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Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales
“Fans of the forensics-oriented novels of such mystery writers as Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell...not to mention television series like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation , will make an eager audience for this one.”— Booklist
On a patch of land in the Tennessee hills, human corpses decompose in the open air, aided by insects, bacteria, and birds, unhindered by coffins or mausoleums. This is Bill Bass’s “Body Farm,” where nature takes its course as bodies buried in shallow graves, submerged in water, or locked in car trunks serve the needs of science and the cause of justice.
In Death’s Acre , Bass invites readers on an unprecedented journey behind the gates of the Body Farm where he revolutionized forensic anthropology. A master scientist and an engaging storyteller, Bass reveals his most intriguing cases for the first time. He revisits the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder, explores the mystery of a headless corpse whose identity astonished police, divulges how the telltale traces of an insect sent a murderous grandfather to death row—and much more.
INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS
On a patch of land in the Tennessee hills, human corpses decompose in the open air, aided by insects, bacteria, and birds, unhindered by coffins or mausoleums. This is Bill Bass’s “Body Farm,” where nature takes its course as bodies buried in shallow graves, submerged in water, or locked in car trunks serve the needs of science and the cause of justice.
In Death’s Acre , Bass invites readers on an unprecedented journey behind the gates of the Body Farm where he revolutionized forensic anthropology. A master scientist and an engaging storyteller, Bass reveals his most intriguing cases for the first time. He revisits the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder, explores the mystery of a headless corpse whose identity astonished police, divulges how the telltale traces of an insect sent a murderous grandfather to death row—and much more.
INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2003
729 people are currently reading
30196 people want to read
About the author
William M. Bass
13 books317 followersCo Authors with
Jon Jefferson
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...
William M. Bass, often credited as Bill Bass, is a U.S. forensic anthropologist, renowned for his research on human osteology and human decomposition. He has also assisted federal, local, and non-US authorities in the identification of human remains. He taught at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and though currently retired from teaching, still plays an active research role at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility, which he founded. The Facility is more popularly known as the "Body Farm", a name used by crime author Patricia Cornwell in a novel of the same name, which drew inspiration from Dr. Bass and his work. Bass has also described the Body Farm in "Death's Acre" and "Beyond The Body Farm" – the titles of the bestselling books on his life and career, co-written with journalist Jon Jefferson. Bass and Jefferson have also written four fictional works, "Carved in Bone", "Flesh and Bone", "The Devil's Bones" and "Bones of Betrayal" under the pen name "Jefferson Bass."
Jon Jefferson
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...
William M. Bass, often credited as Bill Bass, is a U.S. forensic anthropologist, renowned for his research on human osteology and human decomposition. He has also assisted federal, local, and non-US authorities in the identification of human remains. He taught at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and though currently retired from teaching, still plays an active research role at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility, which he founded. The Facility is more popularly known as the "Body Farm", a name used by crime author Patricia Cornwell in a novel of the same name, which drew inspiration from Dr. Bass and his work. Bass has also described the Body Farm in "Death's Acre" and "Beyond The Body Farm" – the titles of the bestselling books on his life and career, co-written with journalist Jon Jefferson. Bass and Jefferson have also written four fictional works, "Carved in Bone", "Flesh and Bone", "The Devil's Bones" and "Bones of Betrayal" under the pen name "Jefferson Bass."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,005 reviews
April 1, 2013
Visiting the Body Farm in Tennessee would be my idea of a good day out. A scientific research facility which treats death as an informative transition period rather than something static and final, the Body Farm has become world famous.
As someone who has been routinely staring death in the face (or more accurately into the faces of hundreds of deceased, recent or otherwise), my desk is usually awash with texts and field manuals produced by William Bass and his colleagues. People often mistakenly believe that archaeologists only deal with the driest of bones. This is not true and a number of my experiences have been remarkably similar to those of Prof Bass (bodies appearing recently buried turning out to have been in the ground for over 120 years like Colonel Shy/ body bags really not being leak proof being two examples).
Deaths Acre takes you inside the body farm, providing detailed descriptions of the advances in forensic research, as well as an insight into the inspiration and relationships which led Prof Bass on his remarkable journey from army researcher to forensics lecturer and founder of the worlds most infamous research facility.
I have to admit to reading this for the forensic case details rather than info on Bill's personal life but despite being a 'ghosted' volume (perhaps in the literal and literary sense) it was an informative and educational read. Some of the descriptions and images are not for the squeamish so if you're not in possession of an ironcast gut then maybe you should just stick to Patricia Cornwell novels. If you're feeling double tough and want further access to forensic material then Bass's field guide to human osteology should be your next port of call.
As someone who has been routinely staring death in the face (or more accurately into the faces of hundreds of deceased, recent or otherwise), my desk is usually awash with texts and field manuals produced by William Bass and his colleagues. People often mistakenly believe that archaeologists only deal with the driest of bones. This is not true and a number of my experiences have been remarkably similar to those of Prof Bass (bodies appearing recently buried turning out to have been in the ground for over 120 years like Colonel Shy/ body bags really not being leak proof being two examples).
Deaths Acre takes you inside the body farm, providing detailed descriptions of the advances in forensic research, as well as an insight into the inspiration and relationships which led Prof Bass on his remarkable journey from army researcher to forensics lecturer and founder of the worlds most infamous research facility.
I have to admit to reading this for the forensic case details rather than info on Bill's personal life but despite being a 'ghosted' volume (perhaps in the literal and literary sense) it was an informative and educational read. Some of the descriptions and images are not for the squeamish so if you're not in possession of an ironcast gut then maybe you should just stick to Patricia Cornwell novels. If you're feeling double tough and want further access to forensic material then Bass's field guide to human osteology should be your next port of call.
March 5, 2008
As someone who has had a lifelong fascination with death, decomposition, murder, funerary and burial practices, and all manner of morbid stuff, I was eager to read Death's Acre. I had read a little about the Body Farm previously, so I couldn't wait to get the whole story from the man who started it all, Bill Bass.
I expected the book to focus very narrowly on the Body Farm itself, but that isn't the case. The reader does get information about Bass's background and how he got into anthropology -- and then forensics -- in the first place. This moves into logical background about Bass's initial work with corpses and the eventual founding of the Body Farm. I thought it was interesting that the Farm got started not only as a much-needed research facility for learning about an uncharted area of science, but it also seemed to have been started because Bass was running out of place to store messy dead bodies (a broom closet at the university and even the trunk of his beloved Mustang proved to be not the best places after all!).
The book then gets into some of the difficulties the Farm has had -- protests about its location, protests about the use of unclaimed cadavers (particularly those of U.S. veterans) and some of the projects it has hosted (including an adipocere formation experiment and an experiment suggested by crime author Patricia Cornwell).
But most of what comprises this book are stories about Bass's career -- his failures and successes. The failures (most notably the Shy case) point up the need for a facility like the Body Farm, and the successes point to the value of the data gathered at the site. All the workers at the Body Farm -- living and dead -- are doing a great deal to aid forensic science. In the future, justice for murder victims will be served more swiftly and accurately because of the work done at the Body Farm.
Avid readers of true crime will enjoy the specialized "professional" view of cases that may already be familiar to them. I was familiar with the Madison Rutherford and Perry/Rubinstein cases, but getting the technical details from Bass (shaped for maximum readability by his capable co-author Jon Jefferson) gave the stories a new dimension. Especially fascinating was the description of the study Bass's student made of the effects of different types of saws upon bone, which helped lead to a conviction in the death of Leslie Mahaffey, one of the victims of the diabolical Paul Bernardo, the male half of the Canadian "Barbie and Ken" husband-and-wife murder team. There's also an inside look at the infamous Tri-State Crematory case from 2002.
There's a lot of eye-popping detail in this book, some of it horrifying, some of it poignant, some of it -- dare I say -- hilarious. See if you can keep yourself from laughing when you find out why Bass had to buy his first wife two new kitchen stoves, or why he had to buy his third wife a new blender.
Even when the tone of the book becomes humorous, Bass is always professional and respectful. Bass sees himself as a scientist, first and foremost, and his ultimate goal is to use his science to bring criminals to justice. He's humble, big-hearted, and always willing to learn from anybody -- be it a colleague, one of his own students, or the voiceless dead who speak to him with their inert, shattered bones.
I expected the book to focus very narrowly on the Body Farm itself, but that isn't the case. The reader does get information about Bass's background and how he got into anthropology -- and then forensics -- in the first place. This moves into logical background about Bass's initial work with corpses and the eventual founding of the Body Farm. I thought it was interesting that the Farm got started not only as a much-needed research facility for learning about an uncharted area of science, but it also seemed to have been started because Bass was running out of place to store messy dead bodies (a broom closet at the university and even the trunk of his beloved Mustang proved to be not the best places after all!).
The book then gets into some of the difficulties the Farm has had -- protests about its location, protests about the use of unclaimed cadavers (particularly those of U.S. veterans) and some of the projects it has hosted (including an adipocere formation experiment and an experiment suggested by crime author Patricia Cornwell).
But most of what comprises this book are stories about Bass's career -- his failures and successes. The failures (most notably the Shy case) point up the need for a facility like the Body Farm, and the successes point to the value of the data gathered at the site. All the workers at the Body Farm -- living and dead -- are doing a great deal to aid forensic science. In the future, justice for murder victims will be served more swiftly and accurately because of the work done at the Body Farm.
Avid readers of true crime will enjoy the specialized "professional" view of cases that may already be familiar to them. I was familiar with the Madison Rutherford and Perry/Rubinstein cases, but getting the technical details from Bass (shaped for maximum readability by his capable co-author Jon Jefferson) gave the stories a new dimension. Especially fascinating was the description of the study Bass's student made of the effects of different types of saws upon bone, which helped lead to a conviction in the death of Leslie Mahaffey, one of the victims of the diabolical Paul Bernardo, the male half of the Canadian "Barbie and Ken" husband-and-wife murder team. There's also an inside look at the infamous Tri-State Crematory case from 2002.
There's a lot of eye-popping detail in this book, some of it horrifying, some of it poignant, some of it -- dare I say -- hilarious. See if you can keep yourself from laughing when you find out why Bass had to buy his first wife two new kitchen stoves, or why he had to buy his third wife a new blender.
Even when the tone of the book becomes humorous, Bass is always professional and respectful. Bass sees himself as a scientist, first and foremost, and his ultimate goal is to use his science to bring criminals to justice. He's humble, big-hearted, and always willing to learn from anybody -- be it a colleague, one of his own students, or the voiceless dead who speak to him with their inert, shattered bones.
March 16, 2023
More than you ever wanted to know about blow flies and maggots!
Tennessee's Anthropological Research Facility (ARF), made famous by its more colloquial nickname in Patricia Cornwell's novel THE BODY FARM is a world class scientific institution dedicated to the thesis that dead men DO tell tales.
Did you know, for instance, that entomological studies have determined the rate at which blow flies and maggots attack a decaying corpse is related to a wide variety of variables such as humidity and accumulated degree-days since the date of death? Of course, this means that historical weather records and the degree to which a corpse is infested by flies, maggots, pupae and pupa casings can be used in an uncannily accurate model to determine time since death. I was awestruck to find out that one dedicated graduate student spent months preparing a database of the forensic evidence that is left behind when a murder victim is dismembered by a saw - ANY kind of saw ... hack saw, coping saw, cross cut saw, ripping saw, circular saw, configured with ANY kind of blade, tooth count, pitch, thickness and so on. I was equally fascinated to learn of the minor skeletal differences that can be used to distinguish between the world's major races - caucasoid, negroid and mongoloid. Other differences such as sex, age and stature can be determined to an incredibly high level of accuracy with an almost unbelievably small amount of intact skeletal evidence.
A title like DEATH'S ACRE may lead some readers to believe that the book is going to focus strictly on the facility and its science. I hope they weren't disappointed to discover otherwise. I certainly wasn't.
In fact, it is much, much more - a poignant autobiography, both professional and personal, of Bill Bass, the Body Farm's celebrated founder; a history of some of the most interesting forensic cases that were the driving force or the raison d'être behind the directions in which Bill Bass's professional life evolved; a celebration of the development of his students and professional colleagues; and, of course, a history of the science of forensic anthropology which, even today, might be considered to be in its infancy and barely out of the nursery.
As a reader from Southern Ontario, I found it particularly fascinating (and, if I do say so, rewarding) to read of the contribution that Bill Bass and his research made in the pursuit and conviction of Paul Bernardo - the notorious serial rapist and killer of the young St Catharines teenagers, Leslie Mahaffey and Kristen French.
DEATH'S ACRE is a compelling story that capably blends science, history, personal accomplishment, poignancy and a hope for the future of the development of forensic pathology. Highly recommended. I've no doubt I'll be looking to read further titles in his BODY FARM series.
Paul Weiss
Tennessee's Anthropological Research Facility (ARF), made famous by its more colloquial nickname in Patricia Cornwell's novel THE BODY FARM is a world class scientific institution dedicated to the thesis that dead men DO tell tales.
Did you know, for instance, that entomological studies have determined the rate at which blow flies and maggots attack a decaying corpse is related to a wide variety of variables such as humidity and accumulated degree-days since the date of death? Of course, this means that historical weather records and the degree to which a corpse is infested by flies, maggots, pupae and pupa casings can be used in an uncannily accurate model to determine time since death. I was awestruck to find out that one dedicated graduate student spent months preparing a database of the forensic evidence that is left behind when a murder victim is dismembered by a saw - ANY kind of saw ... hack saw, coping saw, cross cut saw, ripping saw, circular saw, configured with ANY kind of blade, tooth count, pitch, thickness and so on. I was equally fascinated to learn of the minor skeletal differences that can be used to distinguish between the world's major races - caucasoid, negroid and mongoloid. Other differences such as sex, age and stature can be determined to an incredibly high level of accuracy with an almost unbelievably small amount of intact skeletal evidence.
A title like DEATH'S ACRE may lead some readers to believe that the book is going to focus strictly on the facility and its science. I hope they weren't disappointed to discover otherwise. I certainly wasn't.
In fact, it is much, much more - a poignant autobiography, both professional and personal, of Bill Bass, the Body Farm's celebrated founder; a history of some of the most interesting forensic cases that were the driving force or the raison d'être behind the directions in which Bill Bass's professional life evolved; a celebration of the development of his students and professional colleagues; and, of course, a history of the science of forensic anthropology which, even today, might be considered to be in its infancy and barely out of the nursery.
As a reader from Southern Ontario, I found it particularly fascinating (and, if I do say so, rewarding) to read of the contribution that Bill Bass and his research made in the pursuit and conviction of Paul Bernardo - the notorious serial rapist and killer of the young St Catharines teenagers, Leslie Mahaffey and Kristen French.
DEATH'S ACRE is a compelling story that capably blends science, history, personal accomplishment, poignancy and a hope for the future of the development of forensic pathology. Highly recommended. I've no doubt I'll be looking to read further titles in his BODY FARM series.
Paul Weiss
September 10, 2020
I loved William Bass's engaging writing style and dry humor. He works with passion and dedication to unravel the truth of violent death to provide closure to those that mourn the victims. According to Bass, "Truth like that can be a humbling and sacred gift for a scientist to give."
July 19, 2018
What a fascinating book to read! I learned a lot (A LOT!) about what happens to the human body when a person dies. What a journey Dr. Bass had, leading up to the creation of the body farm. He shared many different cases and some were truly heart wrenching to read. He also shared anecdotes about his life, leaving me smiling and chuckling quite often.
I think one of the things I admired the most was how respectful Dr. Bass was of every body he examined. I loved how he grasped any and every opportunity to learn - even when it included learning from one of his students!
The first time I heard of a body farm was on the original CSI. Learning that one actually exists, and the long road bringing it into existence, makes for an engrossing read!
I think one of the things I admired the most was how respectful Dr. Bass was of every body he examined. I loved how he grasped any and every opportunity to learn - even when it included learning from one of his students!
The first time I heard of a body farm was on the original CSI. Learning that one actually exists, and the long road bringing it into existence, makes for an engrossing read!
September 24, 2017
Dr Bass opisuje też najciekawsze zagadnienia dotyczące swojej nietypowej pracy oraz snuje historie prawdziwych zbrodni i śledztw, w jakich przyszło mu wziąć udział. Każda kolejna sprawa, każda kolejna ofiara to nowy głos, to opowieść, która mrozi krew w żyłach, nawet jeśli dr Bass robi to z dystansem oraz nieco makabrycznym humorem tak charakterystycznym dla ludzi, którzy na co dzień obracają się wokół zmarłych i niestraszny im taniec ze śmiercią. Jednocześnie zachowuje dużą wrażliwość względem ofiar, z pieczołowitością i delikatnością opowiada ich historie. Widać, że śmierć towarzyszy mu od lat, widział setki zwłok i tysiące szkieletów, a jednak szacunek do człowieka, do jednostki oraz do jego przeszłości wciąż pozostaje i to najważniejsza lekcja, jaką dzieli się z innymi.
„Trupia Farma” Williama M. Bassa to pasjonująca lektura, która z pewnością zafascynuje wszystkich miłośników kryminałów, thrillerów, czy grozy, którym niestraszne są opisy bestialskich zbrodni, zmasakrowanych zwłok i rozkładających się ciał.
„Trupia Farma” Williama M. Bassa to pasjonująca lektura, która z pewnością zafascynuje wszystkich miłośników kryminałów, thrillerów, czy grozy, którym niestraszne są opisy bestialskich zbrodni, zmasakrowanych zwłok i rozkładających się ciał.
June 7, 2017
“Death’s Acre” is not what it claims to be: “Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales.”
It’s Bill Bass’s bloated memoir, brimming with useless information, bogging down readers and serving no purpose.
It’s also Bill Bass’s chance to stand up and accuse men and women, not convicted in a court of law, of being murderers. More on that later.
Bass writes about all sorts of things, including a few of his cases and cases of his colleagues. He writes a little about the “body farm” and its genesis, but, not that much.
He complains about journalists, the scoundrels, and then bemoans when newspapers (written by journalists) didn’t cover a murder, disappearance or found body he deemed newsworthy. A little bit of cake-and-eat-it-too going on.
As much as Bass might bemoan journalists, he could have done with a journalistic editor. He jumps around, across, over, under and through time without much, if any, concrete groundings, concrete dates, concrete years to orient the reader. There is no timeline and the memoir is not ordered chronologically.
Result: Confusing and bloated. Too much useless fluff opinion. Bass tries to be a philosopher, to make great, profound points at the end of his chapters. Really, life is short and brutish and no amount of sugared words will mask that fact.
Guilty until proven innocent
As a journalist, on the cops and courts beat, I deal with this topic on a (literally) daily basis. I err on the side of writing about all the felony arrests in my county. I also try to make sure to write about the end of the case: a guilty plea, a dismissal, a not-guilty verdict, etc.
Bill Bass feels no need to throw allegedlys into his writing. Or, really, any indication that the people whom he believes to be guilty aren’t. They’re guilty, come hell or high water! And as a forensic pathologist, often writing about cases he was not even a part of, he knows best. Trust Bill, when he says someone is a murderer. It doesn’t ruin lives or reputations or anything.
Take the case of the murdered 18-year-old Lisa Ranker. Bass’ protégé, Bill Rodriguez, was working on the case and detectives thought they had their suspect based on circumstantial evidence, hearsay and a polygraph test.
The District Attorney didn’t want to prosecute.
That’s not good enough for Bill Bass. Boyfriend Bernie Woody and Woody’s friend Danny Heath are guilty. And that’s just a fact.
“With no cause of death and nothing but circumstantial evidence to suggest that Lisa might have been murdered, though, the district attorney decided not to file criminal charges against either Bernie Woody or Danny Heath.”
Bass is on a first-name basis with “Danny,” whom he has accused of murdering or helping to murder Ranker. I mention his casual use of Heath’s last name because it marks a lack of respect and civility, especially for a man one openly and profusely accuses of murder in a mainstream publication.
So, Rodriguez (referred to, very poorly in style terms in this book, as Bill, despite the author’s own first name) finds Ranker’s bones show evidence of stab wounds. Her death gets re-classified as a homicide.
Woah there! Billy proved the woman had been stabbed, probably to death! Except there’s no evidence of who did it. Bass doesn’t care. Hang ‘em high! He says. Let God adjust the scales, right? Burn ‘em!
Let’s be clear. A district attorney refusing to charge and attempt to prosecute a murder case for which he has no evidence is not a wheels of bureaucracy issue. It’s a: preventing other victims, falsely accused by anthropologists who are only out for blood, from being turned into victims issue.
(That quote was also one of Bass’s faux-philosophical chapter endings.)
And really, he’s giving voice to the dead victims, I guess, in hopes of making new, living ones. Kudos, Dr. Bill Bass. Kudos. Grade A life-ruining right there. Even as a journalist, I couldn’t have done a better job myself. And I’m accused of doing such on a monthly basis.
Conclusion
Mildly entertaining and bloated as the bodies he inspected, Bill Bass makes allegations of murder against unconvicted men and otherwise wastes time in this mislabeled memoir.
It’s Bill Bass’s bloated memoir, brimming with useless information, bogging down readers and serving no purpose.
It’s also Bill Bass’s chance to stand up and accuse men and women, not convicted in a court of law, of being murderers. More on that later.
Bass writes about all sorts of things, including a few of his cases and cases of his colleagues. He writes a little about the “body farm” and its genesis, but, not that much.
He complains about journalists, the scoundrels, and then bemoans when newspapers (written by journalists) didn’t cover a murder, disappearance or found body he deemed newsworthy. A little bit of cake-and-eat-it-too going on.
As much as Bass might bemoan journalists, he could have done with a journalistic editor. He jumps around, across, over, under and through time without much, if any, concrete groundings, concrete dates, concrete years to orient the reader. There is no timeline and the memoir is not ordered chronologically.
Result: Confusing and bloated. Too much useless fluff opinion. Bass tries to be a philosopher, to make great, profound points at the end of his chapters. Really, life is short and brutish and no amount of sugared words will mask that fact.
Guilty until proven innocent
As a journalist, on the cops and courts beat, I deal with this topic on a (literally) daily basis. I err on the side of writing about all the felony arrests in my county. I also try to make sure to write about the end of the case: a guilty plea, a dismissal, a not-guilty verdict, etc.
Bill Bass feels no need to throw allegedlys into his writing. Or, really, any indication that the people whom he believes to be guilty aren’t. They’re guilty, come hell or high water! And as a forensic pathologist, often writing about cases he was not even a part of, he knows best. Trust Bill, when he says someone is a murderer. It doesn’t ruin lives or reputations or anything.
Take the case of the murdered 18-year-old Lisa Ranker. Bass’ protégé, Bill Rodriguez, was working on the case and detectives thought they had their suspect based on circumstantial evidence, hearsay and a polygraph test.
The District Attorney didn’t want to prosecute.
That’s not good enough for Bill Bass. Boyfriend Bernie Woody and Woody’s friend Danny Heath are guilty. And that’s just a fact.
“With no cause of death and nothing but circumstantial evidence to suggest that Lisa might have been murdered, though, the district attorney decided not to file criminal charges against either Bernie Woody or Danny Heath.”
Bass is on a first-name basis with “Danny,” whom he has accused of murdering or helping to murder Ranker. I mention his casual use of Heath’s last name because it marks a lack of respect and civility, especially for a man one openly and profusely accuses of murder in a mainstream publication.
So, Rodriguez (referred to, very poorly in style terms in this book, as Bill, despite the author’s own first name) finds Ranker’s bones show evidence of stab wounds. Her death gets re-classified as a homicide.
“Sadly, Lisa’s killer remains at large. Despite the skeletal proof Bill (Rodriguez) found showing that Lisa has been murdered, and despite the linger questions surrounding Bernie Woody and Danny Heath, the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney remains unwilling to prosecute the case.”
Woah there! Billy proved the woman had been stabbed, probably to death! Except there’s no evidence of who did it. Bass doesn’t care. Hang ‘em high! He says. Let God adjust the scales, right? Burn ‘em!
“Anthropologists and insects can reveal the truth about a crime, but they can’t force the wheels of bureaucracy to turn, they can’t guarantee that justice will be done. All they can do is serve as a voice for the victims, and hope that voice is heard.”’
Let’s be clear. A district attorney refusing to charge and attempt to prosecute a murder case for which he has no evidence is not a wheels of bureaucracy issue. It’s a: preventing other victims, falsely accused by anthropologists who are only out for blood, from being turned into victims issue.
(That quote was also one of Bass’s faux-philosophical chapter endings.)
And really, he’s giving voice to the dead victims, I guess, in hopes of making new, living ones. Kudos, Dr. Bill Bass. Kudos. Grade A life-ruining right there. Even as a journalist, I couldn’t have done a better job myself. And I’m accused of doing such on a monthly basis.
Conclusion
Mildly entertaining and bloated as the bodies he inspected, Bill Bass makes allegations of murder against unconvicted men and otherwise wastes time in this mislabeled memoir.
September 20, 2016
The writing could be tighter, but his wandering through his life is interesting. How he, an anthropologist developed into a pioneer in the field of forensics is interesting & funny, in rather horrible ways. (A corpse in the closet over the weekend - the poor janitor!) The development & reasoning behind the body farm is also interesting. See Mary Roache's book on corpses, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. She has a chapter on the body farm & does a wonderful job, too.
April 22, 2014
I picked up this book because the Body Farm fascinates me. Seriously, I'm so taken with that place that I would consider willing my future cadaver there someday if my family approves. In Death's Acre, Dr. William M. Bass, his tale written by the vastly capable Jon Jefferson, takes us on the journey of his exciting career as a forensic anthropologist, professor, and founder of the Body Farm.
There are some very graphic descriptions of human decomposition in this book, which doesn't bother me, but I know some readers may want to take that into account before reading. Bass manages to remain respectful throughout all of the tough stuff, though, from outlining the case of a murdered toddler to commenting on charred human remains. That undercurrent of respect for the decedents and the work really sets this book on a pedestal for me.
Because I'm hardly a science scholar, I was relieved to find that Bass and Jefferson explain the processes in layman's terms. At times, I felt like one of Dr. Bass's students, called to class to study another pile of bones. As the book went on, I got better and better at figuring out the rationale behind time of death estimates and cause of death explanations. No wonder the man is a legend in his field.
I would recommend this story to anyone who has the stomach for and the interest in forensic science.
There are some very graphic descriptions of human decomposition in this book, which doesn't bother me, but I know some readers may want to take that into account before reading. Bass manages to remain respectful throughout all of the tough stuff, though, from outlining the case of a murdered toddler to commenting on charred human remains. That undercurrent of respect for the decedents and the work really sets this book on a pedestal for me.
Because I'm hardly a science scholar, I was relieved to find that Bass and Jefferson explain the processes in layman's terms. At times, I felt like one of Dr. Bass's students, called to class to study another pile of bones. As the book went on, I got better and better at figuring out the rationale behind time of death estimates and cause of death explanations. No wonder the man is a legend in his field.
I would recommend this story to anyone who has the stomach for and the interest in forensic science.
May 11, 2019
I can’t remember if my friend Keely bought me this book or I bought it myself because she loved it so much. With that being said, I want to thank my friend Keely for making me read this book. It’s an amazing piece of non-fiction that I highly recommend reading.
On the front cover of the book it says foreword by Patricia Cornwell. A relative told me in college, “if you like crime books you have to read Patricia Cornwell”. I picked up her first book of the Scarpetta series and was hooked. I was happy to read a book that Patricia had a small hand in. I also love anything that has to do with death. I’m odd like that. So picking up this true crime non-fiction was a real treat.
Dr. Bill Bass is the creator of the Body Farm, a scientifically run facility, that recreates different scenarios where a body could decompose. Through this scientific research we now can tell when a body died. Time of death is an important marker for police in murder investigations. Through the body farm, Dr. Bass and his fellow forensic anthropologists, entomologists, medical examiners, forensic dentists and other scientists and law enforcement have learned the stages of decomposition. Through decades of research, the body farm has helped to broaden and create a more accurate analysis of death. We know what to look for in order to catch that killer.
This book doesn’t just talk about the body farm it also follows Bill Bass’s journey from getting a masters in counseling and taking an anthropology class just for fun, to becoming a world renowned forensic anthropologist. Death’s Acre or the body farm is where Bill Bass became famous, but it was his coming up that was the most fascinating. We get see cases that Bass worked on over the years. We get to read about his “aha!” moments, and his oops moments. With the help of some anthropology pioneers, Bill Bass and his body farm would not be possible.
If you like true crime, forensics, non-fiction, mystery and death in general you’ll really enjoy this book. Those with a weak stomach be aware... there are mentions of bugs, body liquid, juicy flesh, horrendous smells and other unpleasant adjectives to describe a rotting corpse. I ate while reading this so I’m fine teehee. Check this book out. You won’t be disappointed.
On the front cover of the book it says foreword by Patricia Cornwell. A relative told me in college, “if you like crime books you have to read Patricia Cornwell”. I picked up her first book of the Scarpetta series and was hooked. I was happy to read a book that Patricia had a small hand in. I also love anything that has to do with death. I’m odd like that. So picking up this true crime non-fiction was a real treat.
Dr. Bill Bass is the creator of the Body Farm, a scientifically run facility, that recreates different scenarios where a body could decompose. Through this scientific research we now can tell when a body died. Time of death is an important marker for police in murder investigations. Through the body farm, Dr. Bass and his fellow forensic anthropologists, entomologists, medical examiners, forensic dentists and other scientists and law enforcement have learned the stages of decomposition. Through decades of research, the body farm has helped to broaden and create a more accurate analysis of death. We know what to look for in order to catch that killer.
This book doesn’t just talk about the body farm it also follows Bill Bass’s journey from getting a masters in counseling and taking an anthropology class just for fun, to becoming a world renowned forensic anthropologist. Death’s Acre or the body farm is where Bill Bass became famous, but it was his coming up that was the most fascinating. We get see cases that Bass worked on over the years. We get to read about his “aha!” moments, and his oops moments. With the help of some anthropology pioneers, Bill Bass and his body farm would not be possible.
If you like true crime, forensics, non-fiction, mystery and death in general you’ll really enjoy this book. Those with a weak stomach be aware... there are mentions of bugs, body liquid, juicy flesh, horrendous smells and other unpleasant adjectives to describe a rotting corpse. I ate while reading this so I’m fine teehee. Check this book out. You won’t be disappointed.
May 10, 2022
Review originally published April 2007
Have you read Patricia Cornwell’s Body Farm, or seen the episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in which part of the crew goes to the "Body Farm?" Even if you haven’t, there is a good chance you have heard of it.
If you haven’t, though, let me explain it: a plot of land where dead persons (and some animals) are placed in various conditions in order to observe and record the decomposition process. Bodies are either from people who have donated theirs to science or are unclaimed from morgues and prisons. Although Patricia Cornwell and CSI are fictional (honest, they are!) the Body Farm is not.
You may wonder why such a thing exists.
In his own words, the founder of the Body Farm, or more accurately, the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility, Dr. Bill Bass, with the assistance of Jon Jefferson, takes you down the road that led to its existence.
His book is entitled Death’s Acre. The title is somewhat misleading, as it has a lot more in it than just that aspect of Dr. Bass’s career. He will take you on cases that read as much like fiction as any crime novel you have ever read.
His style of recounting events can tend to be a bit confusing, as he often overlaps the original case he was relating, to different cases he has encountered, but it is worth sorting it out. The author is able to maintain a rather positive attitude despite what his job entails, and even includes some personal history as well.
Although somewhat controversial, the facility has helped serve its intended purpose. The studies that have come from it have assisted forensic investigators in determining time-of-death, location change if there was one, cause of death, and so much more for real life, not just for fiction books and drama television.
The book explains the how's and why's of forensic science, so if you ever wondered how Grissom learned so much about entomology or how Dr. Albert Robbins can figure out what weapon was used…here’s your chance to learn a little something! Check it out!
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
Have you read Patricia Cornwell’s Body Farm, or seen the episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in which part of the crew goes to the "Body Farm?" Even if you haven’t, there is a good chance you have heard of it.
If you haven’t, though, let me explain it: a plot of land where dead persons (and some animals) are placed in various conditions in order to observe and record the decomposition process. Bodies are either from people who have donated theirs to science or are unclaimed from morgues and prisons. Although Patricia Cornwell and CSI are fictional (honest, they are!) the Body Farm is not.
You may wonder why such a thing exists.
In his own words, the founder of the Body Farm, or more accurately, the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility, Dr. Bill Bass, with the assistance of Jon Jefferson, takes you down the road that led to its existence.
His book is entitled Death’s Acre. The title is somewhat misleading, as it has a lot more in it than just that aspect of Dr. Bass’s career. He will take you on cases that read as much like fiction as any crime novel you have ever read.
His style of recounting events can tend to be a bit confusing, as he often overlaps the original case he was relating, to different cases he has encountered, but it is worth sorting it out. The author is able to maintain a rather positive attitude despite what his job entails, and even includes some personal history as well.
Although somewhat controversial, the facility has helped serve its intended purpose. The studies that have come from it have assisted forensic investigators in determining time-of-death, location change if there was one, cause of death, and so much more for real life, not just for fiction books and drama television.
The book explains the how's and why's of forensic science, so if you ever wondered how Grissom learned so much about entomology or how Dr. Albert Robbins can figure out what weapon was used…here’s your chance to learn a little something! Check it out!
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
July 20, 2013
Examining one of the Bass non-fiction books, the reader will discover that the world of forensic anthropology and crime scene analysis is nothing like that depicted on television, or in most crime novels. Bass seeks not only to delve into the real-world exploration of what he has been doing for the past 25 (at the time) years or so, but also to shed some light on techniques, variations, and the creation of the Body Farm, for which he has become known since its creation in 1980. Adding some personal stories to many of his professional (read: work) ones, Bass, enthrals the reader with true crime solving and anecdotal tales that shed a more thorough light on forensics in general and forensic anthropology in particular. It is much more than BONES or CSI could offer, and far more interesting, especially for the reader who has enjoyed Bass' complete series of fiction novels.
I come into this reading experience, having devoured the entire fiction series (to date) and being a major fan. As he does in his works of fiction, Bass injects a pile of humour and a ton of teachable moments to show the reader what it is that is going on and putting it in a larger context for the layman. Additionally, many of the story lines of the fiction series are taken from Bass' experiences and people with whom he has worked. (As an aside, many of Bass' former students have gone on to have careers with 'world's foremost expert' attached to their titles). I found this highly entertaining and thoroughly captivating. While I am sure there is a research component to writing his fiction books, much can also be called life lesson and experience.
I highly enjoyable book, fitting right in with the fiction collection. Fans of Bass' work will surely love this and fans of BONES, CSI, and even Patricia Cornwell (fan and friend of Dr. Bass) will also raise eyebrows and utter many a 'hmm'.
Kudos Messers. Bass for this wonderful journey into the world of forensic anthropology. I cannot wait to read the other non-fiction book you two have penned.
I come into this reading experience, having devoured the entire fiction series (to date) and being a major fan. As he does in his works of fiction, Bass injects a pile of humour and a ton of teachable moments to show the reader what it is that is going on and putting it in a larger context for the layman. Additionally, many of the story lines of the fiction series are taken from Bass' experiences and people with whom he has worked. (As an aside, many of Bass' former students have gone on to have careers with 'world's foremost expert' attached to their titles). I found this highly entertaining and thoroughly captivating. While I am sure there is a research component to writing his fiction books, much can also be called life lesson and experience.
I highly enjoyable book, fitting right in with the fiction collection. Fans of Bass' work will surely love this and fans of BONES, CSI, and even Patricia Cornwell (fan and friend of Dr. Bass) will also raise eyebrows and utter many a 'hmm'.
Kudos Messers. Bass for this wonderful journey into the world of forensic anthropology. I cannot wait to read the other non-fiction book you two have penned.
January 5, 2016
This book is based on the University of Tennessee's Anthropological Research Facility, aka "The Body Farm". The 1st facility of it's kind, The Body Farm researches the decomposition process of the human body in varied controlled settings. Results in these studies have helped federal and local law enforcement solve murders and missing persons cases.
The author, who joined UofT's anthropology department in 1971 and founded the original Body Farm in 1981, injects a nice balance of humor to off-set the scientific language of the book. Thanks to the author explanation and the internet, I thought this book was quite easy for the layperson to understand.
The author is also half of the writing duo "Jefferson Bass" who writes "The Body Farm" series. After reading this book, I am looking forward to reading The Body Farm series.
The author, who joined UofT's anthropology department in 1971 and founded the original Body Farm in 1981, injects a nice balance of humor to off-set the scientific language of the book. Thanks to the author explanation and the internet, I thought this book was quite easy for the layperson to understand.
The author is also half of the writing duo "Jefferson Bass" who writes "The Body Farm" series. After reading this book, I am looking forward to reading The Body Farm series.
April 7, 2011
I have a keen interest in forensic science and true crime. I studied forensic anthropology for a little while in grad school (and I feel compelled to add that I did this before it was The In Thing). My interest in the subject was sparked by a book by Dr. William Maples, one of the founders of the field, called Dead Men Do Tell Tales. Dr. Bass is another of the giants in the field, although Maples’ book is more artful and creative than this one, which is somewhat formless and meandering.
I felt like I’d heard some of these stories before. Given how many books in this field I’ve read, it’s entirely possible that I have, but the similarities between Bass’ career and Maples’ are sometimes striking. Bass is a friendlier narrator than Maples (at times Maples’ ego shines forth like a pair of neon green fuzzy dice hanging from a rearview mirror) but his voice wanders, and he inexplicable gives the same explanations several times in different chapters, almost as if the chapters were written as standalone articles and later compiled, resulting in some repetition of expository information.
His discussion of his work at the so-called Body Farm (actually the Anthropological Research Facility) is actually pretty minimal. Most of the book is about his other cases. I would have liked more insight about the work they’ve done at the facility. My enjoyment of the book (which I read very quickly) was probably impeded by my familiarity with the subject matter; a lot of things that would be interesting and new to a less prepared reader were old hat to me.
It’s an interesting read but at times wearying and repetitive. I’m surprised his co-author didn’t corrall the prose a bit more. Weak, Jefferson. Weak.
I felt like I’d heard some of these stories before. Given how many books in this field I’ve read, it’s entirely possible that I have, but the similarities between Bass’ career and Maples’ are sometimes striking. Bass is a friendlier narrator than Maples (at times Maples’ ego shines forth like a pair of neon green fuzzy dice hanging from a rearview mirror) but his voice wanders, and he inexplicable gives the same explanations several times in different chapters, almost as if the chapters were written as standalone articles and later compiled, resulting in some repetition of expository information.
His discussion of his work at the so-called Body Farm (actually the Anthropological Research Facility) is actually pretty minimal. Most of the book is about his other cases. I would have liked more insight about the work they’ve done at the facility. My enjoyment of the book (which I read very quickly) was probably impeded by my familiarity with the subject matter; a lot of things that would be interesting and new to a less prepared reader were old hat to me.
It’s an interesting read but at times wearying and repetitive. I’m surprised his co-author didn’t corrall the prose a bit more. Weak, Jefferson. Weak.
November 18, 2019
This was fascinating! It really shows the importance of forensic science and what it can prove. If I had the stomach for it, I think this is a fascinating field...but I can’t, lol!
August 24, 2016
I really enjoyed learning about the Body Farm and how it came to be. I have read Patricia Cornwell's book The Body Farm and so learning the lengths she went to for her research for a death scene in the book was great and encouraging to hear that she really cared if her books are realistic. Also learning where the techniques that are taken for granted today came from, who thought them up, and the experiments done to create these techniques. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the behind the scenes, real life aspect of shows like CSI and Criminal Minds.
December 16, 2024
4.5 stars
This was a fascinating book by Dr. Bill Bass, a pioneer in forensic anthropology. This book is a memoir about his career, the founding of the Body Farm (popularized by Patricia Cornwell), and an account of some very interesting cases. Most of these tested the limits of scientific knowledge of the time, spanning 50 years or so. He describes mistakes made and the need for more research. The writing is gripping, personal, humorous, and smooth.
When I read nonfiction, I give myself a quota of usually 10 pages so I can go on to fiction. With this book, I had to keep going to finish the chapter because I HAD to know how the case turned out. So I was mad when somebody put the book on hold before I finished it and I had to wait a month to get it back. It interrupted my reading groove.
I’m sure the makers of Downy would be pleased to know that their product makes even mummified human skin soft and fragrant.
[Describing an experiment to find out how far away people can smell a dead body] The body arrived soon enough: an unclaimed corpse from a nearby medical examiner. The guinea pigs? A cinch. Undergraduates will do anything for extra credit.
Language: Mild
Sexual Content: Mentions of sexual assault; not explicit
Violence/Gore: Clinical descriptions and photographs of dead bodies in various stages of decomposition; mention of numerous murders
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
This was a fascinating book by Dr. Bill Bass, a pioneer in forensic anthropology. This book is a memoir about his career, the founding of the Body Farm (popularized by Patricia Cornwell), and an account of some very interesting cases. Most of these tested the limits of scientific knowledge of the time, spanning 50 years or so. He describes mistakes made and the need for more research. The writing is gripping, personal, humorous, and smooth.
When I read nonfiction, I give myself a quota of usually 10 pages so I can go on to fiction. With this book, I had to keep going to finish the chapter because I HAD to know how the case turned out. So I was mad when somebody put the book on hold before I finished it and I had to wait a month to get it back. It interrupted my reading groove.
I’m sure the makers of Downy would be pleased to know that their product makes even mummified human skin soft and fragrant.
[Describing an experiment to find out how far away people can smell a dead body] The body arrived soon enough: an unclaimed corpse from a nearby medical examiner. The guinea pigs? A cinch. Undergraduates will do anything for extra credit.
Language: Mild
Sexual Content: Mentions of sexual assault; not explicit
Violence/Gore: Clinical descriptions and photographs of dead bodies in various stages of decomposition; mention of numerous murders
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
December 30, 2018
4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.
February 25, 2017
Historia powstania tzw. "trupiej farmy" w USA, miejsca gdzie zmarli opowiadają swoje historie. A żyjący mogą dzięki zmarłym studiować najbardziej nieoczekiwane sposoby określania czasu i okoliczności śmierci.
Lektura bardzo ciekawa ale niełatwa - szczegółowe opisy kłębiących się w oczodołach czerwi generują czasem mdłości :/ więc nie jest to książka, którą da się połknąć w jeden wieczór.
Lektura bardzo ciekawa ale niełatwa - szczegółowe opisy kłębiących się w oczodołach czerwi generują czasem mdłości :/ więc nie jest to książka, którą da się połknąć w jeden wieczór.
March 8, 2019
Update Spring 2019: The New York Times just presented a good, short news story on this: My Afterlife on the Body Farm which also links to several other sources of information. One of them is available on YouTube, from the BBC series Stephen Fry in America, episode two on the Deep South. A longer one is a 45-minute documentary (with overly dramatic audio), and a link to a television news report.
☠️ ☠️ ☠️
I'd heard about this fellow's work from several directions before I ever picked up the book (one of my oldest friends has agreed to donate his body to this research facility), and I was frankly enamored with the idea (of the research facility, not the donation).
I was actually mildly disappointed with the scale of his facility -- I had imagined it as a huge spread, out in the wilds of southern Appalachia, with various experiments scattered in the hollows and tucked away at the end of meandering paths.
Sort of like a hiking area the Adamms family might enjoy.
The memoir approach also surprised me, but it worked quite well, since Bass's career certainly had drama to it.
But, still, the book didn't work as well as I expected. I blame the editors, since Bass must remain the hero in this story, but it is too bad he didn't get a better book out of this.
Recommended, to address these flaws: Mary Roach's Stiff.
☠️ ☠️ ☠️
I'd heard about this fellow's work from several directions before I ever picked up the book (one of my oldest friends has agreed to donate his body to this research facility), and I was frankly enamored with the idea (of the research facility, not the donation).
I was actually mildly disappointed with the scale of his facility -- I had imagined it as a huge spread, out in the wilds of southern Appalachia, with various experiments scattered in the hollows and tucked away at the end of meandering paths.
Sort of like a hiking area the Adamms family might enjoy.
The memoir approach also surprised me, but it worked quite well, since Bass's career certainly had drama to it.
But, still, the book didn't work as well as I expected. I blame the editors, since Bass must remain the hero in this story, but it is too bad he didn't get a better book out of this.
Recommended, to address these flaws: Mary Roach's Stiff.
August 26, 2017
I'll give it a 2.5. This book is more of an autobiography of Bill Bass, and I will say that he doesn't hesitate to praise himself and emphasize his awards throughout the book. Whereas many of the cases were interesting, often they dragged on. In addition, this book seemed more like a bunch of stories he had written over time and threw together, what with the many repetitions of definitions, and of cohorts' backgrounds/educations--(I just read that in the last chapter; I didn't need to read it again). I had expected more and was disappointed.
March 30, 2023
I picked this one up on audiobook because I have been majorly slacking on my nonfiction goal for the year. I'm a big forensics/true crime fan so of course, I knew about the body farm in Knoxville.
This is a great listen on audiobook because it feels like you are sitting down with the author while he tells you his story (the author isn't actually the narrator though but the one they chose was great!). I loved hearing stories about Bass and how he got started as a pathologist. There are a lot of little case stories in here that were fascinating to hear about how the body and other forensic clues led to catching killers. William Bass is an incredible part of forensic's history that I never knew about. He talks about his accomplishments in a way that was fun to hear about and didn't feel like he was bragging like in some nonfiction memoir-style books I have read in the past.
This one is detailed - so probably wouldn't recommend this for those who are squeamish and hate true crime stories. If CSI isn't the show for you - probably don't pick this one up. But for everyone else who has heard of the body farm or even just has an interest in forensics - I highly recommend this.
Easily a 4-star read that kept me entertained throughout the entire story. I learned some interesting facts about forensics and the process of how pathology evolved over time. It made me want to go and visit the body farm - but I am sad they don't allow tours.
This is a great listen on audiobook because it feels like you are sitting down with the author while he tells you his story (the author isn't actually the narrator though but the one they chose was great!). I loved hearing stories about Bass and how he got started as a pathologist. There are a lot of little case stories in here that were fascinating to hear about how the body and other forensic clues led to catching killers. William Bass is an incredible part of forensic's history that I never knew about. He talks about his accomplishments in a way that was fun to hear about and didn't feel like he was bragging like in some nonfiction memoir-style books I have read in the past.
This one is detailed - so probably wouldn't recommend this for those who are squeamish and hate true crime stories. If CSI isn't the show for you - probably don't pick this one up. But for everyone else who has heard of the body farm or even just has an interest in forensics - I highly recommend this.
Easily a 4-star read that kept me entertained throughout the entire story. I learned some interesting facts about forensics and the process of how pathology evolved over time. It made me want to go and visit the body farm - but I am sad they don't allow tours.
December 28, 2007
This is a book that was ghosted, or the guy who wrote it was helped to write it by some other guy. The danger with this is that you don't know if the guy who is helping you to write your book can write. This book could have done with someone with a cringe detector reading over it first and saying to both of them - "look, no, just no".
Otherwise it is a fascinating book. I loved the story of the Civil War grave and the recent body found in it. I loved most of the stories in the book and given the fact that people seem to be obsessed with shows like CSI and such this ought to be the sort of book that people would enjoy.
My main problem with this book was that there was a sense the whole way through that the people writing it were 'cashing in' - and it was hard not to get this impression as they kept referring to it all of the time - but there was no need for this. This was, in many ways, the story of the life of the guy who set up a forensic lab to test what happens to bodies when they are burnt or left out in the elements or put in water and how one can date the time of death by following these processes. There was no need for it to apologise for itself, none at all.
This is a book that should have been much better than it ended up being.
Otherwise it is a fascinating book. I loved the story of the Civil War grave and the recent body found in it. I loved most of the stories in the book and given the fact that people seem to be obsessed with shows like CSI and such this ought to be the sort of book that people would enjoy.
My main problem with this book was that there was a sense the whole way through that the people writing it were 'cashing in' - and it was hard not to get this impression as they kept referring to it all of the time - but there was no need for this. This was, in many ways, the story of the life of the guy who set up a forensic lab to test what happens to bodies when they are burnt or left out in the elements or put in water and how one can date the time of death by following these processes. There was no need for it to apologise for itself, none at all.
This is a book that should have been much better than it ended up being.
January 23, 2021
I've had this one on my radar for a while. t was not quite what I expected, but after a few chapters I settled in for what it is, which is a mix of memoirs about Bass's various cases, both successes, failures, and cases which turned out to be inconclusive. There's a fair bit about his personal life as well. And along the way he tells the story of how the Body Farm was built. There were a lot of issued raised along the way that I might add to this review later, but this morning I'm too foggy headed to write about them in depth so I'll just give a quick list.
1) Guilt or innocence before trial (another reviewer criticized Bass for presuming guilt in certain cases based on his forensic evidence (the more I think about this, the more I am in agreement with this criticism). It is the job of the courts to ultimately make the final decision).
2) Protests against the Body Farm by concern trolls who call it disrespectful. I have no patience for these kinds of people, especially when the weaponize the issue of veterans in a political manner, acting like they give a shit about veterans but still vote for creating a society that leave those veterans in such a state that they end up being unclaimed dead bodies.
3) Native American protesting the investigation of burial sites. I have little patience for this either, but it's a more difficult and complicated topic, and I understand the inherent mistrust. But as soon as the word "sacred" is used to try to keep someone else from doing something, my knee-jerk reaction is fuck that.
4) The use of very specific details on bones to identify race of a body. I wonder if this is really only useful in the US (which is fine, this is a research facility in the US) where slaves were taken from a small subset of Africa, and thus don't represent the true variability of black people across the world. I suspect that some or all of these physical bone difference would not generalize if applied around the world.
5) The romanticizing of native inhabitants, especially native Americans, as living in harmony with nature. One of the examples here were the Arikara who would cut down all the trees in an area, then be forced to move on to a new area where they would do it again.
6) Seems like I need to read a book or two by Patricia Cornwell.
1) Guilt or innocence before trial (another reviewer criticized Bass for presuming guilt in certain cases based on his forensic evidence (the more I think about this, the more I am in agreement with this criticism). It is the job of the courts to ultimately make the final decision).
2) Protests against the Body Farm by concern trolls who call it disrespectful. I have no patience for these kinds of people, especially when the weaponize the issue of veterans in a political manner, acting like they give a shit about veterans but still vote for creating a society that leave those veterans in such a state that they end up being unclaimed dead bodies.
3) Native American protesting the investigation of burial sites. I have little patience for this either, but it's a more difficult and complicated topic, and I understand the inherent mistrust. But as soon as the word "sacred" is used to try to keep someone else from doing something, my knee-jerk reaction is fuck that.
4) The use of very specific details on bones to identify race of a body. I wonder if this is really only useful in the US (which is fine, this is a research facility in the US) where slaves were taken from a small subset of Africa, and thus don't represent the true variability of black people across the world. I suspect that some or all of these physical bone difference would not generalize if applied around the world.
5) The romanticizing of native inhabitants, especially native Americans, as living in harmony with nature. One of the examples here were the Arikara who would cut down all the trees in an area, then be forced to move on to a new area where they would do it again.
6) Seems like I need to read a book or two by Patricia Cornwell.
August 8, 2012
Some very interesting information from an innovator of forensic pathology, but a little too much about the man, jovial brilliant person though he clearly is, to make this book what I was expecting. I feel I have learned plenty of (hopefully useless to me!) essential grisly dead body facts, so not bad at all.
August 24, 2018
From the cover and the blurb I was expecting a whole lot more body farm but what I got was a lot of Dr. Bass. Not a bad book, but not the book I had expected to read and therefore very disappointing.
October 6, 2022
Nie tego się spodziewałam strasznie nudna jakby taka naukowa i jest bardzo dużo opisów historycznych jakiejś amazonki who cares
Updatuje drugi raz bo skasowałam wcześniej a jednak uznałam ze chce dać jej jedna gwiazdkę
Updatuje drugi raz bo skasowałam wcześniej a jednak uznałam ze chce dać jej jedna gwiazdkę
October 18, 2017
I'm giving it a star as it made me sleep at 4am today when I was having a bout of insomnia.
January 8, 2023
3,5 Bill Bass musiał być super gościem
September 14, 2022
Cover Art: 🥕🥕
Title: 🥕🥕
Review: 🥕🥕
🐰 I'm about 110 pages in and I can't help but feel bogged down by all the case storytelling. This wasn't what I expected. This feels more like a memoir than anything else.
First Page Nibble:
🐰 A dozen tiny bones, nestled in my palm: They were virtually all that remained, except for yellow clippings, scratchy newsreel footage, and painful memories, from what was called "the trial of the century."
That label seems to get thrown around quite a lot, but in this case, maybe it was right. Seven years after the Scopes "Monkey Trial" and half a century before the O.J. Simpson debacle, America was mesmerized by a criminal investigation and murder trial that made headlines around the world. Now I was to decide whether justice had been done, or an innocent man had been wrongly executed.
Quotes:
🐰 the bones of the eaglet
🐰 the case was the kidnapping and death of a toddler named Charles Lindbergh Jr.-known far and wide as "the Lindbergh baby.
🐰 the baby's skull had been fractured, though the injury might actually have resulted from a fall, since the ladder broke during the abduction
🐰 the wisdom teeth were fully formed, so she was an adult, but how old? The zigzag seems in the cranium, called sutures, were mostly fused together but still clearly visible; that suggest she was in her thirties or forties
🐰 in childhood, skeletons are androgynous
🐰 I imagine the things he and I would have done together as I grew up
🐰 with the encouragement of the women's husbands, who believed that their wives would receive, and then transmit, the white magic. Unfortunately, what was usually transmitted was syphilis
🐰 Congress passed a law that forbids the collection of Native American skeletal remains. The law also requires that museums and other institutions return Native American remains if those remains came from a tribe that still survives
🐰 the remains of the dead are sacred relics, not collectibles or exhibits, and they should be returned to their ancestral lands and buried with reverence
🐰 Stephenson hoped I could help answer a question that had been puzzling and frustrating him for the past two years: Where had the Arikara hidden their dead?
🐰 the Sioux, put the bodies of the dead on elevated scaffolds to decompose in the open
🐰 the graves were usually dug by the women
🐰 the soil of the Great Plains is called loess
🐰 fine as flour, it's what put the dust in the Dust Bowl
if it's sitting atop wet shale-possibly the second slickest material on earth
🐰 loess is tailor-made for ants
🐰 sadly, other students did die
🐰 we found an astonishing number of small graves containing the remains of infants and children. Tallying the statistics, we found that almost half the population died before age two; by age six, the mortality rate reached 55 percent
🐰 then, starting at around age sixteen, life got perilous again. The females began having babies, and the males began hunting buffalo and waging war
🐰 we found many arrowheads embedded deep within bones
🐰 bringing blankets from Saint Louis- blankets deliberately contaminated with smallpox
🐰 years later an Indian activist would refer to me in a newspaper interview as Indian-robber number one
🐰 I excavated somewhere between four and five thousand Indian burials on the Great Plains; as far as I know, that's more than anyone else in the world
🐰 you start with Big Four: sex, race, age, and stature
🐰 however, if the third molars have erupted, I stressed, it's virtually certain the the individual was eighteen or older
🐰 the term innominate, which translates as nameless or unnamable bone, is a comment on its odd shape
🐰 before puberty, each innominate bone consists of three separate bones: the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis. The ilium is the highest broadest part of the hipbone
🐰 the ischium is the bony structure you can feel yourself sitting on
🐰 corrugated or bumpy during a female's late teens, the pubic symphysis smoothes out during the twenties and thirties
🐰 prognathism (from ancient Greek, meaning literally forward jaw); even novice anthropologists can readily recognize it as one the hallmarks of Negroid skulls
🐰 take a pencil and press one end between your upper lip and the base of your nose. Holding that end in place as a pivot point, swivel the pencil downward. If it contacts the lips and teeth but can't touch the chin, your skull is prognathic and probably Negroid, if it can touch both the base of the nasal opening and the tip of the chin, you skull is orthognathic and probably Caucasoid
🐰 the tops of her molars were rugged and bumpy- crenulated, anthropologist call it- unlike the smoother cusps of Caucasoid teeth
🐰 the only good way to clean the bones was to simmer them in a covered steam vat for the better part of a day, then scrub off the softened tissue with a toothbrush
🐰 it's true what they say: A watched pot never boils
🐰 the nasal opening was broad, with vertical guttering in the upper jaw-distinctly different from the horizontal sill or dam at the base of a Caucasian's nasal opening
🐰 the narrower opening and nasal in Caucasoids evolved to keep cold European air from flowing too rapidly into the lungs
🐰 if you run your hands over the top of your head, it certainly feels like one piece
🐰 Leonardo adds these observations on human proportion developed by the architect Vitruvirus: The length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height...The greatest width of the shoulders contain in itself the fourth part of a man. From the elbow bow to the angle of the armpit will be the eighth part of a man. The whole hand will be the tenth part of the man
🐰 the best results come from measuring the femur, the thighbone
🐰 giving her a slight but distinctive crossbite that would have shown up whenever she flashed a big smile
🐰 tiny holes where the cranio-facial nerves had emerged from her brain
🐰 I can tell you the age of the cow at death; however, I cannot tell you how long it has been since the cow was killed
🐰 it's difficult to burn up a body entirely; even cremation leaves substantial portions of bone, which must then be pulverized mechanically
🐰 Williams had enlisted his help by asking that he bring his Doberman to Grizzle's house to eat the body
🐰 I found it astonishing that our legal system would even permit such a thing: Long after his trial, a convicted killer actually sues the people who uncovered and reported the murder he committed.
🐰 idea of killing animals for sport has absolutely no appeal to me
🐰 During winter, flies are grounded by the cold; in fact, anytime the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, flies stop flying.
🐰 others snagged flies on the wings, carried them off, and decapitated them with one swift bite of their jaws. Still others feasted on the masses of fly eggs or the tender young maggots hatching in the boy's openings
Format: Paperback
Date Read: March 16, 2019🐇
Title: 🥕🥕
Review: 🥕🥕
🐰 I'm about 110 pages in and I can't help but feel bogged down by all the case storytelling. This wasn't what I expected. This feels more like a memoir than anything else.
First Page Nibble:
🐰 A dozen tiny bones, nestled in my palm: They were virtually all that remained, except for yellow clippings, scratchy newsreel footage, and painful memories, from what was called "the trial of the century."
That label seems to get thrown around quite a lot, but in this case, maybe it was right. Seven years after the Scopes "Monkey Trial" and half a century before the O.J. Simpson debacle, America was mesmerized by a criminal investigation and murder trial that made headlines around the world. Now I was to decide whether justice had been done, or an innocent man had been wrongly executed.
Quotes:
🐰 the bones of the eaglet
🐰 the case was the kidnapping and death of a toddler named Charles Lindbergh Jr.-known far and wide as "the Lindbergh baby.
🐰 the baby's skull had been fractured, though the injury might actually have resulted from a fall, since the ladder broke during the abduction
🐰 the wisdom teeth were fully formed, so she was an adult, but how old? The zigzag seems in the cranium, called sutures, were mostly fused together but still clearly visible; that suggest she was in her thirties or forties
🐰 in childhood, skeletons are androgynous
🐰 I imagine the things he and I would have done together as I grew up
🐰 with the encouragement of the women's husbands, who believed that their wives would receive, and then transmit, the white magic. Unfortunately, what was usually transmitted was syphilis
🐰 Congress passed a law that forbids the collection of Native American skeletal remains. The law also requires that museums and other institutions return Native American remains if those remains came from a tribe that still survives
🐰 the remains of the dead are sacred relics, not collectibles or exhibits, and they should be returned to their ancestral lands and buried with reverence
🐰 Stephenson hoped I could help answer a question that had been puzzling and frustrating him for the past two years: Where had the Arikara hidden their dead?
🐰 the Sioux, put the bodies of the dead on elevated scaffolds to decompose in the open
🐰 the graves were usually dug by the women
🐰 the soil of the Great Plains is called loess
🐰 fine as flour, it's what put the dust in the Dust Bowl
if it's sitting atop wet shale-possibly the second slickest material on earth
🐰 loess is tailor-made for ants
🐰 sadly, other students did die
🐰 we found an astonishing number of small graves containing the remains of infants and children. Tallying the statistics, we found that almost half the population died before age two; by age six, the mortality rate reached 55 percent
🐰 then, starting at around age sixteen, life got perilous again. The females began having babies, and the males began hunting buffalo and waging war
🐰 we found many arrowheads embedded deep within bones
🐰 bringing blankets from Saint Louis- blankets deliberately contaminated with smallpox
🐰 years later an Indian activist would refer to me in a newspaper interview as Indian-robber number one
🐰 I excavated somewhere between four and five thousand Indian burials on the Great Plains; as far as I know, that's more than anyone else in the world
🐰 you start with Big Four: sex, race, age, and stature
🐰 however, if the third molars have erupted, I stressed, it's virtually certain the the individual was eighteen or older
🐰 the term innominate, which translates as nameless or unnamable bone, is a comment on its odd shape
🐰 before puberty, each innominate bone consists of three separate bones: the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis. The ilium is the highest broadest part of the hipbone
🐰 the ischium is the bony structure you can feel yourself sitting on
🐰 corrugated or bumpy during a female's late teens, the pubic symphysis smoothes out during the twenties and thirties
🐰 prognathism (from ancient Greek, meaning literally forward jaw); even novice anthropologists can readily recognize it as one the hallmarks of Negroid skulls
🐰 take a pencil and press one end between your upper lip and the base of your nose. Holding that end in place as a pivot point, swivel the pencil downward. If it contacts the lips and teeth but can't touch the chin, your skull is prognathic and probably Negroid, if it can touch both the base of the nasal opening and the tip of the chin, you skull is orthognathic and probably Caucasoid
🐰 the tops of her molars were rugged and bumpy- crenulated, anthropologist call it- unlike the smoother cusps of Caucasoid teeth
🐰 the only good way to clean the bones was to simmer them in a covered steam vat for the better part of a day, then scrub off the softened tissue with a toothbrush
🐰 it's true what they say: A watched pot never boils
🐰 the nasal opening was broad, with vertical guttering in the upper jaw-distinctly different from the horizontal sill or dam at the base of a Caucasian's nasal opening
🐰 the narrower opening and nasal in Caucasoids evolved to keep cold European air from flowing too rapidly into the lungs
🐰 if you run your hands over the top of your head, it certainly feels like one piece
🐰 Leonardo adds these observations on human proportion developed by the architect Vitruvirus: The length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height...The greatest width of the shoulders contain in itself the fourth part of a man. From the elbow bow to the angle of the armpit will be the eighth part of a man. The whole hand will be the tenth part of the man
🐰 the best results come from measuring the femur, the thighbone
🐰 giving her a slight but distinctive crossbite that would have shown up whenever she flashed a big smile
🐰 tiny holes where the cranio-facial nerves had emerged from her brain
🐰 I can tell you the age of the cow at death; however, I cannot tell you how long it has been since the cow was killed
🐰 it's difficult to burn up a body entirely; even cremation leaves substantial portions of bone, which must then be pulverized mechanically
🐰 Williams had enlisted his help by asking that he bring his Doberman to Grizzle's house to eat the body
🐰 I found it astonishing that our legal system would even permit such a thing: Long after his trial, a convicted killer actually sues the people who uncovered and reported the murder he committed.
🐰 idea of killing animals for sport has absolutely no appeal to me
🐰 During winter, flies are grounded by the cold; in fact, anytime the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, flies stop flying.
🐰 others snagged flies on the wings, carried them off, and decapitated them with one swift bite of their jaws. Still others feasted on the masses of fly eggs or the tender young maggots hatching in the boy's openings
Format: Paperback
Date Read: March 16, 2019🐇
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