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settingshadow's review
3.0
This memoir of one of the most famous medical examiners is a decent showing. It is immediately clear that Dr. Baden's strength is science, rather than writing -- many of his cases lack a proper setup, climax and/or conclusion and he could stand to add some excitement to his descriptions of his findings.
The two major flaws of this book are length and audience. At approximately 250 pages for a narrative that covers Kennedy, Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, three serial killers, a prison riot, Baden's sundry employment history and several other chapters, each section can only be granted 2-3 pages, which really undermines the richness of the narrative. In terms of Dr. Baden's intended audience, it is simply unclear. He states in his conclusions that one of his intentions is to encourage more medical students to enter the field; however, as a senior medical student, I was untouched by his accounts. The clinical discussion did not occur at a high enough scientific level to intrigue me. At the other extreme, I am doubtful of how interesting this book would be to a purely lay audience -- there are several pages dedicated to the politics of the office of medical examiner, untold descriptions of hyoid bone fractures and petechiae and vitreous fluid, much of which with little explanation. A third drawback is that Unnatural Death is beginning to show its age -- Baden's discussion of the pathophysiology of cirrhosis is outdated and his account of how to prevent SIDS makes no mention of sleeping position, which is now the standard of care.
Nevertheless, Unnatural Death is a quick read and a rare first hand account of the myriad of roles taken on by a medical examiner, from autopsy to crime scene investigation to courtroom. If you can overcome the awkward pacing and uncanny valley between medical text and popular science book, it is certainly worth a read.
The two major flaws of this book are length and audience. At approximately 250 pages for a narrative that covers Kennedy, Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, three serial killers, a prison riot, Baden's sundry employment history and several other chapters, each section can only be granted 2-3 pages, which really undermines the richness of the narrative. In terms of Dr. Baden's intended audience, it is simply unclear. He states in his conclusions that one of his intentions is to encourage more medical students to enter the field; however, as a senior medical student, I was untouched by his accounts. The clinical discussion did not occur at a high enough scientific level to intrigue me. At the other extreme, I am doubtful of how interesting this book would be to a purely lay audience -- there are several pages dedicated to the politics of the office of medical examiner, untold descriptions of hyoid bone fractures and petechiae and vitreous fluid, much of which with little explanation. A third drawback is that Unnatural Death is beginning to show its age -- Baden's discussion of the pathophysiology of cirrhosis is outdated and his account of how to prevent SIDS makes no mention of sleeping position, which is now the standard of care.
Nevertheless, Unnatural Death is a quick read and a rare first hand account of the myriad of roles taken on by a medical examiner, from autopsy to crime scene investigation to courtroom. If you can overcome the awkward pacing and uncanny valley between medical text and popular science book, it is certainly worth a read.
ballinnnnnn's review
3.0
Medical examining has always interested me, I even spent a bit of time in nursing school thinking that was the direction I wanted to go into, so when a friend at work told me she had found this book at a yard sale and was reading it, I told her I was going to need to borrow it. Unfortunately this was copywrite'd in 1989, so obviously the technology isn't so up to date, I imagine in 25 years of discovery, they're now far more adept at unearthing the hows and whys of death. I would be very interested to read an updated version of this work. I give it three stars, because even with my interest and semi knowledge of the matter, it didn't keep me enthralled. I assumed this would be a "I can't put it down" type of read, but it wasn't, when I read it, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't as earth shattering as I would have hoped it to be.
innae's review
3.0
It was a good enough book...mostly "war stories" and in today's world of "CSI" and "Dexter" it is nice to read stories that are at least partially true.
crowyhead's review
4.0
The prose is pretty workmanlike here, and I agree with a lot of reviewers who've mentioned that there is little in the way of set up for a lot of the stories. All the same, this is a fascinating account of what it means to be a talented medical examiner. I particularly enjoyed the detective aspect of it: cases where others had drawn the wrong conclusions, and it took someone like Dr. Baden to piece things together and determine what had really occurred.
miss_jakobs32's review
4.0
4/5
I was introduced to this book by the HBO series, "Autopsy" which was available on YouTube (not sure if it's on there anymore). Dr. Baden's most famous cases were trotted out where the forensic evidence was the deciding factor on making a case or destroying it.
The book goes a bit farther and delves into some of Dr. Baden's memoirs, including his beef with the New York City mayor and DA in the 80s, in which he sued for being let go. But reading his recollections, they had a point. I mean, Dr. Baden clearly considers himself a man of high moral integrity and while that's admirable, he's not really much of a team player. He thinks too highly of himself and his expertise. I could see how that would affect the working relationships with his colleagues. But at the same time, he did highlight how separate counties and states must work together and not rely so much on professional courtesy and politics to dictate truth. I could see his point, but it's not winning him any friends.
A fast read, with extremely interesting viewpoints of a medical forensic pathologist.
I was introduced to this book by the HBO series, "Autopsy" which was available on YouTube (not sure if it's on there anymore). Dr. Baden's most famous cases were trotted out where the forensic evidence was the deciding factor on making a case or destroying it.
The book goes a bit farther and delves into some of Dr. Baden's memoirs, including his beef with the New York City mayor and DA in the 80s, in which he sued for being let go. But reading his recollections, they had a point. I mean, Dr. Baden clearly considers himself a man of high moral integrity and while that's admirable, he's not really much of a team player. He thinks too highly of himself and his expertise. I could see how that would affect the working relationships with his colleagues. But at the same time, he did highlight how separate counties and states must work together and not rely so much on professional courtesy and politics to dictate truth. I could see his point, but it's not winning him any friends.
A fast read, with extremely interesting viewpoints of a medical forensic pathologist.
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