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a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
bronzemist's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Gore, Excrement, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
sophiemartin's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
tpal_'s review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Excrement, Cannibalism, and Car accident
Minor: Abortion
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder
katieimre's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma
jenmcvay's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death
jhbandcats's review against another edition
5.0
Dead bodies have all sorts of potential futures. At a funeral home they can be embalmed, cremated, or dissolved via aquamation. Donated to science, they can work in med school anatomy labs, be subjected to crashes to analyze car and airplane safety, decompose naturally to assist forensic scientists in determining time of death, or be used in surgery continuing education classes.
Roach details the history of dead bodies, including stories on Burke and Hare's murder and grave robbery scheme and the first anatomy classes. She talks about failed whole head transplant operations; body composting; and bullet, bomb, and landmine studies to improve body armor. Her curiosity drives her to ask unexpected and occasionally inappropriate questions.
I think Mary Roach is a fabulous author. I'm glad I reread this fascinating book. She has taught me so much that I likely couldn't learn elsewhere. I can't recommend this highly enough.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
bxtskr's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
hanarama's review against another edition
4.0
• Science
• Non-fiction
• Single topic
• Conversational
In Stiff, Mary Roach investigates our relationship to human corpses. Through history and into modern day, Roach explores how we feel about dead bodies as well as how they have helped us advance science and medicine.
I love non-fiction books focusing on single topics or phenomena, and this is no exception. Though lacking in a narrative, Roach allows the subject matter to work as a throughline through the chapters, creating a sense of cohesion as the book moves from donated bodies in anatomy labs, to crash tests, and to some truly horrifying mad science.
Roach's conversational writing makes Stiff easily digestible. It's a fast and easy read, and often feels as though an acquaintance is sharing this information with you over coffee.
Perhaps my only gripe is that Roach lets personal opinion color some of the chapters on alternative burial. Outside of the decapitation/head transplant chapter, this is the only time it feels like Roach is uncomfortable. Today more people are thinking about their death wishes and considering alternative burial, and I feel like Roach was a bit dismissive towards these methods. If we're going to be death positive, we should be more open to different methods of internment.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, and Car accident