Stiff
The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Published on 31. August 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-393-88172-1 (ISBN)
Description
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 confirmation surgery, cadavers have helped make history in their quiet way. "Delightful-though never disrespectful" (Les Simpson, Time Out New York), Stiff investigates the strange lives of our bodies postmortem and answers the question: What should we do after we die?
"This quirky, funny read offers perspective and insight about life, death and the medical profession. . . . You can close this book with an appreciation of the miracle that the human body really is." -Tara Parker-Pope, Wall Street Journal
"Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting." -Entertainment Weekly
"This quirky, funny read offers perspective and insight about life, death and the medical profession. . . . You can close this book with an appreciation of the miracle that the human body really is." -Tara Parker-Pope, Wall Street Journal
"Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting." -Entertainment Weekly
Reviews / Votes
"This quirky, funny read offers perspective and insight about life, death and the medical profession.... You can close this book with an appreciation of the miracle that the human body really is." -- Tara Parker-Pope - Wall Street Journal "A laugh-out-loud funny book... one of those wonderful books that offers up enlightenment in the guise of entertainment." -- Michael Little - Washington City Paper "As weird as the book gets, Roach manages to convey a sense of respect and appreciation for her subjects." -- Roy Rivenburg - Los Angeles Times "Roach is authoritative, endlessly curious and drolly funny. Her research is scrupulous and winningly presented." -- Adam Woog - Seattle Times "Mary Roach is one of an endangered species: a science writer with a sense of humor. She is able to make macabre funny without looting death of its dignity." -- Brian Richard Boylan - Denver Post "Roach writes in an insouciant style and displays her metier in tangents about bizarre incidents in pathological history. Death may have the last laugh, but, in the meantime, Roach finds merriment in the macabre." -- Gilbert Taylor - Booklist "Acutely entertaining, morbidly fascinating." -- Susan Adams - ForbesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 207 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
258 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-393-88172-1 (9780393881721)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2025
W. W. Norton & Company
€22.46
Available for download
Person
Mary Roach is the author of seven best-selling works of nonfiction, including Grunt, Stiff, and, most recently, Fuzz. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She lives in California.