Have you ever heard of an exploding whale or seen the process of decay of carcasses? Well, Stiff goes into the goriest details of the progression of decay of cadavers which are dead human bodies. With each word it paints a very vivid picture of the scene Roach experienced at Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s almost so real that you can even smell the distinct and unique smell of decaying cadavers. Now this is only one chapter of the book.
Let’s delve in deeper.
Roach nicely divides 12 different topics into twelve different chapters. In order to prevent the monotony of rambling on and on about this book, I will highlight some very interesting points. Right off the bat, the books starts off on a queer note. “The human head is of the same approximate size and weight as a roaster chicken.” Now, Roach is able to make is comparison because she is at a university in which surgeons practice surgery on the heads of cadavers. She explains, that it is a very practical and helpful way for surgeons to practice surgery since the head is already inanimate and cannot feel or perceive pain. However it is sometimes very burdening for the surgeons because the heads seem so “real” and “alive.”
Another interesting fact that the book expounded upon was the cadavers used as crash test dummies. In the place of plastic dummies or manikins, cadavers have provided much useful knowledge during crashes. Through extensive testing, scientists have been able to discover the maximum impact that parts of the human can withstand before breaking. This has allowed car manufacturers to develop safer cars that will allow us to escape accidents with no major injuries.
Running Head Book Review Of The Frank Pacettas Book
Running head: BOOK REVIEW OF THE FRANK PACETTAS BOOK DONT FIRE THEM, FIRE THEM UP Book Review of the Frank Pacettas book Dont Fire Them, Fire Them Up August 13, 2008 Book Review of the Frank Pacettas book Dont Fire Them, Fire Them Up Frank Pacettas book is obviously one of the most exciting books about leadership. This is a real-world story enabling the readers to gain a victory in a competitive ...
The book was very enlightening and interesting. Although it was gruesome and gory in many parts of the book, I enjoyed reading it overall. I especially enjoyed the less formal writing style and diction of the author Mary Roach. It almost seemed like colloquial language and she was having a conversation with me. This made me more entrenched in the book and allowed the ghastly facts seem less so. The seemingly hard concepts in her book, were written in such a way that I could easily understand. I wouldn’t say it was the best book I have read.
However, this book is in a totally new category of books. It is not the literature we read in school such as Romeo and Juliet and Scarlet Letter nor the scientific commentaries. It is informal presentation of totally unique material. In this distinctive category, the book would definitely be the best. It truly showed me a new perspective and opened a whole new world to me. Before I had read this book, I did not even have a clue about cadavers. However, after I read it, I now have a clear and vivid picture of these cadavers and their curious lives. I would have never imagined this and probably never stumble upon this kind of knowledge in my lifetime. This book is truly one of most unusual books ever written.
For this I give it full points.
Mary Roach is an American author who specializes in popular science. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wesleyan University. Her career has consisted of writing articles for a variety of magazine including: Vogue, Outside, National Geographic, New Scientist, etc. She has won multiple awards for her articles one of which was a National Magazine Award Finalist. Although she does not have a science degree, she is very well educated and has a working knowledge of science.
Also she has many connections with many influential and professions of their field which provides much validity to her claims and descriptions. Dead whales explode because of the gases that build up in the intestines inside their body caused by the bacteria. Similar things happen inside a cadaver. Sometimes, the openings through which gases pass are closed. As a result the gas keeps building up and the cadaver simply explodes when the pressure gets too big. The book provided me with such kinds of knowledge that truly opened my eyes to a new world and horizon. BOOM!
The Essay on Don Quixote Books Read Chivalry
Humans are set apart from all other animals for one reason. We have the power of imagination and thus power to interpret what we read. Therefore, we can argue that the written word is the most meaningful of all types of communication. It is valid to say that if ten people read a book and were asked to retell the book in their own words that we'd hear ten different versions of the same book. In ...
