How do I begin?
As a future (hopefully...cross your fingers) medical student, I have to say that I was very curious about cadaver dissection. I had spoken to a few medical students and read a few books...gross anatomy looked pretty grim.
Luckily, I also work in a bookstore. While I was shelving books, I ran across Roach's "Stiff". Immediately, I was intrigued. I started reading the book as soon as I got home. This is very cliche, but I truly could not put it down!
Roach examines the usefulness of the human body after death. From serving as dissectable teaching materials in the gross anatomy labs in medical schools to serving as crash test dummies, we learn that we can serve a purpose even in death.
Roach describes her experiences vividly...you feel as though you're experiencing these things with her. Suprisingly, this book is very amusing. She never ridicules or tries to "dehumanize" the cadaver she is describing. In fact, she shows us that although dead, these cadavers are still human. These people made conscious decisions to offer their bodies to improve medicine, science, car safety, and many more things. We should be grateful to them.
I would recommend this book to just about everyone. You will not be offended with anything in this book, rather, you will be enlightened.
Recommended:
