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Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death
In this book, Sachs accompanies an eccentric group of entomologists, anthropologists, biochemists, and botanists - a new kind of biological "Mod Squad" - on some of their grisliest, most intractable cases. She takes us to the ultra-bizarre Body Farm in Knoxville, Tennessee, where scientists watch bodies decay in order to learn the secrets of decomposition and death. She also takes us into the courtroom, where "post-O. J." forensic science as a whole is coming under fire and the new multidisciplinary art of forensic ecology is struggling to establish its credibility." In the end, Sachs reveals death to be not a single moment in time, but an elaborate dance, as insects and microbes colonize a corpse, and efficiently - even gracefully - return it to the earth. The story of the 2000-year search to pinpoint time of death. Corpse is also the terrible and beautiful story of what happens to our bodies when we die.
270 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Jessica Snyder Sachs
6 books19 followersJessica Snyder Sachs is a contributing editor to Popular Science and writes regularly for Discover, National Wildlife, Health, Parenting, and other national publications. Prior to becoming a full-time freelance writer in 1991, she was the managing editor of Science Digest.
As an adjunct professor, Jessica teaches feature writing and writing for magazines, most recently at Seton Hall University. She has taught at the graduate level as part of New York University's Science and Environmental Reporting Program (SERP).
She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, where she completed a mid-career masters with cross-disciplinary graduate studies in immunology, microbiology, and infectious disease. She lives with her husband and daughter in New Jersey.
As an adjunct professor, Jessica teaches feature writing and writing for magazines, most recently at Seton Hall University. She has taught at the graduate level as part of New York University's Science and Environmental Reporting Program (SERP).
She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, where she completed a mid-career masters with cross-disciplinary graduate studies in immunology, microbiology, and infectious disease. She lives with her husband and daughter in New Jersey.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
May 7, 2015
Description: When detectives come upon a murder victim, there's one thing they want to know above all else: When did the victim die? The answer can narrow a group of suspects, make or break an alibi, even assign a name to an unidentified body. But outside the fictional world of murder mysteries, time-of-death determinations have remained infamously elusive, bedeviling criminal investigators throughout history. Armed with an array of high-tech devices and tests, the world's best forensic pathologists are doing their best to shift the balance, but as Jessica Snyder Sachs demonstrates so eloquently in Corpse, this is a case in which nature might just trump technology: Plants, chemicals, and insects found near the body are turning out to be the fiercest weapons in our crime-fighting arsenal. In this highly original book, Sachs accompanies an eccentric group of entomologists, anthropologists, biochemists, and botanists--a new kind of biological "Mod Squad"--on some of their grisliest, most intractable cases. She also takes us into the courtroom, where "post-O.J." forensic science as a whole is coming under fire and the new multidisciplinary art of forensic ecology is struggling to establish its credibility. Corpse is the fascinating story of the 2000year search to pinpoint time of death. It is also the terrible and beautiful story of what happens to our bodies when we die.
Opening: THE TYPICAL AMERICAN goes into the ground injected with three to four gallons of preservative.
Hope you weren't eating your tea when you read that opening. If history of science is your bag then this will be an interesting read. Many famous cases are looked at from a modern perspective, and I love it that Bernard Knight, a modern day crowner, is quoted often, his most high profile case was Fred and Rose West.Okay as a reference item yet I couldn't recommend on.
December 4, 2008
If talk of maggots and decay turns your stomach, stop here. You probably won't enjoy this book.
But if you're a forensics junkie, run out and get Corpse right away. It's not only packed with interesting cases and people; it's the best book I've come across, in terms of clear writing and good research.
Jessica Snyder Sachs, a former editor of Science Digest, is a freelance science and health writer. She has a knack for making the gruesome fascinating and the mundane intriguing. And it all revolves around the hunt for the elusive moment of death.
By determining the time of death, police can show whether a suspect could have been at the scene.
There are a variety of methods to finding time of death. The most familiar deals with what Sachs calls the "triple stopwatches of death:" rigor, algor, and livor mortis. Most people know that rigor is when the muscles become rigid. Algor mortis is the change in body temperature as the victim cools and livor mortis - or lividity - is the settling of blood in the lowest points of the body. These three methods are not very reliable because so many factors affect their timetables. Ambient temperature, whether the body is covered, uncovered, clothed, in water, buried, animal activity, and weather are among the factors influencing changes in the body. Stomach contents can sometimes prove helpful, but pre-death activity can affect the rate the stomach empties. And in the case of partially or fully decomposed bodies, what is one to do?
In my last article, I talked a little bit about forensic entomology. Sachs dives into the history and current practices of this incredible and often-overlooked field. Dr. Bill Bass shows up, as well as several of his protégés and colleagues. The stories are riveting.
Here is an example:
Paul Catts, a former professor of entomology at Washington State University, was asked by Tacoma police to help when they discovered the decomposing body of a 34-year-old man who had been shot in the neck in his apartment, which was locked from the inside.
There were signs of a struggle, yet the only gun, found in a nightstand, was unfired and didn't match the victim's bullet.
Investigators collected the only evidence they could find: a handful of maggots.
Catts found that two generations of blowflies had hatched. Using the predictable three weeks per generation, Catts estimated that the body had been in the room at least six weeks.
Searching police reports, detectives ran across a nearby party in Catts' timeframe in which one enthusiastic partygoer had fired several shots into the air. Ballistics experts matched the bullet to the gun and traced the bullet's path from the party, to a metal beam of an adjacent garage, where it ricocheted into the victim's bedroom.
Sachs writes, "Clearly, death had not been instantaneous, given the apparent signs of struggle."
Ugly. But what a way to solve a crime!
Sachs also looks at forensic botany, a field I had never heard of. Plants apparently serve as fairly reliable witnesses, if properly interpreted. Advances in reading chemical markers have also been made and though the chapter discussing this area is short, the science sounds promising.
Accuracy is vital in the field of forensic ecology, and Sachs reviews the efforts of leaders who have made impressive discoveries, emphasizing caution and conservative estimates.
But if you're a forensics junkie, run out and get Corpse right away. It's not only packed with interesting cases and people; it's the best book I've come across, in terms of clear writing and good research.
Jessica Snyder Sachs, a former editor of Science Digest, is a freelance science and health writer. She has a knack for making the gruesome fascinating and the mundane intriguing. And it all revolves around the hunt for the elusive moment of death.
By determining the time of death, police can show whether a suspect could have been at the scene.
There are a variety of methods to finding time of death. The most familiar deals with what Sachs calls the "triple stopwatches of death:" rigor, algor, and livor mortis. Most people know that rigor is when the muscles become rigid. Algor mortis is the change in body temperature as the victim cools and livor mortis - or lividity - is the settling of blood in the lowest points of the body. These three methods are not very reliable because so many factors affect their timetables. Ambient temperature, whether the body is covered, uncovered, clothed, in water, buried, animal activity, and weather are among the factors influencing changes in the body. Stomach contents can sometimes prove helpful, but pre-death activity can affect the rate the stomach empties. And in the case of partially or fully decomposed bodies, what is one to do?
In my last article, I talked a little bit about forensic entomology. Sachs dives into the history and current practices of this incredible and often-overlooked field. Dr. Bill Bass shows up, as well as several of his protégés and colleagues. The stories are riveting.
Here is an example:
Paul Catts, a former professor of entomology at Washington State University, was asked by Tacoma police to help when they discovered the decomposing body of a 34-year-old man who had been shot in the neck in his apartment, which was locked from the inside.
There were signs of a struggle, yet the only gun, found in a nightstand, was unfired and didn't match the victim's bullet.
Investigators collected the only evidence they could find: a handful of maggots.
Catts found that two generations of blowflies had hatched. Using the predictable three weeks per generation, Catts estimated that the body had been in the room at least six weeks.
Searching police reports, detectives ran across a nearby party in Catts' timeframe in which one enthusiastic partygoer had fired several shots into the air. Ballistics experts matched the bullet to the gun and traced the bullet's path from the party, to a metal beam of an adjacent garage, where it ricocheted into the victim's bedroom.
Sachs writes, "Clearly, death had not been instantaneous, given the apparent signs of struggle."
Ugly. But what a way to solve a crime!
Sachs also looks at forensic botany, a field I had never heard of. Plants apparently serve as fairly reliable witnesses, if properly interpreted. Advances in reading chemical markers have also been made and though the chapter discussing this area is short, the science sounds promising.
Accuracy is vital in the field of forensic ecology, and Sachs reviews the efforts of leaders who have made impressive discoveries, emphasizing caution and conservative estimates.
January 27, 2008
Astounding and interesting, although I bogged down a bit in the classifying bug section, which took up most of the middle of the book.
April 11, 2012
I glanced through this book and thought, "Hmm, this looks like too much science for me," but then I sat down and read the first 70 pages without looking up. This book is really a history of how researchers in different periods, from the early Greeks and the Chinese, have thought about and defined the moment of death. This history is told through stories and is definitely geared to the lay reader. The last third of the book enters the modern era (20th c. into the 21st) and so anyone who watches CSI will know much of what is revealed here, but the story of how different fields (anthropology, biology, botany, entomology) have come together to create "corpse ecology" is still very interesting and much more complicated than I would have thought.
March 24, 2017
This is a very good book about the emergence of botany, entomology, and other unexpected sciences into the world of forensics.
It would have benefited from a better copy-editor, to catch typos like "wholistic" and a number of others that made the book look just slightly less than professional. Especially, someone should have caught the error Sachs makes in assuming corpus delicti means the body of the victim, when it means no such thing (as Ann Rule is frequently at pains to point out in her books). The corpus delicti is the proof that a crime has occurred. The body of the victim is a particularly COGENT corpus delicti, but it is far from the only way to prove that homicide has taken place.
Aside from that background static of typos and misused words and errors that someone should have caught, this is a good, readable book. Sachs has a remarkable flair for describing flies and maggots in a way that's vivid without being revolting, and she conveys the enthusiasm these scientists have for their (sometimes grotesque) jobs even to a layperson who wants to stay as far away from flies, in all stages of their life-cycle, as possible. And the forensic work itself is fascinating.
(This book also gets a check in the box marked Places I Did Not Expect To See My Hometown Mentioned. One of Bill Bass' students, Arpad Vass, took his forensic work to ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), where my dad was a chemist until he retired and where I worked two summers as a secretary.)
It would have benefited from a better copy-editor, to catch typos like "wholistic" and a number of others that made the book look just slightly less than professional. Especially, someone should have caught the error Sachs makes in assuming corpus delicti means the body of the victim, when it means no such thing (as Ann Rule is frequently at pains to point out in her books). The corpus delicti is the proof that a crime has occurred. The body of the victim is a particularly COGENT corpus delicti, but it is far from the only way to prove that homicide has taken place.
Aside from that background static of typos and misused words and errors that someone should have caught, this is a good, readable book. Sachs has a remarkable flair for describing flies and maggots in a way that's vivid without being revolting, and she conveys the enthusiasm these scientists have for their (sometimes grotesque) jobs even to a layperson who wants to stay as far away from flies, in all stages of their life-cycle, as possible. And the forensic work itself is fascinating.
(This book also gets a check in the box marked Places I Did Not Expect To See My Hometown Mentioned. One of Bill Bass' students, Arpad Vass, took his forensic work to ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), where my dad was a chemist until he retired and where I worked two summers as a secretary.)
June 27, 2016
At first, Sach's conversational style had me wondering if I'd learn anything new, but I was pleasantly surprised that I did! This book covers the history of the various branches of forensic science that are used to determine time of death. I've recently had a forensic science MOOC, so I already knew a great deal about forensic entomology and its applications. What I didn't learn much about in that course was its history. Sachs also covers the history behind the 3 types of mortis and forensic anthropology and botany very well. (The last being a very exciting science I'd like to learn more about because I've read lots on forensic anthropology too.) The cases mentioned are very intriguing and the style is very conversational. Having it in paperback helps too. If the topic is somewhat interesting to you, I definitely recommend reading it.
October 6, 2007
i need to re-read this book. very good.
June 1, 2014
Covers the forensic aspects of death in a few new and unusual ways. Can sometimes get dry and you start thinking "bugs AGAIN" but overall was a very interesting read.
March 27, 2015
Go ahead: Ask me anything about blow flies and maggots. I know all about them now—which is not exactly what I was expecting from this book. But interesting stuff nonetheless.
September 11, 2020
Corpse is about the search for the time of death, something that has long defeated human investigators of death. Most of the progress has been made in the past 70 years or so -- before that, body cooling was the main measure of time since death. Corpse is the third forensic type book I've read recently, so I came in with a high tolerance for maggot talk, which I absolutely needed. The most research on time since death has been in the field of entomology, so the vast majority of the book was dedicated to all the ways that insects devour corpses. There's a few chapters on body cooling (really, coming to environmental temperature), the mortises (rigor, algor, and livor), and new research on how plants around bodies can be used forensically, and, very new, research into how the chemical processes of death can date a death.
Corpse was the first of this series of body books I've been reading written by a science writer, rather than a forensic anthropologist, so it was very different than either Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales or Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist. (Both Bill Bass and William Maples feature in Corpse) For one thing, Sachs talks a lot more about the early stages of death than either Bass or Maples, who are focused pretty intently on the skeleton. She's significantly more readable than Maples. Corpse includes a few cases (two by Bass, one by Maples) that are covered in their own books, and it was interesting reading it from a different point of view and how differently Sachs framed the same events. It was simultaneously more wide-ranging than Bass or Maples' books, and more focused -- the search for time of death covers a lot of features of decay, and is much less interested in historical reenactment.
I wouldn't call it a quick read -- I definitely got bogged down in the bugs for a while -- but it's very much for any interested general audience, well-written and researched. I learned a lot about flies.
Corpse was the first of this series of body books I've been reading written by a science writer, rather than a forensic anthropologist, so it was very different than either Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales or Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist. (Both Bill Bass and William Maples feature in Corpse) For one thing, Sachs talks a lot more about the early stages of death than either Bass or Maples, who are focused pretty intently on the skeleton. She's significantly more readable than Maples. Corpse includes a few cases (two by Bass, one by Maples) that are covered in their own books, and it was interesting reading it from a different point of view and how differently Sachs framed the same events. It was simultaneously more wide-ranging than Bass or Maples' books, and more focused -- the search for time of death covers a lot of features of decay, and is much less interested in historical reenactment.
I wouldn't call it a quick read -- I definitely got bogged down in the bugs for a while -- but it's very much for any interested general audience, well-written and researched. I learned a lot about flies.
June 8, 2018
I would give this book four and a half stars. Jessica Sachs possesses the ability to weave dramatic writing with otherwise dry and convoluted topics. On its own, two hundred or so pages of pure forensics information would bore me to death (where I could then become a statistic in that very same field of writing, how ironic). However, the author knows this and avoids it by providing historical context with each topic: tales of scientific mishaps from the Greeks and Romans to 20th century America lighten such heavy content. Sachs’ anecdotes prevent the book from becoming a boring textbook. Admittedly, Corpse contains some grisly, graphic descriptions and may not be for the faint of heart or squeamish, but I didn’t find it to be too disturbing. The author handles the subject of death and forensics with creative ease, and even those that are particularly fidgety or easily distracted (like me) can become absorbed into the pages. However, unless you are an avid fan of forensics, the book can be a little hard to read through. There is a plethora of complicated information and scientific vernacular that can slow down the reader. At times I had to put it down and pick it up after a short break so that I wouldn’t get too confused with what I was reading. That’s the only reason I’d give the book 4 stars instead of 5. Perhaps those with some forensic science background will find Corpse an easier read. Despite all this, I found the book very interesting and informational, especially as an amateur author that tries to dabble in different genres like murder mystery. I would recommend it to anyone who likes crime shows like Sherlock or CSI or is just interested in learning about forensic investigation!
February 27, 2023
An extremely engrossing, and occasionally gross, walkthrough of time-of-death determination techniques. This includes a history of the technology and experiments, dating back further than you'd expect, as well as a thorough rundown of how bodies decay and the science behind it. I was especially impressed with how detailed the entomology sections were, I have learnt more about maggots than I ever expected, and I do wonder whether I'll come out of this book finding them more or less disgusting than I used to. Definitely, I find them more fascinating than ever before!
The case studies were brief but well-picked, though I wish we found out the conclusion of a few more--but nothing that a google search couldn't fix for most of them, once I had finished reading about them. Though, there's less info on the Gold Head Branch Murder online than I would have liked! Alas. But Sachs also gets into some pretty famous cases, namely the Lindbergh kidnapping and the OJ Simpson case, as well as some cases that were huge in their day.
I love how personalised each chapter was; we get a lot of info on the individual scientists, which helped keep my interest throughout. Plus, who doesn't love centuries old academic drama?!
I'll definitely be seeking some of the books mentioned in this book out, but they have big boots to fill. This was accessible without sensationalising, and I come out of it utterly fascinated by entomology in general.
The case studies were brief but well-picked, though I wish we found out the conclusion of a few more--but nothing that a google search couldn't fix for most of them, once I had finished reading about them. Though, there's less info on the Gold Head Branch Murder online than I would have liked! Alas. But Sachs also gets into some pretty famous cases, namely the Lindbergh kidnapping and the OJ Simpson case, as well as some cases that were huge in their day.
I love how personalised each chapter was; we get a lot of info on the individual scientists, which helped keep my interest throughout. Plus, who doesn't love centuries old academic drama?!
I'll definitely be seeking some of the books mentioned in this book out, but they have big boots to fill. This was accessible without sensationalising, and I come out of it utterly fascinated by entomology in general.
September 21, 2022
Really like it. It was an overview of the history of forensics but centered around time of death. How many sciences in a first instance didn't seem to fit the subject, helped develop it. It goes through pathology, anthropology, entomology, botany and new advancing areas like genetics. I loved it. There is a big chunck of the book dedicated to entomology which i loved, since I work with insects (pests, which is how forensic entomology started). Got me very motivated with research in the area and made me think to try again to tip my toes in forensics (i have a bit of formation in forensic biology). But anyway, this is me. If you are just interested in the subject and want to know more about the subject and what many scientist did to advance it, it is a good book for it. Try it.
November 14, 2020
I really enjoyed this study of forensic anthropology, specifically detailing the process of attempting to determine time of death for a corpse. The fact that the writer structures her study using her own style as a journalist doesn't mean that this is a light read though, it is in fact a quite comprehensive scientific history, if not one that is heavily skewed towards American scientific discovery and advancements.
Personally, I would have preferred more specific homicide case examples, and more information on forensic botany as well, as the majority of book is a deep dive into forensic entomology exclusively; which was fascinating, but did become a bit repetitive.
Personally, I would have preferred more specific homicide case examples, and more information on forensic botany as well, as the majority of book is a deep dive into forensic entomology exclusively; which was fascinating, but did become a bit repetitive.
May 15, 2017
If you are interested in forensics, taking a course at uni or college in forensics, and/or the science behind CSI or NCIS etc. This is an excellent introduction to using nature to assist with establishing the time of death in situations where a coroner can't establish one.
I myself found the botany interesting, as I have an interest in herbalism as well as being a scientist. My verdict. A must have on your bookshelf!
I myself found the botany interesting, as I have an interest in herbalism as well as being a scientist. My verdict. A must have on your bookshelf!
June 10, 2021
[3.75 stars]
This book isn't for the weak of heart or stomach. It's blunt and clinical. It's also more of a who's-who in the various disciplines that make up the time-of-death forensic world than a narrative of the key cases in the history of forensics.
It's an interesting book, nonetheless. Laypeople think that time of death is determined by simple tests or eyeballing the evidence. It turns out that reality is a lot more complicated and much… squishier.
This book isn't for the weak of heart or stomach. It's blunt and clinical. It's also more of a who's-who in the various disciplines that make up the time-of-death forensic world than a narrative of the key cases in the history of forensics.
It's an interesting book, nonetheless. Laypeople think that time of death is determined by simple tests or eyeballing the evidence. It turns out that reality is a lot more complicated and much… squishier.
August 14, 2021
This superb book is a must for anyone who wants to make their crime writing accurate and compelling. Too often fiction makes establishing the accurate time of death look easy, but it's actually very difficult in real-life, and depends on a myriad of complex factors. The book is packed with complex scientific details, but presented in such a way as to make the facts readable and user-friendly. Highly recommended.
March 16, 2017
A very enjoyable read for anyone interested in this kind of subject matter. Lots of facts, figures, and great historical and contemporary information, and yet it never feels like a textbook. Excellent.
August 8, 2023
Intense, disgusting, highly informative, vile, impossible to put down. So descriptive that you can literally smell the words coming off of the pages. Highly recommended for anyone who truly wants to know what happens the second after someone's heart stops.
November 13, 2017
Interesting and informative.
September 29, 2018
Bien desarrollado, con partes muy interesantes y quizá muy detallado en cuanto a entomologia.
January 20, 2020
Extremely fascinating account of the history of the science of time-of-death determination.
November 14, 2021
I was bamboozled into reading about bugs
April 11, 2015
Those who know me know I read some pretty morbid stuff, both fiction and nonfiction. This is why one of my friends saw fit to lend me her copy of Jessica Snyder Sachs' Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death.
I fear my reputation may be more hardcore than I actually am, though, for I definitely had to stop eating at several points during this book, and I love to eat when I read.
This book presents a short but, as far as I can tell, fairly comprehensive overview of the measures by which scientists, medical examiners, and other people in the death business have tried to determine time of death. It begins with short histories of the three "clocks" that medical examiners use in the immediate postmortem period--rigor mortis, livor mortis, and algor mortis--and all the ways in which they can be unreliable. The book then moves into the mid- and later twentieth century and the development of forensic entomology--the study of all the bugs that feed on corpses, and their life cycles and migration patterns and such, in order to determine time of death by assessing what bugs are on a corpse and what stage of their life cycle they are in. This part of the book is FANTASTICALLY gross, full of descriptions of roiling masses of maggots and buzzing swarms of blow flies. The entomologists interviewed for the piece all seem like really smart, interesting characters, but the descriptions of some of the research they did--especially that conducted at "the Body Farm"--and the cases they helped solve are really kind of stomach-churning. I usually like to put in one or two interesting tidbits I learned when I'm reviewing nonfiction books, but in this case I feel that maybe I shouldn't.
I think the maggots also got to me a bit more than other gross stuff gets to me because they always made me remember that time I came home from being gone for the weekend and one of my idiot roommates in Somerville had thrown meat in the garbage and left it there for a few days, so then when I went to throw something away, the kitchen garbage was a giant roiling mass of maggots. THAT WAS A GREAT SURPRISE. Kiddos, if you throw any kind of organic waste into your kitchen garbage, empty it frequently, even if it isn't full.
After all the bug stuff the book moves on into forensics and plant studies, in which ecologists try to identify the time of death of a corpse by the state of the plants immediately surrounding (especially "crushed under" or "growing over") it. This part of the book had the most fun, non-stomach-turning, Sherlock Homes-y bits in it, as usually the local flora of an area was already being studied as part of general ecological field work, and the forensic application was mostly about matching up the clues to determine, for example, what year a rope was tied around a tree branch.
After this section we get back into the realm of gross with a lot of stuff about bacterial studies and "drip zones," which is fancy science talk for "where a dead body's juices sink into the ground." This is apparently still a baby science, or at least it was when this book was published, but it's racked up a couple of interesting cases.
Overall this is an A+ book for anyone who likes gruesome murdery things to test how much they can handle.
I fear my reputation may be more hardcore than I actually am, though, for I definitely had to stop eating at several points during this book, and I love to eat when I read.
This book presents a short but, as far as I can tell, fairly comprehensive overview of the measures by which scientists, medical examiners, and other people in the death business have tried to determine time of death. It begins with short histories of the three "clocks" that medical examiners use in the immediate postmortem period--rigor mortis, livor mortis, and algor mortis--and all the ways in which they can be unreliable. The book then moves into the mid- and later twentieth century and the development of forensic entomology--the study of all the bugs that feed on corpses, and their life cycles and migration patterns and such, in order to determine time of death by assessing what bugs are on a corpse and what stage of their life cycle they are in. This part of the book is FANTASTICALLY gross, full of descriptions of roiling masses of maggots and buzzing swarms of blow flies. The entomologists interviewed for the piece all seem like really smart, interesting characters, but the descriptions of some of the research they did--especially that conducted at "the Body Farm"--and the cases they helped solve are really kind of stomach-churning. I usually like to put in one or two interesting tidbits I learned when I'm reviewing nonfiction books, but in this case I feel that maybe I shouldn't.
I think the maggots also got to me a bit more than other gross stuff gets to me because they always made me remember that time I came home from being gone for the weekend and one of my idiot roommates in Somerville had thrown meat in the garbage and left it there for a few days, so then when I went to throw something away, the kitchen garbage was a giant roiling mass of maggots. THAT WAS A GREAT SURPRISE. Kiddos, if you throw any kind of organic waste into your kitchen garbage, empty it frequently, even if it isn't full.
After all the bug stuff the book moves on into forensics and plant studies, in which ecologists try to identify the time of death of a corpse by the state of the plants immediately surrounding (especially "crushed under" or "growing over") it. This part of the book had the most fun, non-stomach-turning, Sherlock Homes-y bits in it, as usually the local flora of an area was already being studied as part of general ecological field work, and the forensic application was mostly about matching up the clues to determine, for example, what year a rope was tied around a tree branch.
After this section we get back into the realm of gross with a lot of stuff about bacterial studies and "drip zones," which is fancy science talk for "where a dead body's juices sink into the ground." This is apparently still a baby science, or at least it was when this book was published, but it's racked up a couple of interesting cases.
Overall this is an A+ book for anyone who likes gruesome murdery things to test how much they can handle.
June 8, 2016
For hundreds of years, scientists have been studying various ways to be able to tell what time of day someone died. The book “Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death” by Jessica Snyder Sachs explains many of these methods in great detail. By using real life public cases Sachs is able to explain and expand on how the detectives and police officers were able to determine who committed the crime. The main ideas that these methods are based off of are algor, livor, and rigor mortis. These are the change in temperature after death, the decoloration of the body after death, and the stiffness of the muscles body after death. Along with time of death, the book describes the various different things that one can find from a corpse, specifically bones of a person who has been dead a long time without being discovered. Besides what is physically wrong with the corpse, the book explained how the amount of bugs and larvae and the ages of these insects can help uncover time of death.
If I were to give a score to this book, I would give it a 4 out of 5. I am really interested in forensic science and I believed this book would help expand on my knowledge and liking of the subject; however, at first I was never able to get really into in the book. When discussing one certain murder, Sachs would talk about many scientists’ different theories on the best way to pinpoint the time of death and I thought it was very confusing and did not have any flow to the story which made me have to keep going back and rereading who believed what. Once I really got deeper into the book I was not able to set it down. It was such an engrossing book because it had many interesting facts that I had not even considered before I read the book. What I found most interesting is the different factors that someone is able to tell, just from a corpse, such as gender, age, weight, height, etc. however time of death is still an unknown factor in most cases. Another thing that really interested me was the different factors that the surrounding area of the corpse had on the decaying. For example, the amount of sunlight, the pH of the soil if buried, how humid the area is, etc. I would give it a 4 out of 5 because while it was a tough road to get the information at first, it was worth learning all of the cool facts.
If I were to give a score to this book, I would give it a 4 out of 5. I am really interested in forensic science and I believed this book would help expand on my knowledge and liking of the subject; however, at first I was never able to get really into in the book. When discussing one certain murder, Sachs would talk about many scientists’ different theories on the best way to pinpoint the time of death and I thought it was very confusing and did not have any flow to the story which made me have to keep going back and rereading who believed what. Once I really got deeper into the book I was not able to set it down. It was such an engrossing book because it had many interesting facts that I had not even considered before I read the book. What I found most interesting is the different factors that someone is able to tell, just from a corpse, such as gender, age, weight, height, etc. however time of death is still an unknown factor in most cases. Another thing that really interested me was the different factors that the surrounding area of the corpse had on the decaying. For example, the amount of sunlight, the pH of the soil if buried, how humid the area is, etc. I would give it a 4 out of 5 because while it was a tough road to get the information at first, it was worth learning all of the cool facts.
September 20, 2016
Fascinating and engagingly written history of the forensic sciences and the hunt for an accurate determination of time of death. I read a significant portion of this during lunch breaks - I do not recommend that if you are even slightly squeamish.
March 18, 2008
I found myself comparing this book to Mary Roach's Stiff, which isn't quite fair. Unlike Roach, whose book was as much a personal essay as an exploration of the topic of what happens to our bodies once we're done with them, Sachs takes a workmanlike approach to the somewhat related topic of forensics and determining when a given death occurred.
The book started out kind of slow, with a historical look at time of death, using the body itself as a determiner. Algor mortis (body temperature changes), livor mortis (settling of blood in the lower portions of the body) and rigor mortis (stiffening of muscles/limbs) have all been & continue to be used as indicators of how long a given person has been dead; Sachs presents the attempt at refining the measurements within the past 100 years or so and the discovery of how environmental factors can skew the basic formulas.
The pace picked up a bit once we delve into forensic entymology and forensic botany - fans of Gil Grissom will feel right at home here. The descriptions get a bit gruesome (I kept thinking back to Roach's desire to use "a more pleasant word, like hacienda" instead of maggot) as specific cases are discussed -- not recommended reading over a meal. William M. Bass and The University of Tennesssee's Body Farm get a well-deserved mention in this section - as well as the "Dirty Dozen" - a group of entymologists who became interested in the subject and developed the forensic discipline.
Sachs continues to remind us that a definite time of death is practically impossible to determine, despite the best efforts of the multi-disciplinary methodology available. CSI, Law and Order and Dr. Kay Scarpetta make it look all too simple.
Recommended for anyone interested in the truth behind crime fiction and/or general interest in the nitty-gritty of death.
The book started out kind of slow, with a historical look at time of death, using the body itself as a determiner. Algor mortis (body temperature changes), livor mortis (settling of blood in the lower portions of the body) and rigor mortis (stiffening of muscles/limbs) have all been & continue to be used as indicators of how long a given person has been dead; Sachs presents the attempt at refining the measurements within the past 100 years or so and the discovery of how environmental factors can skew the basic formulas.
The pace picked up a bit once we delve into forensic entymology and forensic botany - fans of Gil Grissom will feel right at home here. The descriptions get a bit gruesome (I kept thinking back to Roach's desire to use "a more pleasant word, like hacienda" instead of maggot) as specific cases are discussed -- not recommended reading over a meal. William M. Bass and The University of Tennesssee's Body Farm get a well-deserved mention in this section - as well as the "Dirty Dozen" - a group of entymologists who became interested in the subject and developed the forensic discipline.
Sachs continues to remind us that a definite time of death is practically impossible to determine, despite the best efforts of the multi-disciplinary methodology available. CSI, Law and Order and Dr. Kay Scarpetta make it look all too simple.
Recommended for anyone interested in the truth behind crime fiction and/or general interest in the nitty-gritty of death.
March 23, 2015
When I was in high school, I briefly considered forensics, but discarded that career path because there was too much chemistry involved. Now I am a dentist and studying pathology. Life comes around, full circle, doesn't it? It's only natural that I pick this book up and consume it like a blowfly maggot on a freshly dead body.
What a great, excellent discussion on the quandary that pathologists, coroners and forensics are faced, with determining time of death. It literally could mean saving the life of an innocent man or putting a guilty one in jail. The book starts out with a discussion on the historical efforts in TOD, and then breaks up in three main sections that represent modern multidisciplinary forensic science efforts in establishing TOD. These three sections are anthropology (featuring the awesome Dr. Bill Bass of Body Farm fame), entomology and botany. Amazing, thoughtful, comprehensive reviews of each section.
My favorite part was discussing the incorporation of modern entomology into forensic science. People have been cataloguing bugs for at least a century, but in America, the main guy was actually an artist who got a part time gig looking at bug samples and drawing them with incredible accuracy. He was able to identify many more insects whose morphologic differences were only visible to an artist with a trained eye for detail. I love reading about how people with unlikely backgrounds fall into the careers that ultimately shape the lives of science as a whole.
What a great, excellent discussion on the quandary that pathologists, coroners and forensics are faced, with determining time of death. It literally could mean saving the life of an innocent man or putting a guilty one in jail. The book starts out with a discussion on the historical efforts in TOD, and then breaks up in three main sections that represent modern multidisciplinary forensic science efforts in establishing TOD. These three sections are anthropology (featuring the awesome Dr. Bill Bass of Body Farm fame), entomology and botany. Amazing, thoughtful, comprehensive reviews of each section.
My favorite part was discussing the incorporation of modern entomology into forensic science. People have been cataloguing bugs for at least a century, but in America, the main guy was actually an artist who got a part time gig looking at bug samples and drawing them with incredible accuracy. He was able to identify many more insects whose morphologic differences were only visible to an artist with a trained eye for detail. I love reading about how people with unlikely backgrounds fall into the careers that ultimately shape the lives of science as a whole.
January 25, 2013
I grew up watching CSI, wanting to be a forensic lab tech up until high school, where all of our science classes were all about classifying animals and I lost interest. I only bring up the CSI franchise because they medical examiners always know exactly what time the victim had died, and could point a sure finger to the killer-- all within a 40 minute allotment of time (not including the commercials).From the first chapter up until the very last page, this book shows you why the real-life medical examiners can't come back to the investigators with a precise time of death no matter what method they've used. The first page starts out describing a triple homicide and by page three you're already dipping your toes into the science behind figuring out when the murders took place.
Stomach contents are brought up first, and the argument that there are hundreds of variables affecting digestion. With stomach contents out, the book then turns to numerous tests and experiments, homicides and investigations, specialists and pioneers in forensic Entomology, Anthropology, Botany, Dendochronology, and Biology to prove that we still can't pinpoint time since death, but we are getting closer with every curious person.
I'm not the kind of person that can appreciate, or even think about insects without getting squeamish, but I enjoyed this book. Great introduction to forensic science as a whole, and especially entomology.
Stomach contents are brought up first, and the argument that there are hundreds of variables affecting digestion. With stomach contents out, the book then turns to numerous tests and experiments, homicides and investigations, specialists and pioneers in forensic Entomology, Anthropology, Botany, Dendochronology, and Biology to prove that we still can't pinpoint time since death, but we are getting closer with every curious person.
I'm not the kind of person that can appreciate, or even think about insects without getting squeamish, but I enjoyed this book. Great introduction to forensic science as a whole, and especially entomology.
July 30, 2007
Corpse – Nature, Forensics and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death, by Jessica Snyder Sachs, explains the various methods – some of which are brand new and still developing – by which one can ascertain time of death. The methods involve a variety of fields – from entomology to botany and Ms. Sachs gives us a fascinating look not only at the processes by which each field contributes this knowledge, but also those individuals who first developed – and in some cases, continue to refine - those processes.
This is not a dry (no pun intended) read at all, nor is it inaccessible for non-scientists. I really enjoyed reading about those scientists (some of whom are real characters) who had these ideas and their own specialty, and used both to define aspects of the postmortem scene to elucidate the interval after death. Furthermore, it was helpful to learn about how different fields contributed a better understanding of what happens after death and how that translates into a time interval…and how that knowledge may help you catch and prosecute the bad guy (or gal). This book definitely has a high Ick Factor, so if you’re squeamish, don’t bother. But, if you’re at all curious and can put your “Ew!” on hold, it’s worth a read.
This is not a dry (no pun intended) read at all, nor is it inaccessible for non-scientists. I really enjoyed reading about those scientists (some of whom are real characters) who had these ideas and their own specialty, and used both to define aspects of the postmortem scene to elucidate the interval after death. Furthermore, it was helpful to learn about how different fields contributed a better understanding of what happens after death and how that translates into a time interval…and how that knowledge may help you catch and prosecute the bad guy (or gal). This book definitely has a high Ick Factor, so if you’re squeamish, don’t bother. But, if you’re at all curious and can put your “Ew!” on hold, it’s worth a read.
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