A Matter of Life and Death: Inside the Hidden World of the Pathologist

by Sue Armstrong

A Matter of Life and Death profiles some of the world's most eminent and pioneering pathologists. This is a hidden world, yet one we will all inevitably encounter at some time in our lives, for pathology lies at the cornerstone of modern medicine. It is pathologists who are responsible for recognising new diseases such as AIDS, SARS or bird flu, and for diagnosing which cancer a patient is suffering from. And it is pathologists who must explain the cause of death at the autopsy table. A Matter of Life and Death tells fascinating stories of mysterious illnesses and miraculous scientific breakthroughs. But it is also crammed full of extraordinary characters - from the forensic anthropologist with his own Body Farm in Tennessee to the doctor who had a heart-and-lung transplant and ended up using her own lungs for research.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, True Crime, Medicine, Death, Health, Medical

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2010

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of interviews with eminent pathologists of various specialisms (forensic, paediatrics, neuropathology etc). Both intellectually and emotionally engaging, it was different to read about what motivates the medically-minded to devote their lives to the study of disease, rather than the minutiae of cases themselves.

Personally, I found the interview with Bill Bass to be one of the most interesting (though I've read a great deal about him and his work before), and the account of Sue Black, who dealt with the identification of disaster victims such as World Trade Center attack victims, London bombing victims and victims of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. Remarkable and inspiring woman.

Overall, a unique read - at times challenging and poignant, but also suffused with humour, kindness and a clear will to improve the lot of humankind.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sue Armstrong is a talented and effective interviewer. I greatly enjoyed these windows into lives of pathologists and forensic anthropologists - as someone with 0 knowledge about the field before reading this book, I learned a lot.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating. A fantastically interesting series of interviews with a range of Pathologists from around the world.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a fascinating read.

I started with one book moved to another. Pathology, anthropology, forensic medicine, …they’re all fascinating topics…to me. I started and just kept going…one book suggested another. I’ve always been interested in medicine. I couldn’t stop reading.

[watermelonreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first half. But I rushed through the second half (it’s a library book and it’s due soon) and it’s a pityyy I didn’t have much more time with it.

[Paresh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling and informative guide into the world of pathologists. The interview written style of the book brings you closer to individual pathologists and their work. Highly recommended.

[Ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish it. It was fine but I had other things I'd rather read. Perhaps I'll finish it another time

[Julie Haigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and interesting.

I watch a lot of TV programmes about forensic detection and suspicious deaths-eg. Dr G Medical Examiner where she re-enacts actual autopsies and details her findings and the reason for the death. This book wasn't what I was expecting initially but it was a very good book anyway. It is really a series of interviews with various pathologists from around the world where they discuss their experiences. Most of it is very readable and told in a way a layman can understand, particularly if you've watched a few of these types of documentaries before. One of the best chapters was the interview with Bill Bass of the Body farm fame-his recounting of experiences gripped me and was easily told. There was just one 'waffler' where to read about what they were trying to tell you about was tedious because they said lots of words to say not very much at all. Very informative and I really felt I had learnt more at the end of this read and it spurred me on to read more of this genre.

[Isla Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fascinating in parts, quite sobering and sad in some parts, unsurprisingly, particularly in relation to those who came from/talked about working in Africa, the violence, political issues, apartheid and so on.

It contains a lot of medical jargon/terminology, as you'd likely expect and some parts I found hard to follow, as a 'lay person' but I felt I got a good insight into the world of pathology and found it generally quite an interesting read.

[Khemo95 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting stories. Sheds some light on the pivotal role of pathology in modern medicine.

[Mkittysamom · Rating 3 out of 5]

#Popsugar 2020 Written by a journalist #Popsugar 2020 About/By Woman in Stem #Book about Subject I know Nothing About

Loved the different interviews with different pathologists!