About this title: In CORPSE, Jessica Snyder Sachs explores exactly how forensic pathologists are coming closer and closer to correctly establishing time of death--that invaluable bit of information in fiction as well as grisly fact. Their keenest tool, explains Sachs, is not DNA testing or a technological whats-it, but nature itself.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Perseus Pub
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780738203362ISBN:073820336X
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this item supports Pierce County libraries. Thriftbooks and PCL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, MA
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780738203362ISBN:073820336X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Like new except shelf wear to cover and one crease in spine. Glued binding. 270 p. Index. BibliobraphyAudience: General/trade. Perhaps the 'base line'text on the process of bodily decomposition and determining the time of death. read more
Description: Very Good. No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. General shelf wear, tight binding, clean pages, spine is slightly cocked, cover is bent up a little. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: MJF Books, New York, New York
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9781567317022ISBN:1567317022
Description: Good. No Jacket. 8vo-Between 7 3/4" and 9 3/4" 270 page book is in good condition with edgewear, scuffing of cover, discoloration of cover and page sides, and pages 27 and 29 are crinkled. No DJ. This book is the story of the pursuit and journey to finding a time of death for a corpse. It tells the birth of a trio of natural sciences that together address what might be called the forensic ecology of human remains. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Perseus Publishing
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780738203362ISBN:073820336X
Description: Fine in fine dust jacket. Excellent Condition. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 270 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: MJF Books, New York, N.Y.
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9781567317022ISBN:1567317022
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" Light shelf wear and bumping, otherwise binding is straight and tight, book is bright and unmarked. Nice dust jacket with light edge wear, light stain on reverse side, in a new Mylar protective cover. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Perseus Publishing
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780738203362ISBN:073820336X
Description: Fine in very good dust jacket. D/j is slightly worn with 2mm tear; otherwise is very fine. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 270 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: FINE/FINE. Determining the exact time of death by forensic investigators, the dark side of death. As-new condition, no marks or wear. 2003, Perseus hardbound, 1st ed, 270 pp. read more
Description: Very Good. Trade paperback. Very good condition; edges, corners, and covers of book show minor wear. No underlining; no highlighting; no internal markings. In sealed plastic protection. 2002. Trade paperback. read more
"If only the publisher had included a bibliography, I would have given this book five stars. It's obviously exhaustively researched, as well as entertaining and informative. That said, I follow up on bibliographies, and the lack of one in this book is a tragedy, as I flagged several points throughout that I would have liked to read more about.
I particularly recommend this book to fans of the TV show Bones, as it traces the history of the various fields of study showcased in that fictional Smithsonian lab."
"If talk of maggots and decay turns your stomach, stop here. You probably won't enjoy this book.
But if you're a forensics junkie, run out and get Corpse right away. It's not only packed with interesting cases and people; it's the best book I've come across, in terms of clear writing and good research.
Jessica Snyder Sachs, a former editor of Science Digest, is a freelance science and health writer. She has a knack for making the gruesome fascinating and the mundane intriguing. And it all revolves around the hunt for the elusive moment of death.
By determining the time of death, police can show whether a suspect could have been at the scene.
There are a variety of methods to finding time of death. The most familiar deals with what Sachs calls the "triple stopwatches of death:" rigor, algor, and livor mortis. Most people know that rigor is when the muscles become rigid. Algor mortis is the change in body temperature as the victim cools and livor mortis - or lividity - is the settling of blood in the lowest points of the body. These three methods are not very reliable because so many factors affect their timetables. Ambient temperature, whether the body is covered, uncovered, clothed, in water, buried, animal activity, and weather are among the factors influencing changes in the body. Stomach contents can sometimes prove helpful, but pre-death activity can affect the rate the stomach empties. And in the case of partially or fully decomposed bodies, what is one to do?
In my last article, I talked a little bit about forensic entomology. Sachs dives into the history and current practices of this incredible and often-overlooked field. Dr. Bill Bass shows up, as well as several of his protégés and colleagues. The stories are riveting.
Here is an example:
Paul Catts, a former professor of entomology at Washington State University, was asked by Tacoma police to help when they discovered the decomposing body of a 34-year-old man who had been shot in the neck in his apartment, which was locked from the inside.
There were signs of a struggle, yet the only gun, found in a nightstand, was unfired and didn't match the victim's bullet.
Investigators collected the only evidence they could find: a handful of maggots.
Catts found that two generations of blowflies had hatched. Using the predictable three weeks per generation, Catts estimated that the body had been in the room at least six weeks.
Searching police reports, detectives ran across a nearby party in Catts' timeframe in which one enthusiastic partygoer had fired several shots into the air. Ballistics experts matched the bullet to the gun and traced the bullet's path from the party, to a metal beam of an adjacent garage, where it ricocheted into the victim's bedroom.
Sachs writes, "Clearly, death had not been instantaneous, given the apparent signs of struggle."
Ugly. But what a way to solve a crime!
Sachs also looks at forensic botany, a field I had never heard of. Plants apparently serve as fairly reliable witnesses, if properly interpreted. Advances in reading chemical markers have also been made and though the chapter discussing this area is short, the science sounds promising.
Accuracy is vital in the field of forensic ecology, and Sachs reviews the efforts of leaders who have made impressive discoveries, emphasizing caution and conservative estimates."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
