The author sometimes tries to be a bit too cute with her humor, but otherwise, this is a fascinating read. I'll never quite think about automobile safety ratings the same way again. ( )

2007

This book, about dead people and the sorts of things that are done to them in the name of science and mourning, completes our own personal Mary Roach trifecta. It was an interesting book… I didn’t realize all the different things that can happen to your body if you donate it to science. She even travels to China in search of a crematorium that allegedly used cadavers for dumplings in a family restaurant. It is definitely on the gory side, so if hearing about guts and bugs and unpleasant biological functions isn’t your bag, you might want to skip it. But if you’re curious, Roach does an excellent job of making non-fiction interesting and entertaining. ( )

I first got this book as an ARC and everyone who saw me reading it was appalled. Who would read a book about dead bodies? Those doubters! I've since lent this book to many of my friends and family and they've all loved it. It's a topic that's avoided and Roach manages to make an extremely funny book without being disrespectful.

After reading this book: no to embalming - yes to science! ( )

My mother and grandmother, who enjoy reading violent thrillers, were both completely disgusted by the mere title of this book. That amused me.And while I admit that the chapter on decay turned me into a vegetarian for a day, by and large the descriptions of the various fates that befall our bodies after death was occasionally disturbing, often hilarious, and yet never irreverent. I'd never given much thought to the process of embalming or cremation, much less the history of the funerary business in general. This book certainly was an educational experience in terms of cadaver research as well. I admit that before this book I'd never considered donating my body to science, but it sounds like an interesting idea. However, I agree with the author: ultimately, the fate of my body rests with the loved ones who survive me. If it bothers them to know I'm going to end up in some anatomy class, they're the ones who will have to live with it, not me. Ending up as part of live-saving research or garden compost hold their appeal, but giving closure to my friends and family is far more important. After all, I won't know the difference.In short, I give this book a thumbs up for giving me all kinds of new things to think about. Definitely recommended. ( )

Many people would shy away on principle from a book that details the uses of cadavers, and the scientific processes that are involved in the decay of the human body following death, either from squeamishness or from an instinctive avoidance of reminders of our own mortality. It is therefore understandable that few books are available, beside the desiccated tomes of dispassionate science, which provide a readable account of such things. Mary Roach’s book not only offers this service, but does so in a way that is charmingly amusing, without being either coarse or disrespectful of the deceased. It is clear that the author is a journalist, rather than a scientist, but given that fewer scientists seem to find it easy to write with a light touch than journalists find it to be at least reasonably logical, this book is more than acceptable to the thinking reader. The book is entertaining and sensitive, and offers insights into the way people feel about mortality and about how they deal with it in practice. ( )

Interesting topic, but the writing style is atrocious. ( )

Interesting topic, but the writing style is atrocious. ( )

I rarely read non-fiction, but the cover of this book grabbed me. Boy, am I glad I picked it up! Filled with tons of facts about the uses of cadavers, many of which I'd never considered (crash-test dummies, police training, fertilizer), the book's footnotes are not to be missed.

Terrifically funny without being irreverent, Mary Roach has written an informative book that got me thinking about what I want done with my body after death.

Not to mention the best line, ever, in a book: "Well, do me chicken." ( )

Not the best thing to read while eating lunch, although that seemed to be the only time I found. It's graphic & very well done. Before reading it, I'd already decided that donating my body to science after I died was the way to go. This convinced me I made the correct decision. She handled the subject matter really well.It's a pretty ghastly subject, but she again proved that she's an above average writer. Her monthly column in Reader's Digest is a 'must read' for me. ( )

The cultural ideas surrounding death and the disposal of bodies are far more transient than modern American funeral rites would lead people to believe. From cremation to mummification, to burial within the floors of churches or seclusion to remote cemeteries, societies are constantly trying to find the "right" answer to the question of how to dispose of their dead. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers examines the recent history of one of those solutions - donation.

As a reporter, Mary Roach is able to offer her audiences a unique perspective on the process and outcomes of various forms of body disposal; while she very clearly supports the idea of body donation, she herself is not involved in the field (as a scientist, doctor, or mortuary professional), which allows her to give her readers a layman's view of what really happens when an individual wills their remains to science - and what could be happening in the future.

Stiff is easy to read, and Roach's lighthearted voice allows readers to chuckle at one of the most difficult emotional decisions individuals will have to make (for themselves or a loved one). While there is a narrative tendency to wander away from the immediate subject, the material presented in the numerous asides is as interesting as the initial subject at hand, and actually serves to give readers an emotional break, the lack of which may be detrimental to the objective and humorous tone that is intended. I highly recommend it. ( )

Well written, with dashes of humor, and informative. Provides an overview of how cadavers have been subjects of research over time (including as crash test "dummies", subjected to ballistics, dissection, crucifixion experiments, head transplants, cannibalism, composting, etc.). ( )

One of the best books I’ve ever read- and definitely the best non fiction I’ve come across. It was a truly interesting read, and not in just the I-learned-some-stuff-I didn’t-know way that most non fictions are. It was more of a I-finally-got-answers-to-questions-I-was-dieing(never mind the pun)-to-learn way. What exactly does embalming entail? Where do cadavers in anatomy labs come from? Is cremation bad for the environment? How long can a brain think once a head’s been severed from the body? Why and how does the body decompose? Things I was curious about but didn’t know who to ask or was afraid to due to the possibility of seeming morbid.

I don’t have a preoccupation with death, but I’m a nursing student and I have a natural curiosity about the body. However, this book was far from being a dry, textbook read. Roach managed to include tons of information about cadavers without ever being boring or uninteresting. The writing was fantastic- Really funny without ever being disrespectful.

I feel weird recommending this book to others because of the strange looks I get when I attempt to describe what it’s about. I suppose it makes me sound like a creep, and I can imagine the reactions Roach got when writing it, but it seriously is an amazing book and a delightful read! ( )

D: Fascinating content, but what really makes this book work is Mary Roach's deadpan comic delivery and impeccable timing. Definitely an author to check out. ( )

This book will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about cadavers...and then some. I love how Mary Roach mixes her healthy sense of curiosity with her even healthier sense of humor. (Her footnotes, in particular, are hilariously informative.) Now that this book has given me the scoop, I'm kind of hoping to be freeze-dried and composted beneath a nice memorial plant when my time comes. ( )

More than you ever wanted to know about the uses for cadavers in training doctors and scientific studies, told with Mary Roach's morbid sense of humour. Some of the history and experiments on animals are very disturbing. There is plenty of interesting information here, but it is not as good as her later book, "Bonk", which is about scientific studies into human sexuality and is truly hilarious. ( )

This book shows that non-fiction is not boring. While it is personally abhorrent, I can see how it would appeal to many young adult readers. I felt that there were some dry spots in the book, but an Advanced Placement Biology teacher informed me that it is an "exciting book" that exhibits "an engaging type of non-fiction writing". (She reads a lot of text books).

A strength of this book is its extreme nature. Non-fiction books that detail subjects that most authors deem too taboo are often very engaging to students. The information that is presented in this book is at once engaging and repulsing. This book either needed more literary devices or less tangents from the proposed subject. Although I found that the introduction and conclusion of each chapter was completely engaging, I got lost in the middle of each chapter. I felt that the historical content should have been in the introductory chapters, the "gross and cool stuff" in the middle, and the morality questions at the end. This is just a joke, but I want to say, " scientists and researchers don't know how to organize their story to be engaging to most readers". Where are their English teachers? ( )

Really interesting stuff not too dryly written. ( )

Mary Roach covers in graphic detail what happens to our bodies postmortem.
This book travels through scientific history. The reader learns about the uses and sometimes unknowing contributions our cadavers have made over the centuries from the French guillotines to human composting.
She covers the many physical and to some, quite disgusting changes our bodies go through after death.

Because I'am in the medical field and at times I do come in contact with the dead, this book to me was both informative and respectful. The humor Roach placed in the book was not hilariously side splitting as some say, but light and affective. Let's face it, humor can break up a morbid subject into something more tolerable to face.

The only thing in this book that disturbed me was the descriptions of live animal experimentation in the name of science.
All and all Stiff: The Curious Lives Of Human Cadavers was a well researched and interesting read. ( )

A hilarious read about cadavers - what's not to like? (maybe everything if you're the squeamish type. I was mainly okay until she started talking about animal head transplants)

For such a morbid subject, the author has a quirky writing style punctuated by humor, odd juxtapositions, and a liberal use of footnotes. Of course, after finishing the book, I can't help but think that there might not be any other way to approach the subject, as what's death without a little laughter? There are a lot of interesting things cadavers are made to do aside from dissection labs, organ donation, or just plain being buried...(more)

This is the type of book I will almost always pick up if I have the chance, a funny book about an odd science topic. It was well-written, funny, in a dreadfully morbid way and I learned somethings. But it was not a good book to pick up and read through quickly. There was just too much of it. Dead bodies are fine for a chapter or two, but after half of the book I was done, though the writer wasn't. ( )

This is a nonfiction book about cadavers, and the various things that can happen to your body after you die, and it mainly focuses on bodies willed to science. It's an interesting look at what most people prefer not to think about, it's well written, and it presents some new ideas in a surprisingly entertaining way. For the most part I enjoyed it, although it's certainly not for the squeamish, except that the somewhat snarky (but never disrespectful) tone kind of wore on me after a while. Not a great book, but certainly a good one, very readable, and certainly memorable! ( )

I listened to this as an audio book and laughed so hard driving I was swerving. ( )

I don't read much non-fiction, especially science, but this book was hilarious and not at all dry. Yes, a little gross at times, so if you get squeaked out easily it may not be for you. The author was able to take a humorous look at at not-so-humorous subject. I felt it was respectul to the deceased and it was more the situation and the people who dealt with it that was the focus of the humor.

If you ever wanted to know every possible scenario of what could happen to the cadaver of someone who has checked the "donate to science" box...get this book. You'll learn and laugh at the same time. ( )