Stiff

The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

304 pages

English language

Published May 10, 2004 by W. W. Norton & Company.

ISBN:
978-0-393-32482-2
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4 stars (1 review)

A hilarious and witty look into the history of using cadavers for science, grave diggers, and options to consider about your burial plan. A dark and uncomfortable subject made more palatable and downright funny.

12 editions

Review of 'Stiff' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Anecdotal science, or perhaps a anatomical travelogue. Humorous edutainment?

Mary Roach writes in a witty fashion about what she sees (and hears and smells and thinks), in this case about the remains of the living. This runs the gamut from funerals to body donation to decomposition, from medical schools to crematoria to freeze drying for fertilizer. Along the way we also visited cannibalism and transplant surgery, including a discussion of full-body transplant. Learned a few things, but it wasn't heavy on the science. Laughed out loud more than once - looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.