Mary Roach's fascinating account of the "life" of human cadavers is an awakening experience. At all times respectful and often times hilarious, Roach follows the history of cadavers through science's weirdest untertakings - from anatomy labs and human decay research farms to medicinal cannibalism - and proves the cadavers invaluable role to life.

Mary Roach's fascinating account of the "life" of human cadavers is an awakening experience. At all times respectful and often times hilarious, Roach follows the history of cadavers through science's weirdest untertakings - from anatomy labs and human decay research farms to medicinal cannibalism - and proves the cadavers invaluable role to life.

"One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year....Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting."—Entertainment Weekly

Mary Roach's writing has appeared in Salon, Wired, Outside, GQ, Discover, Vogue, and the New York Times Magazine; her column, "My Planet," appears monthly in Reader's Digest. She lives in San Francisco.

Publisher: W. W. Norton
Published: 20040500
Pages: 304

Fascinating and oddly fun. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Roach's dry, irreverent wit makes for a delightful—though never disrespectful—read. (Time Out New York, Les Simpson, 17 April 2003)
Acutely entertaining, morbidly fascinating. (Forbes)
A laugh-out-loud funny book....one of those wonderful books that offers enlightenment in the guise of entertainment. (Washington City Paper)
As weird as the book gets, Roach manages to convey a sense of respect and appreciation for her subjects. (Los Angeles Times)
One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year....Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting. (Entertainment Weekly)
Expect the insightful with the hilarious. (PW Daily, Bridget Kinsella, 5 May 2003)
Delightful....authoritative, endlessly curious and drolly funny. (Seattle Times, Adam Wong, 11 May 2003)
Outrageously funny, irreverent (but respectful)....so delightfully written, this book is difficult to put down. (Denver Post, Brian Richard Boylan, 11 May 2003)
[Roach] manages to make material that normally comes with a warning for the faint-hearted somehow light-hearted (San Jose Mercury News, Jill Wolfson, 27 April 2003)
Roach displays her metier in tangents about bizarre incendents in pathological history. (Booklist, Gilbert Taylor, 15 March 2003)