Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

22 reviews

jonie_rich's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring slow-paced

4.75

I really loved this book, but I had to skip over the parts about the dog surgery (that is putting it sooooooo mildly). I recommend it, and I think it educates a very overlooked part of our lives as humans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cannibalism, Child death, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Suicide, Medical content, Body horror, Blood, Gore, Animal death, Murder, Medical trauma, Torture, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Excrement

haunted_klaus's review against another edition

funny informative reflective medium-paced

2.0

The content was great, but the tone was all wrong. The puns, one liners, and double entendres all felt out of place and jarring in this context. It felt like sitting at funeral next to someone who couldn’t stop whispering jokes and snickering under their breath to lighten the mood. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Animal death

hyeetles's review

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

roadki77's review

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

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

tpal_'s review

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Excrement, Cannibalism, and Car accident

Minor: Abortion

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

jhbandcats's review

challenging funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Stiff is the first book I read of Mary Roach's, and I was an immediate fan. I first read it more than fifteen years ago and have continued to recommend it to people since. She takes a taboo topic for her book and makes it approachable, funny, and educational.

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Animal death, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Terminal illness, and Violence

bxtskr's review

dark funny informative

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Body horror, Blood, Car accident, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, and Suicide attempt

narpetcards's review

dark funny informative medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, and Murder