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Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
written by Mary Roach
Studio : W. W. Norton & Company
by W. W. Norton & Company
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Released : 2004-05
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780393324822
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 354 reviews)
List Price : $13.95
Our Price : $6.78
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Product Description |
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"One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year....Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting."—Entertainment Weekly 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. |
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Interesting... but makes your stomach churn |
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Lots of interesting facts and I was impressed at how the author managed to write about this subject. Seriously, if someone told me they were going to write a book about cadavers and it was going to be a best seller, I wouldn've thought they were crazy. That being said, Mary Roach did manage to write a best selling book on the subject, although some of the information and description of the facts made my stomach churn. Maybe I'm just squeamish, but her descriptions on the way the human cadaver were used throughout history made me a bit nauseous. Also, I don't know why people thought this book was hilarious. Interesting maybe, but hilarious? I don't see it. Some of the facts she uncovered were amusing (in an interesting way,) but I didn't fall down laughing. If you're interested in knowing what happens to human cadavers and has a strong stomach, then this book is pretty informative, but if you want a funny book, go somewhere else. |
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Funny, gross, interesting, riveting! |
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This was one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. The author really cuts to the chase and asks the questions everyone really want to know. I could not believe how laugh out loud funny this book was, yet she was never disrespectful to the topic, the people she interacted with, nor the "dearly departed". I recommend this to anyone who has even the slightest interest in what happens to our bodies after death. It has opened my eyes to some choices I didn't know I had (composting is intriguing...). I am so glad she didn't include pictures. |
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All the answers to questions you wanted to ask, but didn't want to say outloud... |
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If you have ever wondered to yourself what happens to bodies when they die, this book offers that and more. Much more. I was astounded at what is done - both stateside and abroad - with the physical body. Who'da thought? The humor keeps you from being entirely grossed out and I found myself somewhere between morbid fascination and uncontrollable laughter. Super book. |
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4.5 stars-Things to do when you're dead |
This book is an enthralling read about journey of the cadaver. Roach goes into great detail about things like organ donation, medicinal uses, crime scene usage, cannibalism and a whole host of research and experimentation that have been done to cadavers. Also covered are ways to dispose of your own corpse-compost heap anyone?
This book is not for the squeamish. Roach goes into very detailed accounts of every trial a cadaver is put through. So if you don't like watching surgery on TV, I would not recommend this book.
I found this book much easier to read than Bonk, Roach's book about the history of sex research. The material is not as dry and the book never bogs down like Bonk did. In fact, when I reviewed Bonk, I gave it 4 stars but after reading Stiff I would give it only 3. |
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Don't judge a book by its cover, or its title . . . |
Had I done so, I would have missed out on one of the funniest books I've read in a very, very long time. When I first saw this book I asked myself, "who in the right mind would write a book about dead bodies?" Even more disturbing to me was, "why would anyone want to read such a book?" Just the same, I thought I'd pick it up and glance through it (maybe that could be called the "National Enquirer Effect?"). Surprisingly, my cursory glance through it seemed to tell me that this might, just might be interesting to read.
I did not; however, decide to purchase it right away. Instead, I looked at a lot of other books (all of which seemed to on more altruistic topics) before I finally decided to pick up a copy on my way to the checkout counter. Even though, I couldn't help but wonder - what is the clerk going to think of me if I buy a book on DEAD BODIES.
Then, to compound matters, I came down with a summer cold (what could be worse?) later that evening and, not feeling like doing anything (even reading was tough) so I picked up what I thought might be the most mindless (no pun intended) book in my pile of things to read - and this was a no-brainer. While I'm not quite over the horrible summer cold yet (between the meds, sleeping, and normal cold things), I've spent the last couple of days laughing all the way through this amazingly hilarious and yet highly informative book (I admit, I have had to put it down many times whenever my coughing hacks and postnasal drip got the best of me).
Stiff was not only highly entertaining (and a good respite from the death grip my cold had on me), but was actually an extremely fascinating and enlightening look about one of the most taboo topics in our culture - what happens to our bodies after they die. Not wanting to provide any spoilers (many others already have), I will say that Roach looks at just about everything imaginable (with the exception of turning your dead grandmother into a diamond - a process that may not have yet been invented at the time Stiff was written).
Never in a million years would I have thought I might recommend a book on cadavers to anyone. After reading Stiff, I would recommend this book without hesitation - believe me, it'll just kill you. :) |
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