It seems like Mary Roach is everywhere this summer. I read a review in a blog post, and later heard an interview on NPR. Naturally, I downloaded and read her book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.

Yes, it’s about death and more specifically, what’s physically left after death. But there’s so much more around the edges of death, and the physical possibilities around those edges. Aside from all the dying and dead bodies, what really struck me was how deep and wide Roach’s research process must be. She really draws you into her research process, telling you both how she found what she shares, as well as tidbits of the things that didn’t make it, the things that were just so interesting but didn’t quite fit in a chapter anywhere.

Of any of the science nonfiction books I’ve read recently, one is a great example of how scientific writing doesn’t need to be so stuffy and personality-less. This would be a great example for students, who sometimes get stuck when writing lab reports because they feel there’s no place for their own perspective.

Right before I read this book I read The zombie servival guide by Max Brooks. I always bring my books to work with me so I can read them at lunch. My co-workers asked what I was reading. I showed them and now everyone thinks I a weirdo. I so glad that other people really enjoyed this book and are just as weird as I am.

I bought this book for my doctor sister for Christmas last year and always wanted to read it myself, so when I saw it at a book sale, I picked it up. Best 5 bucks spent on a book, ever! While Roach’s subject matter is fascinating, it’s not exactly stuff you would consider funny by most counts. But her excellent writing and wicked sense of humour had me giggling and guffawing by turns. I love this book and I can’t wait to see what she’ll write next.

Sure it’s all about dead bodies, or more properly, cadavers, but ‘Stiff’ also happens to be one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Got some pretty strange looks on the bus and in cafés when people saw what I was laughing so hard about. Highly recommended!

I got my mom this for her birthday. She liked it and said I should read it, so I borrowed it. Good book. It’s so interesting and for exactly the right reasons. The author simply wants to take a detailed look at what happens to bodies after the people are done with them. There’s rotting and the different ways to do it, as well as things that cadavers can be useful for, like vehicle safety tests and anatomy lab, or as fertilizer. To an extent, we each have a choice of what to do with our bodies once we’re dead, and the author seems to have a logical (and sensitive) perspective on the choices. She’s also way funny and just comfortable enough to make it not so weird to read about dead bodies.

I read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers for Book Club in June. And let me tell you, folks, it was great. We get a ton of information about how the dead human body has helped with great scientific and technical advances. We also get chapters on crucifiction experiements, the funeral industry, head transplants(!!!), and cannibalism. I found something interesting in every chapter, but for me the biggest strength was the chapter on the ways to deal with human remains. We sometimes have a difficult time thinking about what happens after we’re dead, and the ideas she presents here, while they may be uncomfortable for some people, deserve to be read and thought about by a wide audience.

Roach’s style is a great fit for this material. She’s reverent when the subject matter demands it, and light and amusing when you need a bit of a break from the graphic details. There were points where I thought she got a little rambly, but that’s a minor quibble for a book this enjoyable. All in all, Stiff is humorous, intelligent, thought-provoking, and extremely readable, and I haven’t read a book that I could recommend this highly in over a year.

OK, look. I read books when I’m at lunch by myself, right? So, loudly cracking up and laughing isn’t uncommon for me. But with this book, I actually had someone lean across the aisle and ask me what I was reading. When I told him “it’s a book about dead bodies” he quickly left the cafe….

It’s hysterically funny, but also touching and respectful and lovely. If you are squeamish, there are passages that might be a little too much, but overall, it was quite good and straightforward. I am prone to nightmares, but had none while reading this book.

I don’t want my head to be a facelift test run. Ugh.

After visiting a medical school gross anatomy class in college (it was halfway through the semester, so parts were definitely well laid out) and seeing the rows of plastinated tumors, parasite infections, and 18th century gunshot wounds at the Royal College of Surgeons Museum in Edinburgh, I wasn’t sure a purportedly humorous book on the subject had much to add. Fortunately, I was entirely wrong. Mary Roach has dug up several fascinating (and yes, humorous) stories of what happens to people after they’re dead. She not only explains the science and history behind everything, but somehow manages to convey the absurdities of the process of dying (or post-process?) in a completely respectful way.

The chapter on head transplants was the most striking. I hadn’t realized how far along head transplant technology has come, and this is one instance where I’m actually grateful for our society’s religious hangups.

Extremely well-written, humorous yet informative. (Example—after a section about experiments in which parts of dogs were grafted on to other dogs, Roach writes, “Now things start to get strange.” As though the dog experiments weren’t strange enough.)

I had no idea there was so much to know about dead bodies. The book was more fascinating than repellent; the author asks lots of questions you’d be afraid to ask (and some you wish she hadn’t asked). I found only the section on plane crashes to be distressing, and I wish I hadn’t read it . . . but the rest of the book, I’m glad I read. Now I just wish my husband would read it.

time to donate my body.

The author has a great writing style. Perfect flow and a good general appeal without too much dumbing down. I love her twisted sense of humor, the willingness to take a more remote view of a serious topic. No matter how you look at it, death is absurd not serious.

Mary Roach is a bit of loon. She’s also a talented writer. It takes a certain amount of talent produce prose, on the subject of dead and decaying human flesh, that is well written enough to not only keep the reader turning pages but also wanting more at the end. (Her description of the process of human decay is at once memorable and entertaining.) It also takes a certain kind of reader to buy and read a book about the adventures of human cadavers. I’m not sure what kind of reader that is, but I’m now sure I’m one of them. For those curious about somewhat strange and morbid topics, and who also appreciate witty, intelligent writing, Mary Roach’s book is definitely the ticket. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn a few things, and you may even end up a bit smarter for having read it. And you’ll have some great new cocktail conversation…for people you want to frighten away.

gave me zombie nightmares. but i mean that in a good way.

Mary Roach is a bit of a nut, and her style reflects that. But she’s a fun nut, and I’d read more if she had any other books out.