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1.56k reviews for:
Holtak vallatója: Nagy-Britannia első számú törvényszéki kórboncnokának emlékei – avagy élet a halál közelében
Richard Shepherd
4.22 AVERAGE
1.56k reviews for:
Holtak vallatója: Nagy-Britannia első számú törvényszéki kórboncnokának emlékei – avagy élet a halál közelében
Richard Shepherd
4.22 AVERAGE
in a stroke of accidental luck, this book revealed itself to have some fascinating relevance to the BLM movement occurring internationally right now, which assuaged my kinda icky feeling of reading something that, while interesting, was seemingly irrelevant to the current climate. about halfway through this book the author revealed the turn his career took that resulted in his increased involvement with reviewing, educating, and training "anyone whose job it is to restrain." This came after being the main forensic pathologist of too many cases in which people detained by police, or other government agencies which utilise physical force, died. He noted, of course, that a disproportionate amount of these victims were black, and the author became very involved in creating procedure a significantly safer and reduced need for physical restraint in any circumstance.
more generally, this book was a fascinating read, and i found myself constantly bugging my mum to read it after me so we could talk about. this man's career spans from a time in which DNA was only being talked about as potentially important to crime scenes to the death of princess diana and the tragedy of 9/11.
im now utterly convinced of the value of reading books by people whose entire careers have been entrenched with death and dead bodies - my view of death, dying, and dead bodies changes for the better and more informed with each book i read, not to mention the myriad of fascinating tidbits i know now.
more generally, this book was a fascinating read, and i found myself constantly bugging my mum to read it after me so we could talk about. this man's career spans from a time in which DNA was only being talked about as potentially important to crime scenes to the death of princess diana and the tragedy of 9/11.
im now utterly convinced of the value of reading books by people whose entire careers have been entrenched with death and dead bodies - my view of death, dying, and dead bodies changes for the better and more informed with each book i read, not to mention the myriad of fascinating tidbits i know now.
emotional
informative
slow-paced
I was completely blown away at the penmanship of Unnatural Causes, most non-fiction reads, especially those of a medical nature tend to be difficult to follow, as well as throwing in medical jargon without any explanation of what it means. Unnatural Causes is not like that at all, it reads as though it is a storyline, which it basically is I suppose. Dr Richard Shepherd has given us not only an insight into his professional life, but also a glimpse into his personal life - we mould a character that is a father, son, husband and forensic pathologist. We've been given a piece of the man behind the mask, for that reason I was able to fully embrace the book and emotionally / mentally submerge myself into the 'storyline'.
The beginning of this medical memoir we are met by Dr Shepherd who appears to be having what he believes to be a huge panic attack, a possible repercussion from his job as a forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, in which he questioned his occupation. This we learn could be the emotional ties to his first case bubbling over the cusp of his unconscious. From this point, we are drawn back to Richard's first case as a forensic pathologist - The Hungerford Massacre - from this first (hugely noted) case it descripts how far along forensic pathology has developed from having to wait for a computer to 'warm up' for an individual to type notes dictated by the pathologist, whereas contemporary practice would be a microphone, where the FP would type notes after carrying out the post-mortem(s).
As I've said, I had to keep telling myself that Unnatural Causes was of a non-fictional genre, it was rammed full of chilling details that at times you couldn't believe were true, the amount of information included was astronomical. Dr Richard Shepherd would talk about a case that he would present in court, such as the a case of SIDs that he was forensic pathologist for, when that term was fairly new - he linked the uncertainty of those types of cases to the hugely famous one of Sally Clark and the death of her two sons. This enables the reader to absorb the information by linking cases, visualising the more information and therefore understanding the points at hand.
The empathy that Dr Shepherd literates is both heart-breaking and admirable, you can see that forensic pathology isn't just a job for him but rather a calling. He believes that it is his job to provide the truth of what happened to the individuals who have died, whether lawfully or not. Only he can provide the truth; he speaks for them. They are not only body parts to him, they are someone's father, mother, son, daughter, sister etc. this read humanises the dead.
A number of people are afraid what happens to their body immediately after death, they see pathologists as hackers of the body - especially if they are carrying out a post - mortem on a loved one. Unnatural Causes not only delves into the details of a forensic autopsy, but also sheds some light on the use of a medical / clinical autopsy. For example, not only is an autopsy used as a tool to determine the cause of death, but also if the individual was on some form of treatment such as chemotherapy, it can be a learning tool concerning how the treatments affects on the human body, therefore helps to develop medicine.
This read isn't for the faint hearted, you will learn about cases that you didn't even know would exist without this read. One of the facts that I think will stick with me due to pure shock of reading it concerns babies! Apparently newborn babies are more like to mummify than purify due to them being relatively sterile *shivers*. Pathologists are also relied upon for safeguarding information, for example if a child dies within a family in suspicious circumstances, will any further children be at risk. Not all superheroes wear capes.
I could keep writing amazing things about this book! Overall, Unnatural Causes by Dr Richard Shepherd is a gripping non-fiction / medical memoir that will keep you compulsively turning the pages. Although it's packed to the brim with information it's not over complicated, it's quite layman's without being patronising or boring. An absolute excellent read! Superb!
The beginning of this medical memoir we are met by Dr Shepherd who appears to be having what he believes to be a huge panic attack, a possible repercussion from his job as a forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, in which he questioned his occupation. This we learn could be the emotional ties to his first case bubbling over the cusp of his unconscious. From this point, we are drawn back to Richard's first case as a forensic pathologist - The Hungerford Massacre - from this first (hugely noted) case it descripts how far along forensic pathology has developed from having to wait for a computer to 'warm up' for an individual to type notes dictated by the pathologist, whereas contemporary practice would be a microphone, where the FP would type notes after carrying out the post-mortem(s).
As I've said, I had to keep telling myself that Unnatural Causes was of a non-fictional genre, it was rammed full of chilling details that at times you couldn't believe were true, the amount of information included was astronomical. Dr Richard Shepherd would talk about a case that he would present in court, such as the a case of SIDs that he was forensic pathologist for, when that term was fairly new - he linked the uncertainty of those types of cases to the hugely famous one of Sally Clark and the death of her two sons. This enables the reader to absorb the information by linking cases, visualising the more information and therefore understanding the points at hand.
The empathy that Dr Shepherd literates is both heart-breaking and admirable, you can see that forensic pathology isn't just a job for him but rather a calling. He believes that it is his job to provide the truth of what happened to the individuals who have died, whether lawfully or not. Only he can provide the truth; he speaks for them. They are not only body parts to him, they are someone's father, mother, son, daughter, sister etc. this read humanises the dead.
A number of people are afraid what happens to their body immediately after death, they see pathologists as hackers of the body - especially if they are carrying out a post - mortem on a loved one. Unnatural Causes not only delves into the details of a forensic autopsy, but also sheds some light on the use of a medical / clinical autopsy. For example, not only is an autopsy used as a tool to determine the cause of death, but also if the individual was on some form of treatment such as chemotherapy, it can be a learning tool concerning how the treatments affects on the human body, therefore helps to develop medicine.
This read isn't for the faint hearted, you will learn about cases that you didn't even know would exist without this read. One of the facts that I think will stick with me due to pure shock of reading it concerns babies! Apparently newborn babies are more like to mummify than purify due to them being relatively sterile *shivers*. Pathologists are also relied upon for safeguarding information, for example if a child dies within a family in suspicious circumstances, will any further children be at risk. Not all superheroes wear capes.
I could keep writing amazing things about this book! Overall, Unnatural Causes by Dr Richard Shepherd is a gripping non-fiction / medical memoir that will keep you compulsively turning the pages. Although it's packed to the brim with information it's not over complicated, it's quite layman's without being patronising or boring. An absolute excellent read! Superb!
this was so good and fascinating, i learned so much from it!
I love a good medical memoir, so when I spotted Unnatural Causes I was definitely interested to read it. Richard Shepherd is a forensic pathologist who has dealt with some of the UK's biggest tragedies and this is his story.
At times it is a difficult read due to the fact that it deals with "mans inhumanity to man" as he says himself, and it is not nice to read about. His own personal journey and emotions were well written, and it is definitely an emotive read. Recommended for sure if you like medical non-fiction.
At times it is a difficult read due to the fact that it deals with "mans inhumanity to man" as he says himself, and it is not nice to read about. His own personal journey and emotions were well written, and it is definitely an emotive read. Recommended for sure if you like medical non-fiction.
CW: lots of graphic descriptions of dead bodies and assault, including babies.
This book was absolutely fascinating in every way. I haven't read anything about forensic pathology, so this was a really interesting read and left me with lots of prodding questions I never stopped to think about. Death, despite being the culmination of all life, is seldom talked about and this book tries to shed some light on the aftermath through the eyes of someone whose job is cutting up the dead.
This book was absolutely fascinating in every way. I haven't read anything about forensic pathology, so this was a really interesting read and left me with lots of prodding questions I never stopped to think about. Death, despite being the culmination of all life, is seldom talked about and this book tries to shed some light on the aftermath through the eyes of someone whose job is cutting up the dead.
So much more than what I was expecting! This is an incredible memoir of a life's work in forensic pathology, skimming over subjects such as the elasticity of truth; police brutality and racism in the UK; toxic masculinity; and PTSD. It gives a fascinating insight into the cases he worked, including Stephen Lawrence, 9/11, and Princess Diana.
informative
medium-paced
Absolutely excellent. A fascinating read about the life of a forensic pathologist, full of not just intriguing details about bodies and what we do to them, but also a lot of honesty about the emotional toll on the pathologist and the bereaved. Really compelling and extremely well and fluently written.
This is an exceptionally interesting book. It lost a star because I did not realise it was a biography and when it swung towards his personal life I did lose interest, but the closing chapters reveal why he wrote it. It is fascinating, harrowing, and heartbreaking.