Synopsis
STIFF fascinatingly numerates the many contributions humans have made to science as cadavers. Roach highlights some of the uses the living have found for the dead, such as charting human decay at a center in Tennessee and establishing the certainty of the Shroud of Turin by crucifying a dead body in a Paris research lab. With these investigative tales and more, STIFF breathes new life into the sacrifices the deceased have made for the rest of us.
STIFF numerates the many contributions humans have made to science as cadavers. Roach highlights some of the uses the living have found for the dead, such as charting human decay at a center in Tennessee and establishing the certainty of the Shroud of Turin by crucifying a dead body in a Paris research lab. With these investigative tales and more, STIFF breathes new life into the sacrifices the deceased have made for the rest of us.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2004-05-01 | | Edition Description: | Reprint |
| Size | | Length: | 304 pages | | Height: | 8.3 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 9.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
"One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year....Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting."—Entertainment Weekly
Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives
of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.
In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries—from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting. In her droll, inimitable voice, Roach tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.
Industry Reviews
"Roach has a keen eye for the perfect detail, an ear for the zinging quotation and a finely tuned sense of the preposterous."
(10/09/2005)
"Informative, yes; entertaining, absolutely."
Kirkus (02/01/2003)
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