- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New edition edition (1 May 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099435438
- ISBN-13: 978-0099435433
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 101,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
We all know something about forensic science, if only through TV cop serials and high-profile murder trials. But what can this 'science' (which even after thousands of years is still far from perfect or conclusive) really tell us about the time and cause of someone's death? Jennifer Snyder Sachs has created a fascinating (if sometimes very gruesome) study of the subject. It's partly a history of what her subtitle calls 'The Search for Death's Stopwatch', and partly a comprehensive account of the current state of the art in forensics - an art which has made substantial recent progress through the use of entomology. It's well written, and incidentally a must-read for budding detective fiction writers and anyone with a curiosity about some of the body's darker secrets.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Despite repeated claims and breakthroughs, forensic scientists are little better equipped to establish with any real degree of precision the exact time at which a victim of crime (or indeed anyone else, were there no witnesses) died. Over the last two centuries, scientists and detectives have attempted to rely on body temperature, evidence of rigor mortis and decomposition, the decay of the vitreous humor of the eye, the stages of digestion of the body's last meal, the progress of the insects that prey of dead bodies, all eventually without total conviction. Death is a gradual and highly variable business, dependent on a myriad of factors, and the expert witnesses at the trial of O J Simpson could be little more precise than the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. Gloriously written and ghoulishly fascinating, studded with the details of crucial cases, this is true crime at its most fascinating.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you're not afraid to look death in the face, TIME OF DEATH reveals the beauty in nature's waste-not/want-not recycling of the human body ... or any carcass, for that matter.
Sachs's sweeping history of time-of-death research shows that forensic types have long shied away from such a hard, unvarnished look at death. As a result, pathologists have been hosing off the autopsy table some of their most valuable clues--namely maggots. And who would have thought that the weeds beneath a corpse or the leaves and vines above it could be used as clocks to measure time since death?
There's a certain, delicious irony in the fact that so-called "soft scientists" (ecologists, botanists, entomologists, and the like) are succeeding where all the high-tech forensic approaches have failed. Sachs describes this newest forensic approach in vivid detail and takes us on lots of actual cases.
Fun, enjoyable reading. The gruesomeness is well tempered by Sachs's appreciation for the beauty in nature.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Remember "Green Eggs & Ham"? This book is not at all like that one. But the moral of Dr. Seuss' classic holds true with respect to "Time of Death": Don't be put off by outward appearances, something that looks or sounds bad might actually be quite good.
First time author Snyder Sachs takes a forbidding subject and makes it both interesting and, more importantly, a pleasure to read. Whether in a plane, on a beach, or at bedtime, "Time of Death" will hold your attention. But wait, the real fun starts when you put the book down and discuss the subject matter with your friends and family. The mention, for example, of "maggots churning across a nearly severed neck" has never failed to attract attention in a crowded room.
I know what you're thinking: "icky!" but that brings us back to Dr. Seuss. The beauty of Snyder Sachs' pace and prose prevents the reader from turning away in disgust. On the contrary, while piquing the morbid curiosity in all of us, "Time of Death" begins on a dignified, lively plane and remains there -- "Time of Death" is anything but dead. It may not be your usual subject matter for light reading but it is well worth it. Say, I do like green eggs & ham.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you missed the chance to meet the slightly oddballish but at the same time most interesting forenic guys from the U.S. who work on insects found on corpses, know all about how the bones of a 40-year old black male should look like, or how long it takes for a sunflower to grow on a corpse, this is the book for you. The author did an amazing job in contacting more or less all well-known scientists from the U.S. forensic biology/anthropology crowd. Since some of Snyder-Sachs' protagonists wrote their own books, you can even use those to go a little deeper into biographical, or scientific detail. Meanwhile, „Corpse" will give you a popular, deeply researched overview over the field of postmortem interval determination. The book has lots of drive since it goes from case report to case report, plus it will give you a good idea about how the forensic people work, think and behave.
Being a European reader, I also like the fact that some historical remarks found their way into the book. But don't be afraid, it's not dry numbers but mostly case reports again. If you are a non-U.S. reader, you may find it interesting to learn more about the variety of scientific methods that were checked and approved by the legal system in the U.S., and to compare it to your own.
As a forensic scientist, I am also glad that „Corpse" is out now since many of my undergraduate students cannot tell the difference between what happens at the „Body Farm", a Chief Medical Examiner's Office, and an Institute for Forensic Entomology. If they keep pestering me, I'll just send the next forensic generation to the library (which is a good place to visit, anyway). There, „Corpse" will tell them all in the best possible popular way.
However, you absolutely don't need to be a student to enjoy the book. It will make a good bathtub, or late night, or train ride read for anyone interested in criminalistic techniques, stories, and deduction. And who would not be?
Being a European reader, I also like the fact that some historical remarks found their way into the book. But don't be afraid, it's not dry numbers but mostly case reports again. If you are a non-U.S. reader, you may find it interesting to learn more about the variety of scientific methods that were checked and approved by the legal system in the U.S., and to compare it to your own.
As a forensic scientist, I am also glad that „Corpse" is out now since many of my undergraduate students cannot tell the difference between what happens at the „Body Farm", a Chief Medical Examiner's Office, and an Institute for Forensic Entomology. If they keep pestering me, I'll just send the next forensic generation to the library (which is a good place to visit, anyway). There, „Corpse" will tell them all in the best possible popular way.
However, you absolutely don't need to be a student to enjoy the book. It will make a good bathtub, or late night, or train ride read for anyone interested in criminalistic techniques, stories, and deduction. And who would not be?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fantastic and gruesome
If you are looking for a book to fascinate, inspire and educate you then this is it. What these people do in the name of science is awesome. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Ian M
Informative, compelling and fascinating
I am a philosopher rather than a scientist, but as kind of a hobby I have keen interest in crime and methods of detection. Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2003 by R D McLean
Deeply researched overview on forensic biology/anthropology
If you missed the chance to meet the slightly oddballish but at the same time most interesting forenic guys from the U.S. Read more
Published on 23 April 2002
Life After Death
Whether you enjoy a good murder mystery on occaision, or prefer watching a nature program on the Discovery Channel, you might well enjoy Corpse, as I did. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2002
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