copy of Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers to cart. $93.50, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by W.W. Norton.
I picked up one for my daughter, who works in a hospital, one for myself, and one for a friend. The friend finished it first and was a bit grossed out by the last few chapters.
It is a grim topic, but handled with Mary Roach's arch humor. She holds her own with John Steward and Steven Colbert.
words1
Oct 28, 2010
surprisingly entertaining
This is a fascinating and well written book about a subject one would not think to be fascinating. The book is very respectful of the dead but amusingly entertaining about the subject as a whole. It is also a very informative book.
Chiroptera
Sep 24, 2009
Fascinating
What more can I say? Whether you've been struck with a morbid curiosity for the fate of corpses or a writer doing research on the effects of death on a body, you'll find just as much insight into the living as you will into the dead in this well-researched book.
Tammy2
Feb 2, 2009
Hilarious yet Informative!
Mary Roach is such a great author. I've also read her other book, Spook, about what happens when we die, spiritually. She's hilarious, I found myself literally laughing out loud while reading this book. Not only is she funny, but very, very informative. The book gives us an in-depth idea of what would happen to us if we donated our bodies to science and what an impact we can have on the future of it. Cadavers are used for so much more than we can think of! I strongly recommend this book, Mary Roach won't dissappoint you.
tbattey
Jan 29, 2009
Humor & Mayhem
This book held my interest thru the reading & had a good amount of humor in it. I recommend this book for a good read and something to put you in a good mood.
