Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach is a nonfiction book about the history and current uses of the human cadaver. The book explores how the deceased human body has been used in research and experimentation leading to some of the most consequential innovations throughout human history. Although it is not typically recognized, many innovations could not have been possible without research and experimentation involving the donations of the dead. Through hands-on investigation and intriguing historical accounts, Roach details the multitude of ways in which innovative, modern discoveries came from research involving cadavers. In its twelve chapters, Stiff features anatomists, scientists, and engineers past and present whose work involves corpses. When Roach sits in on a class of plastic surgeons practicing face lifts, she discovers how the students cope with cutting and sewing dead people’s faces, who severs the heads from their original bodies, and why this practice requires the freshest cadavers. The lack of donations of bodies to science led researchers to stealing corpses from their graves, using corpses of family members, and paying “grave robbers� to steal fresh corpses for their research. Roach then looks at the bodily decaying process, which answers the question of what happens to the body when it is not embalmed and left to nature to decompose which aids in crime investigations. Impact studies using cadavers, or research on how force trauma affect the human body, are the focal point of the next few chapters. Once automobile and airplane manufacturers know exactly how much force each part of the human body can take, they can use that information to make their vehicles safer. The second half of the book continues to explore the plethora of ways cadavers are utilized. In the chapter titled “The Cadaver Who Joined the Army�, Roach examines the use of cadavers to test war weaponry; she covers mostly the ethics and controversy behind blowing cadavers up in the name of research. Roach then looks at the history of experiments done to verify the crucifixion along with other religious relics. The following three chapters discuss decapitation, cannibalism, and the environmental impact of human composting. In the final chapter, the author ponders what will be the fate of her own body after death. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book because of the casual tone and commentary used paired with the factual accounts and in-depth research required by the author to produce this holistic narrative about the cadaver. Each chapter is completely different than the previous sparking curiosity opposed to boredom. There was a sufficient balance of historical accounts and primary source research. Roach’s visits and interviews with multiple professionals who work with cadavers give an informative view of what they are used for in today’s times causing readers to feel educated about a topic that can be perceived as taboo. Mary Roach’s fascinating take on the human cadaver is informational, historical, and ironically lively. The authors comical tone combined with factual analysis on the history and modern research of cadavers leads to an entertaining yet informative narrative that covers practically every way human remains are/have been used.
In its twelve chapters, Stiff features anatomists, scientists, and engineers past and present whose work involves corpses. When Roach sits in on a class of plastic surgeons practicing face lifts, she discovers how the students cope with cutting and sewing dead people’s faces, who severs the heads from their original bodies, and why this practice requires the freshest cadavers. The lack of donations of bodies to science led researchers to stealing corpses from their graves, using corpses of family members, and paying “grave robbers� to steal fresh corpses for their research. Roach then looks at the bodily decaying process, which answers the question of what happens to the body when it is not embalmed and left to nature to decompose which aids in crime investigations. Impact studies using cadavers, or research on how force trauma affect the human body, are the focal point of the next few chapters. Once automobile and airplane manufacturers know exactly how much force each part of the human body can take, they can use that information to make their vehicles safer.
The second half of the book continues to explore the plethora of ways cadavers are utilized. In the chapter titled “The Cadaver Who Joined the Army�, Roach examines the use of cadavers to test war weaponry; she covers mostly the ethics and controversy behind blowing cadavers up in the name of research. Roach then looks at the history of experiments done to verify the crucifixion along with other religious relics. The following three chapters discuss decapitation, cannibalism, and the environmental impact of human composting. In the final chapter, the author ponders what will be the fate of her own body after death.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book because of the casual tone and commentary used paired with the factual accounts and in-depth research required by the author to produce this holistic narrative about the cadaver. Each chapter is completely different than the previous sparking curiosity opposed to boredom. There was a sufficient balance of historical accounts and primary source research. Roach’s visits and interviews with multiple professionals who work with cadavers give an informative view of what they are used for in today’s times causing readers to feel educated about a topic that can be perceived as taboo.
Mary Roach’s fascinating take on the human cadaver is informational, historical, and ironically lively. The authors comical tone combined with factual analysis on the history and modern research of cadavers leads to an entertaining yet informative narrative that covers practically every way human remains are/have been used.