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erinbeingliterate's review against another edition
4.0
Its more of a 3.5, but i am giving it a 4 because most of my issues are personal and not with the book itself. I thought many parts of this book were fascinating, I did not realize how many uses cadavers have. The writing style was fantastic and humorous, I would like to read some of her other books. However, some parts made me a little squeamish and the animal testing she described was heartbreaking.
anotherheather's review against another edition
challenging
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
lou_1440's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
xtianreads's review against another edition
3.0
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a comedic exposition to understand what happens with our body scientifically, the moment we expire, and the moment we donate our body to science in the name of science, from the eyes of a philomath.
A short read with just 320 pages, a book that one can read after a long read. Though, Stiff, as a quick read, has a different effect on people. If you're in the medical field, Stiff can be just another academic book. Talking about how science deals with dead bodies and how the medical field and we, as a society, progress using the skull, flesh, and heads of lamented people. However, if you're not from any medical-related field, this book will shock you. From this point of view, Stiff is blunt, uncanny, and agonizing.
As a Nursing major, I felt like stiff is the comedic approach to one of my anatomy lessons. Explaining how the body decomposes and what people do in the name of advancement.
Stiff is a scientific approach to death. If you're afraid of death, read this. If you're someone who's not scared of dying, read this. Death without religion, death without faith, all in the eyes of science.
"You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules." - Francis Crick, The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul.
"But can you prove that, Dr. Crick? If not, then it's no more good to me than the proclamations of God in the Old Testament. It's just an opinion." - Mary Roach, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.
A short read with just 320 pages, a book that one can read after a long read. Though, Stiff, as a quick read, has a different effect on people. If you're in the medical field, Stiff can be just another academic book. Talking about how science deals with dead bodies and how the medical field and we, as a society, progress using the skull, flesh, and heads of lamented people. However, if you're not from any medical-related field, this book will shock you. From this point of view, Stiff is blunt, uncanny, and agonizing.
As a Nursing major, I felt like stiff is the comedic approach to one of my anatomy lessons. Explaining how the body decomposes and what people do in the name of advancement.
Stiff is a scientific approach to death. If you're afraid of death, read this. If you're someone who's not scared of dying, read this. Death without religion, death without faith, all in the eyes of science.
"You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules." - Francis Crick, The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul.
"But can you prove that, Dr. Crick? If not, then it's no more good to me than the proclamations of God in the Old Testament. It's just an opinion." - Mary Roach, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.
trin's review against another edition
3.0
A nonfiction exploration of the various uses bodies are put to after people die. This was interesting and full of light humor, if not necessarily revelatory—I feel like I learned some cool details, but my outlook wasn't exactly changed or anything; I wasn't blown away by the information contained within these pages. I also wasn't squicked by the descriptions of what goes on, with the exception of 1) a few instances involving cannibalism, 2) some descriptions of head-swapping experiments that have implications that still freak me out, and 3) MAGGOTS. Ever since an incident with a dead squirrel when I was little, I cannot abide even the thought of maggots or larvae or...well, you get the idea. And personally, I won't be eating Rice Krispies for a while. (Think about it.)
Anyway, like I said: interesting, but definitely something I'm glad I got from the library as opposed to purchasing.
Anyway, like I said: interesting, but definitely something I'm glad I got from the library as opposed to purchasing.