Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (Alex Awards (Awards)) [Hardcover]

As fascinating as it is funny, as sensitive as it is probing. Above all an important account of how we treat the dead -- literally. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

As a book about dead bodies and how they are used by the living, the subject matter is macabre. But the author is clearly having such a good time with the material that you cannot help but read on in a state of appalled fascination. While plenty of the lurid stuff about dissection, body snatching, airplane and car crash victims is not actually new, it is convenient to have it all rescued from the twilight status of urban myth and dressed respectably between smart hardcovers. This is not, emphatically, a book about death and dying. It is about what is left behind once the business of living is done with. The author is able to write about her subject with a certain clinical detachment and black humour, but this is still not a book for the recently bereaved or for anyone looking forward to a long stay in hospital. And it is definitely not for any one planning to leave a body to medical science. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Droll, dark, and quite wise, Stiff makes being dead funny and fascinating and weirdly appealing --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Fascinating, unexpectedly fresh and funny . . Informative, yes; entertaining, absolutely. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

a book as informative and respectful as it is irreverent and witty. Roach has a fabulous eye and a wonderful voice ... impossible to put down. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Mary Roach is a journalist. She has written for Salon, Wired, GQ, Discover, Vogue and the New York Times Magazine. This is her first book. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.