Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

A most interesting book, provided the reader is not among the vast ranks of the squeamish or those who prefer to be ignorant of the physical realities of human existence and what happens to the body after life ends. Roach researched the book well, and what she wrote near the end, on cremation and the more environmentally friendly alternatives to the great heat of cremation, is as timely and pertinent now as when she wrote it.

I defy anyone to dislike a book whose first sentence is "The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship." Mary Roach's grand tour of the afterlives of corpses makes for compelling--and very often hilarious--reading. The book opens with the first of many colorful scenes, a roomful of plastic surgeons practicing their grotesque (at the best of times) trade on a bunch of severed heads. "The heads have been put in roasting pans--which are of the disposable aluminum variety--for the same reason chickens are put in roasting pans: to catch the drippings." As this passage illustrates, the author keeps the tone of her book light. She is a clever writer, and she makes the sorts of observations of her grim material that the Mystery Science Theater bots might make. But however light her touch, Roach is describing some truly horrific things. There is, for example, the body farm at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where bodies go to rot for science, their skin sloughing off and their genitalia bloating in full view of researchers and their guests--who leave with their footwear uncleanably soiled with the "liquids of human decay." There is the graduate student who composted a ne'er-do-well to see how efficacious a means of disposal mulch-making might be for third-world countries. ("And because the man was buried whole, Evans had to go out with a shovel and rake to aerate him three or four times.") And there is Roach's attempt--failed--to verify the details of a 1991 Reuter's article which claimed that "a man who worked in a crematorium in Hainan Province was caught hacking the buttocks and thighs off cadavers prior to incineration and bringing the meat to his brother, who ran the nearby White Temple Restaurant." Roach hired an interpreter to facilitate her discussion with the director of the crematorium she believed had employed the buttock-hacker. But how to explain to the interpreter what she needed to know? "In the cab, I tried to think of a way to explain to Sandy what I was about to have her do. I need you to ask this man whether he had an employee who cut the butt cheeks off cadavers to serve in his brother's restaurant. No matter how I thought of phrasing it, it sounded ghastly and absurd. Why would I need to know this? What kind of book was I writing?" For those with a strongish stomach, Mary Roach's book is, really, a delightful read. And eye-opening. And unlike most books, it may have the quite real effect of influencing your after-lifestyle choices.

One would not think a book all about cadavers could be anything but morbid and gross, but this book is entertaining and informative and funny. Mary Roach makes the subject approachable and educational. I had no idea about the many “lives” of cadavers. Includes an interesting chapter on burial/cremation/composting.

This book is marvelously original. For starters: the subject material. The subject material is interesting to say the least as well as squeamish, gross, weird, detailed, well researched, repulsively descriptive. In summary something that a normal person would not find themselves reading in their freetime. Imagine my utter surprise when I found myself completely enthralled in this book. I woke up deep in a world of cadavers and dead people and actually learned something as well as had a good time doing it. The exceptional reading experience stems from the tone and voice of the author, Mary Roach. Roach uses interjections with random stories, funny experiences, jokes and her personal running commentary to engage the reader. This alone made this book great to me, but another good aspect of the book is the wide variety of fields it covers. Even though some chapters I had no initial curiosity about, others piked my interest. Such as the chapters on crash dummies, promession as well as the history of taxonomy. And lastly, Roach does manage to find a conclusion among the diverse and divergent tangents, topics and fields that make up the book. But be warned, this is not a book for those who can’t stand blood and guts, although if you managed to get through the book ‘All quiet on the western front’ by Erich Maria Remarque then you will be fine. In short, I highly recommend this funny and engaging book to all those who think they can handle it.

Ein sehr schönes Buch über die verschiedenen Möglichkeiten was nach dem Tod mit einer Leiche geschieht. Zum Beispiel als Crashtest-Dummies, für Schönheits-OP-Übungen, etc. Ich dachte es würde mehr um die Prozesse im Körper nach dem Tod gehen (Verwesung etc.), aber da hatte ich mich nicht genug informiert. Statt dessen habe ich dennoch viel gelernt darüber, wofür Leichen genutzt werden und kann dieses tolle und auch leicht humoristische Buch nur weiter empfehlen!

Sorry, haven’t read it yet but looks like a novel worth reading. Hey, it happens to us all one day so we should know the gruesome details of becoming a “stiff”!

A wonderful book, with lots of helpful and humorous information about the human body and what we can all look forward as we age and die! I'm a big fan of Mary Roach's writing style and approach

Good condition. Thank you!

Things I took away from this book: (1) It's fascinating and often (more often than not in fact) quite funny, but it's also divisive, there'll be many readers who will have opposing views on the material it contains; no bad thing because it should open conversations and discussions about subjects that are little talked about. (2) I want to leave my body to science if possible (and if required). (3) I want as ecological an ending to my remains as possible if (2) isn't possible. (4) Mary Roach must have had an absolute ball researching it, travelling to exotic (and not so exotic) places around the world and chatting with some wonderful characters from various fields of medical, scientific, military, and other careers related to the topic. This brilliant book should be required reading on the curriculum at all high schools, colleges and universities to alleviate the discomfort many people have around discussing the end of life. There should be TV documentary series made from it and educational DVDs released about it, it's that good, it dispels a lot of myths around many practices from the past and explains the laws and restraints that govern the use of the dead in modern times. On top of all of that, it exposes the reader to cultural anomalies with regard to life and death, from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the USA. It isn't exhaustive but it is in depth, it's extremely well written and brings some levity to an otherwise 'grave' topic.