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Silent Witness: How Forensic Anthropology is Used to Solve the World's Toughest Crimes
"Bones have an uncanny knack of holding important clues as to the fate of the individuals to whom they belonged." As portrayed in mystery novels and more than nine television shows including Crime Scene Investigation , American Justice and City Confidential , forensic anthropologists work in an environment where the stakes are high, the pressure is intense, and their findings are vital in criminal investigations. It's a fascinating and often dramatic world. Go behind the scenes with forensic anthropologists and learn about their techniques, how they locate a body, how they carefully uncover evidence, and how the unique characteristics of each body bears silent witness to age, sex, cause of death and clues as to who or what was responsible. With 29 real-life case studies and more than 350 color photographs and illustrations, Silent Witness is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the world of forensics.
192 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 1, 2009
I was disappointed that this was a book on disasters & killings, not on Forensic Pathology as described. It started out with some decent descriptions of the science, but it quickly dissolved into simply describing disasters in fair detail & then saying, "forensic pathologists helped..." without really saying how. The Case Studies were pretty good, if you want to know about murders & disasters. Generally a page or two, they gave a good overview of some of the more gruesome moments in our history from famous murders to serial killers, transportation accidents & political killings. Not what I was reading the book for, though.
The writing was very uneven & I felt that entire blocks of text were re-used in various sections. In some places her verbiage was extremely technical while in others she dumbed it down & repeated herself until I felt a 3 year old could comprehend it. She defines a forensic pathologist & then confuses the issue throughout the book, often refering to a 'multi-discipline' approach in vague ways.
The start of the book had pictures & text out of order - pictures & side bars were showing up way before the text called for them. This was fixed by the end of the book, but it seemed to be an attempt to present eye-catching, gory events quickly to capture the reader's interest.
There wasn't a single reference to Bill Bass or Death's Acre in the entire book, which is pretty amazing since Bass & his testing site have made a huge contribution to the science. When Bass started out, as an anthropologist, the field was full of guess work, especially in regards to soft body decomposition & insect activity. While Ferllini points out how important these are, she fails to credit Bass for pioneering the field.
The pictures were excellent in most cases. Lots of them & in excellent color. There were a few extraneous pictures that were explained only by their blurb, no real explanation as to why we got to see them or how they helped.
Overall, it wasn't a very good book, certainly not what I thought I was buying. I think I'll keep it, unless someone else has something better to trade, because it does have some good pictures & interesting case histories, but I generally feel ripped off.
The writing was very uneven & I felt that entire blocks of text were re-used in various sections. In some places her verbiage was extremely technical while in others she dumbed it down & repeated herself until I felt a 3 year old could comprehend it. She defines a forensic pathologist & then confuses the issue throughout the book, often refering to a 'multi-discipline' approach in vague ways.
The start of the book had pictures & text out of order - pictures & side bars were showing up way before the text called for them. This was fixed by the end of the book, but it seemed to be an attempt to present eye-catching, gory events quickly to capture the reader's interest.
There wasn't a single reference to Bill Bass or Death's Acre in the entire book, which is pretty amazing since Bass & his testing site have made a huge contribution to the science. When Bass started out, as an anthropologist, the field was full of guess work, especially in regards to soft body decomposition & insect activity. While Ferllini points out how important these are, she fails to credit Bass for pioneering the field.
The pictures were excellent in most cases. Lots of them & in excellent color. There were a few extraneous pictures that were explained only by their blurb, no real explanation as to why we got to see them or how they helped.
Overall, it wasn't a very good book, certainly not what I thought I was buying. I think I'll keep it, unless someone else has something better to trade, because it does have some good pictures & interesting case histories, but I generally feel ripped off.
December 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Anthropology is my #1 non-fiction subject. So, I started reading this book with great expectation.
Unfortunately, this book is uninformative and uninteresting.
The case studies are too brief and most of which, I'm already familiar with. Dahmer, Green River Killer, Rwandan genocide and the Rape of Nanking have been covered by other forms of media since dinosaurs walked the Earth.
Worse still, most pages are filled with pictures instead of words. And in the little that the author wrote, there's very little science.
I put part of the blame on myself too. The subtitle clearly indicates this book is mostly about examination of bones (osteology & forensic anthropology), not tissues & organs (forensic pathology) to understand cause and manner of death.
To those, who like me, are obsessed with true crime and science of the dead, I highly recommend Knight's Forensic Pathology instead. It's 800+ pages long and is a definitive international postgraduate textbook for forensic pathologists.
⭐ ⭐
Read from Dec 4 - 15
Anthropology is my #1 non-fiction subject. So, I started reading this book with great expectation.
Unfortunately, this book is uninformative and uninteresting.
The case studies are too brief and most of which, I'm already familiar with. Dahmer, Green River Killer, Rwandan genocide and the Rape of Nanking have been covered by other forms of media since dinosaurs walked the Earth.
Worse still, most pages are filled with pictures instead of words. And in the little that the author wrote, there's very little science.
I put part of the blame on myself too. The subtitle clearly indicates this book is mostly about examination of bones (osteology & forensic anthropology), not tissues & organs (forensic pathology) to understand cause and manner of death.
To those, who like me, are obsessed with true crime and science of the dead, I highly recommend Knight's Forensic Pathology instead. It's 800+ pages long and is a definitive international postgraduate textbook for forensic pathologists.
⭐ ⭐
Read from Dec 4 - 15
July 21, 2017
A Lena pick PM read-aloud. Slow going because I could only read a little of this at a time. Heavy, man. K gave it a 3. L couldn't decide if she should give it a 4 or a 5...she said she wanted more of the case studies. Between you and me, I skipped about half of the case studies because I admit to squeamishness about reading about serial killers and human rights atrocities. Go figure. So I guess she probably would have given it a 5 if it weren't for her mother. She will probably just take the book and read about them on her own. Oh well. I'm the worst! Anyway averaging it out to a 4.
November 6, 2017
Easy-to-read overview of the field, clearly and respectfully presented, never sensationalist. Not a lot of new information for people who read/watch as many "murder stories" as I do, but a few surprising insights. The sections on mass disasters were deeply affecting. I have new respect for the endurance and dedication of the investigative response teams.
November 26, 2024
Read this as part of my Intro to Anthropology class and it was very informative. Very heavily increased my interest in this field of work.
I technically had to read both the 1st and 2nd edition, but Goodreads only had the one option 😅
I technically had to read both the 1st and 2nd edition, but Goodreads only had the one option 😅
October 3, 2018
Good idea, well researched, but poorly written and poorly edited. If you have other sources, skip this one until a better-edited edition comes out.
October 17, 2008
THERE'S A LOT MORE TO SOLVING CRIME THAN DNA! A great book, wonderful full-color pictures, exceptional graphic illustrations. Obviously, a great deal of work went into putting this book together. Looking at 29 different cases, the author explores the study of the crime using anthropology, bones, exhumations, outdoor settings, fabric analysis, identification by body parts/reconstruction, video/image superimposition, air/fire/explosive disasters to genocide and massacres (that's not everything either). A wealth of information. Perfect for the crime reader/writer or researcher.
June 9, 2015
Textbook level treatment never rises above that pedestrian level. Some gross pictures are mildly interesting, but even the case studies aren't well done.
If you want more interesting forensic science for general readers, look at these books I've read and reviewed:
A Question of Evidence: The Casebook of Great Forensic Controversies, from Napoleon to O.J.
Murder Two: The Second Casebook of Forensic Detection
If you want more interesting forensic science for general readers, look at these books I've read and reviewed:
A Question of Evidence: The Casebook of Great Forensic Controversies, from Napoleon to O.J.
Murder Two: The Second Casebook of Forensic Detection
July 19, 2011
The ability to use forensic techniques to discover the cause of death, time of death, and the physical characteristics of humans is fascinating. Unfortunately this was written like a text book, and consequently wasn't very interesting.
I'm hoping there is another book about forensic anthropology that is more interesting. I'll read it.
I'm hoping there is another book about forensic anthropology that is more interesting. I'll read it.
July 20, 2013
As a writer researching the field of forensic anthropology for one of my novels, I found this book to be an especially helpful resource. The basic introduction and case studies were fascinating and informative. I strongly encourage anyone interested in this particular field of study or career choice to read this book.
July 20, 2007
- Definitely a must-read for all those with an interest in all areas of forensic science and not just forensic anthropology. There are a lot of very interesting case studies and the photographs used are just amazing.
January 11, 2014
Drier and more technical than I expected. I skimmed over quite a bit of the material introducing each section, though the 'case studies' were interesting (even if the author did like tooting the forensic anthropologist horn a bit).
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November 24, 2008Interesting
March 9, 2013
Really liked this book alot. Lots of info presented in an interesting way.
December 27, 2013
I loved this book. it showed great detail and photos. it went into all the topics one doesn't even think about when you think of death and crimes.
May 12, 2014
good book
January 7, 2015
This book presented a great deal of information and adds to your knowledge of how forensic science works.
August 23, 2015
Enjoyed this book, lots of photos, case files and interesting facts.
May 30, 2019
Not bad, but no new information for those who already read too many crime novels and watch excessive amount of murders documentaries. Who, me?
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews