Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We fat all creatures else to fat us, 4 Mar 2002
By A Customer
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.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Decomposing was never this much fun!, 26 April 2002
By A Customer
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.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply researched overview on forensic biology/anthropology, 2 April 2002
By A Customer
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?
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