Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

35 reviews

booksbyantheia's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

This is an excellent book. It does indeed lose some of its rhythms in the second half, but it's still very interesting. I enjoyed it, even on the parts I was grossed out!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Violence, and Gore

lw_69's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Blood

roadki77's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Death, Car accident, and Animal death

bronzemist's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Child death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Vomit

applesaucecreachur's review against another edition

dark funny informative slow-paced

3.0

I appreciate this book for what it is: A professional journalist writing a history of corpses, while herself being an amateur on the subject. While much of the contemporary content is now out of date, I still walk away from the book with a few key takeaways.

1. Our corpses are not "us". In life, they were our vessels. Now, they are shells.
2. That said, as a future medical care provider and future surviving loved one, the remains of those departed are worthy of respect and care.
3. There's been a lot of thought and disagreement put into how we ought to treat corpses. Do we bury them? Burn them? Dissolve them? Compost? Scatter? Stick in an anatomy lab? Put on display? Pulverize in controlled car crash scenarios? Eat????
4. While sometimes self-aware, this book was a bit orientalizing and generally racist. (The bit about the Spanish American War and the indigenous soldiers? Come on now.)

This book was moderately informative and mildly entertaining. Now I gotta go figure out what to do with my husk when I'm done with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Ableism, and Gun violence

Minor: Abortion

sophiemartin's review against another edition

This book is a non-fiction account of an author exploring the different ways a human body donated to science can be used. The information in the book is incorrect, the humour while talking about graphic topics is jarring, and it is clear the author has not done their research correctly and throughly. I could not spend any more time reading the blatant disregard for fact checking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Death, and Medical trauma

becphe's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

4.0

I appreciated the lack of squeamishness in discussing what happens to bodies that are donated to science and how the system works.  I learned a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Child abuse, Cannibalism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Child death

semeyers's review against another edition

challenging dark funny fast-paced

4.25

I liked this book so much more than I had anticipated! Mary Roach is an amazing author who describes tough things in a succinct, informative, and light way. Yes, there are a lot of graphic descriptions of gore in this book and it is not recommended for those with a weak stomach (I have a strong stomach and found I couldn't eat while listening to this book even), but I came out of it less afraid of death and less afraid of cadavers as well.

The book, written in 2003, is now slightly out of date

promession, for example, is now legal and used as a form of burial in three countries. "Aquamation" has gained popularity,etc.

, but still a worthwhile read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Medical content

Moderate: Cannibalism, Gun violence, and Death of parent

jenmcvay's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death

solenodon's review against another edition

dark funny informative medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Death, Animal death, and Medical content

Moderate: Excrement, Cannibalism, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent