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nancyadelman's review against another edition
5.0
I don't remember where I ran across this title, but it doesn't much matter. This is a memoir of a Jewish Cantor who becomes a Physician's Assistant (PA) and takes a job working for the City of New York doing body removals and autopsies in the 1990's through the early 2000's. He describes his very Orthodox upbringing and a bit of his family life while also escorting the reader through his decision to become a medicolegal investigator and the subsequent training that he endured. He has a wealth of stories, about Rabbinical autopsies (which I did not know existed), how to do a proper autopsy from start to finish (just in case you wanted to start doing them in your garage, you know), and the many and varied secrets that the dead carry with them. As someone who is always interested in true crimes, I found this to be incredibly fascinating stuff.
He also writes for just under half the book or so about the events of 09/11 at the World Trade Center, and his involvement with locating and identifying the dead. Here are even more tidbits of information than you would have ever thought of....such as the body parts with an identification on them that didn't match the owner of the body part, or the task of how to categorize all of the body parts and how to match them up with their grieving family members. Here, too, he addresses what happened to the terrorists at the World Trade Center, after the crash. This book is a wealth of information for the true crime aficionado as well as anyone who might have an interest in autopsies and the funeral industry. There are some re-created violent scenes and of course blood and guts. I really enjoyed reading this.
He also writes for just under half the book or so about the events of 09/11 at the World Trade Center, and his involvement with locating and identifying the dead. Here are even more tidbits of information than you would have ever thought of....such as the body parts with an identification on them that didn't match the owner of the body part, or the task of how to categorize all of the body parts and how to match them up with their grieving family members. Here, too, he addresses what happened to the terrorists at the World Trade Center, after the crash. This book is a wealth of information for the true crime aficionado as well as anyone who might have an interest in autopsies and the funeral industry. There are some re-created violent scenes and of course blood and guts. I really enjoyed reading this.
jacqui_des's review against another edition
3.0
[b:Dead Center: Behind the Scenes at the World's Largest Medical Examiner's Office|1982568|Dead Center Behind the Scenes at the World's Largest Medical Examiner's Office|Shiya Ribowsky|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266948684s/1982568.jpg|703050] was not quite what I was expecting. I found the forensic information, exploration of the common myths of forensic science and [a:Shiya Ribowsky|381448|Shiya Ribowsky|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]'s behind-the-scenes look at the role of PA’s and the working of the ME’s Office incredibly fascinating. However, I found the second half of the book rather tedious, which focused on the identification and information management processes that were implemented in NYC following the 9/11 attacks.
Memorable Quotes
Memorable Quotes
"Death is still, cold, quiet, and gray. Life is moving, warm, noisy, and full of color. The opposite of life is not only death, it is also the absence of joy."
"By the time we get involved with a body, death has come and gone, leaving us with only the empty shell, the abandoned luggage of what was once a human being."
"Death merely heralds the beginning of our work."
"It takes a special kind of fortitude to willingly confront and interact with a rotting body, or one that is cut up into pieces. And it takes a person who understands the social necessity of this act to do it properly."
"Reality is messier, slower, and less dependent on star detectives."
"In cultures different from the United States, suicide is not considered a failure of the courage to face life, but as a legitimate response to certain life situations."
"...the dead always have something to teach the living."
ricottae's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail