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25th out of 158 books
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Postmortem: How Medical Examiners Explain Suspicious Deaths
As elected coroners were replaced by medical examiners with scientific training, the American public became fascinated with their work. From the grisly investigations showcased on highly rated television shows like CSI to the bestselling mysteries that revolve around forensic science, medical examiners have never been so visible—or compelling. They, and they alone, solve t...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
April 15th 2007
by University of Chicago Press
(first published 2006)
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This is an excellent book that examines the profession of medical examiners from a sociological perspective. The author spent several years observing the practices and methods of one (anonymous) urban medical examiner's office close-up, standing in at autopsies and conducting many interviews with all levels of staff.
The book looks at several topics in detail: coronary artery disease; shaken baby syndrome in the "Nanny Trial"; suicide; and organ and tissue donation.
...more
The book looks at several topics in detail: coronary artery disease; shaken baby syndrome in the "Nanny Trial"; suicide; and organ and tissue donation.
...more
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A sociological examination of the construction of forensic authority, and how that authority, in turn, structures society's understanding of categories like 'suicide', or 'natural causes'. Overall a fine read, if you're looking for sociology. I wasn't, but that's okay. I don't know the breadth of the literature on medical sociology, but I imagine this book may serve as a specific addition to the whole. It's well-written and nicely documented, with a nice amount of anecdotes drawn from the au...more
I tried. I read two chapters. But seriously, I've read textbooks that were more interesting. Very very dry writing.
In spite of two tries, I never got beyond the first three chapters. I expected and was okay with the amount of technical detail. However, Timmermans managed to make even suspicious deaths and their investigation boring. Also, I really could have done without his moral judgements on "death investigators" and their work.
If you're looking for salaciousness then this isn't the book for you. It's a dry clinical analysis of postmortems and death investigation. Interesting enough but it does drag in parts
What can I say. I'm making a movie about a man who had two autopsies.
Will Sin
rated it
Recommends it for:
Someone who is studying sociology/thanatology/law/procedure on postmortem in U.S.
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