Death's Acre: Inside the legendary 'Body Farm' [Paperback]

As background along the way, we are also treated to a brief history of forensic anthropology. We see the development of the science, and how crucial techniques investigators now use in their work first came into being. The “body farm”, of course, does feature, sometimes very heavily, but it is not really the focus of the book. Still, readers who pick this up solely for a book about the farm shouldn’t be disappointed; we still discover plenty about it and its history, still get an insight into its workings, the methods of those who work there to investigate the processes at work on the body after death, and still get plenty of anecdotes about how the work at the body farm has helped in many forensic cases. There’s a wealth of information, but there is a lot more about other general matters.

“Death’s Acre” is possibly the perfect book for anyone who is marginally interested in forensics. It doesn’t glorify it by any means (anyway, is it possible to truly glorify decaying flesh?) or remove any of the unpleasantness, but it does present it in a riveting light. It treats its subject with respect, and goes into a detail that is fascinating but never brutal or exploitive.

It is also a strangely warm book. There’s a strong humanity which comes through from Dr Bass himself. He both loves his subject and hates that it is necessary. It is his personality which softens this book, gives it its compassion and humour and removes some of the harsh edge. Some may not welcome that, but I did. It may cover a sometimes unpleasant topic, but it is strangely comforting.

Something else that makes this such an interesting and unthreatening read is the language. Techniques are explained well (even if the writing does feed off a truly American adulation of acronyms) and the science comes to life.

There are a couple of downsides, though. At times, the descriptive writing is rather awkwardly melodramatic. Phrases are thrown in to add drama and instead had me rolling my eyes. “Dr Snow and I were located in Lexington, just thirty miles from the scene of that early-morning truck collision. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was about to collide head-on with my future,” for example. This sort of overblown language just didn’t sit right. For the most part, though, is well-told and entertaining to read, and I admit that I did think a one or two of the descriptions were rather inspired, as in the case of “a rattlesnake with a neck as thick as a grave-digger’s wrist”.

I must also admit that by the finish the constant flow of unidentified bodies was growing tiresome. There are a quite of few of these sorts of cases covered in detail, and I got a little bored of our team of intrepid investigators receiving phone calls and tramping out to scenes, then having to undergo the arduous task of identifying skeletons again and again. It was interesting the first couple of times, but by the end I felt so acquainted with the process that I was keen to have a bash myself and get it over with. (“Ah, yes. The pubic symphysis has clearly ossified. From this I can conclude that our victim was…”)

Overall, though, this is warm, entertaining and informative trawl through the history and techniques of forensic anthropology, Dr Bill Bass’s life, and the body farm. For those interested in the subject (and I imagine many who read crime fiction are) then this comes highly recommended.

The fact remains that the study of death in all its aspects is
valuable not only for the secrets of the human story it holds, but one of immense moral significance because it reveals indisputable truths about certain events - and it is truth alone that can alone attain that highest human ideal of justice.

Dr. Bass has done us a great service in enabling the ordinary person a close view of the value of the study of the death process and how he has achieved this remarkable advance in forensic science. I look forward with anticipation to finding and studying his academic articles and works.