Stiff

The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

By: Mary Roach

Narrated by: Shelly Frasier

Length: 8 hrs

Publisher's summary

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.

©2003 Mary Roach (P)2003 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Alex Award Winner, 2004

"Uproariously funny....informative and respectful...irreverent and witty....impossible to put down." (Publishers Weekly)
"Not grisly but inspiring, this work considers the many valuable scientific uses of the body after death." (Library Journal)
"One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year." (Entertainment Weekly)

Poor Audio

The reading is a compilation of audio clips which span only a couple sentences at a time. With so many stops and starts, you’d think they could’ve gone ahead and shortened the clips even more to cut out the narrator’s very audible mouth sounds, which makes the book unlistenable for me. I may purchase the book in print, though possibly not. Hard to know if I’ll be able to read the text without recalling the lip / tongue smacks. This may be more of a me problem, though.

Excellent Listen!

Skipped the parts about animals, but the remainder of the book was interesting! Author narration is a plus!

Dead funny discussion of dead bodies

Mary Roach has written an appealing and easy to digest book about what happens (or can happen) to us after we die. It may be considered morbid by some, but I found it fascinating.

The narrator mispronounced a few words (in one instance mispronouncing on the first attempt and then pronouncing it correctly a couple of sentences later).

You cut heads off! You cut heads off!!

Funniest non-fiction I've ever read! This is a fantastic read. To those who criticized the "unnecessary" gruesomeness... it's about dead people!! Come on!! The author does a fine job respectfully making light of something people are way to squeamish about. I highly recommend this book. It was a fun read, and educational at the same time - just the sort for which I was looking.

A superb read

I highly recommend this book. I couldn't stop listening. It is a serious book about a serious subject, but it does lighten the darker, if at times, horrific elements of being the dearly departed. Shelly Frasier does a good job of transmitting the author's sense of humor and life--and does not telegraph a "cynical" point of view; rather she captures the dark, sometimes humorous, sometimes bizarre and often ironic issues related to death which, after all, is everyone's fate.

Simply Superb!

I work for a hospital and although I personally don't come across any cadavers in the course of my job, there's always something in the back of my mind which quietly reminds me that there aren't just "alive" people here in the hospital; there are some dead ones in the building, as well.

I normally would not have purchased/read a book about cadavers. However, the reviews out there on the Internet convinced me to take a chance on this book.

This book is superb in every way!

Mary Roach did an enormous amount of research before writing this book, and she fills it with not just tons of factual information, from Medieval times through modern day, but she presents it with a subdued, dry wit which made this book not only informative, but also hilarious.

I listened to this audiobook on my way to and from work for an entire week, and the following Monday I found myself wishing that Mary Roach had more audiobooks available on anything scientific, as she has to be one of the most informative, yet funny science writers I've ever come across.

I feel that this book deserves a 5-star rating. It is simply superb!

My First Mary Roach Book

This is my first Mary Roach book and was probably not the best choice given the subject matter and my squeamishness. The lives of corpses aren't filled with duckies, bunnies, and rainbows. I listened to the audio book which was narrated by Shelly Frasier, she was really good. The book had me running the gamut, from laughter to cringing to reaching for the pause button.

My favorite chapters were the ones about air disaster investigation, alternative funerals/ corpse preparation, and the last chapter called “Remains of the Author” in which Mary went over the many options she has for what to do with her body after her death. She made the good point that one should consult with the surviving loved ones as they will be the ones who have to deal with the ramifications of the choice, and with what is ultimately left of the body after science is done with it.

In the chapter about air disasters, Mary talks about her time spent with Dennis Shanahan, an Injury Analyst. Dennis is brought to sites of disasters to examine corpses to figure out what happened to them based on their condition. In the book he describes in detail his investigation of the TWA Flight 800 crash which exploded over the Atlantic Ocean in 1996. By looking at the corpses and knowing where they were sitting and where in the ocean they were found he was able to determine probable locations of explosions, causes of trauma, how long they lived after the explosion, etc. He was able to rule out terrorism right away in this particular crash. It was fascinating.

The alternative funeral / corpse preparation chapter as also interesting as Mary addresses the numerous ways a body can be dealt with after death. I’ve never understood why humans bury bodies in an expensive casket in a cement vault. What a waste of space for a body. Why wouldn't we want our atoms to return to the natural world? Even the description of the cremation process was horrible. Mary addresses a number of new ideas being bandied about also. I might have to try one someday.

There were chapters that we just plain gross and creepy, though. Using human cadavers and anesthetized dogs and pigs for ballistics tests was kind of weird and sad in a way; and using freshly dead heads for transplants was hard to listen to and just plain bizarre. She talks about one experiment where a decapitated dog head is attached to a living dog. Throughout the book there was a lot of talk of body parts, blood, guts, and brains which gave me the heebie jeebies.

Overall, it was OK. For a person who is not squeamish and loves to read about fun with corpses, this would be right up their alley. I'm looking forward to reading or listening to more Mary Roach, though, and hopefully her other audiobooks have the same narrator.

Ok...not great but not a waste of a credit

This book was only 'ok'. I like all types of books, so I think I am a pretty open minded listener. I am not easily offended, and this book didn't really offend me, but I could see where some people could be VERY turned off. The author tries to add humor - sometimes I believe in an attempt at comic relief, but often falls short by being too flippant or just plain not funny.

It was interesting to hear all of the different ways a cadaver can be used in the name of science, and also to hear the different uses and superstitions that have transpired through the years.

This wasn't a bad book - I think many people will find it mildly entertaining while some will hate it.

Fascinating, & one of the best narrators

I was a little uncomfortable throughout the whole book, and sadly reminded of my 21 year old pet who died in my arms last year. Ms. Roach steers clear of "death" throughout most of the book, but it's always lurking in the background. However, I think next time I am in the presence of the corpse of a loved one, I will feel a larger separation between them, and the cadaver in front of me.
The author really takes the topic on fearlessly on all our behalves, absolutely worth the credits.

Interesting and Informative and Never Dull

This is a gem of a book. It is interesting, and informative, and answers all the questions you've ever wanted to ask about being dead or what happens to you (your body, that is) when you die. Notwithstanding, in the end, it becomes an affirmation of life, as Roach always treats the subject not only respectfully, but calls out many instances where the dead can truly serve the living.