Reviews

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

liliak03's review against another edition

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dark funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.75

shaedenae's review against another edition

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3.0

Very interesting, however the author interviews doctor oz (that crazy republican doctor and tv personality) and therefore I'm leery of putting too much stock into this book. Maybe he was less insane when this book was written, but also, maybe not.

emilymwhittle's review

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4.0

I would strongly recommend that you *not* read this book when you’re preparing for a medical procedure. Lesson learned and my anxiety is *now* under control.

bschmitz's review against another edition

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dark funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.75

johnsj01's review against another edition

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4.0

Very interesting book, it is slightly outdated in that she interviews and mentions things are TBD in about 2002/2003, so I found myself googling some items to find out what happens. Parts about animal park experiments were hard to read.

spectredeflector's review against another edition

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funny informative fast-paced

5.0

hzathzr's review against another edition

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funny informative medium-paced

4.0

davechua's review against another edition

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4.0

A great romp through all the fun things that gets done with human cadavers. (eg: being used for crash test dummies)

kaylo88's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Death and commemoration have always been a deep passion of mine. It was a significant part of both my degree and my master’s, and I find the way we deal with our dead absolutely fascinating.

Because of this background, much of what was covered in this book wasn’t new to me, as I’ve encountered similar content in my previous reading and research.

That said, Roach is an incredibly engaging writer who really knows how to get her point across. It’s clear she has done extensive research on this topic, and I would strongly recommend this book to anyone, especially those considering donating their body to medical science.

I’m never particularly keen on reading about tests on animals. While it’s an unavoidable aspect of the subject, I would have enjoyed the book more if it had focused more on human examples instead.

Additionally, it felt as though Roach wanted the reader to view the topic as strange or “out there,” but in reality, it isn’t. There are hundreds of books on this topic, and with the rise of the death-positive movement, more and more people are discussing death and their wishes for what happens after they die.

Overall, this is an excellent introduction for anyone interested in the various methods of disposing of our dead.

laughsinappropriately319's review against another edition

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5.0

Please don't think me irreverant but this book was hilarious!!!!