Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

by Mary Roach
4 Stars
Nonfiction: Other
304 pages
Published 2003


Ellie's Review
This book is utterly fascinating.  As I learned about the many kinds of research on cadavers (including auto safety testing), I actually laughed out loud numerous times as Roach kept it light without being inappropriate.  I am even more convinced now to donate my organs.


Book Summary
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 Turn, 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.