Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science (Hardcover)

by Bill Bass (Author), Jon Jefferson (Author)
Key Phrases: bone lab, cigar tips, forensic dentistry, Leoma Patterson, Big Bopper, Owen Rutherford (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Forensic anthropologist Bass nicely complements his memoir, Death's Acre, with this unnervingly cheerful collection (ably co-written by science journalist Jefferson) of case studies and anecdotes from the field of corpse identification. With careful attention to detail and the occasional darkly humorous aside, the authors describe charred maggot cocoons; the grotesquely dismembered victims of a fireworks factory explosion; and the forensic uses of sonar, scanning electron microscopes and computer databases. Disparaging the CSI effect on jurors who expect DNA testing to be quick and exact,Bass extols the virtues of old-fashioned legwork and gut reactions, though he's always quick to admit when his methods and intuition fall short. The authors keep the narrative flow moving nicely, and Bass's voice is practical, passionate and eminently Southern—and his decades of teaching experience at the University of Tennessee come through strongly in such helpful suggestions as If you decide to murder somebody, don't think that you can completely cover your tracks with fire. Strong-stomached readers who like to get dirt under their nails will gladly follow the UT forensic anthropology team up mountains and into rivers as they put names and faces to long-decayed bodies. 16 pages of b&w photos. (Sept. 4)
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Review
"Beyond the Body Farm offers a real-life understanding of forensic anthropology and the science behind it..." -- Knoxville News-Sentinel

"Readers who like to get dirt under their nails will gladly follow the UT forensic anthropology team." -- Publishers Weekly

"The real crimes and mysteries here are just as or more intriguing as any fictional crime drama." -- Knoxville News-Sentinel

"There’s much to enjoy here..." -- Kirkus Reviews

"scientifically authoritative, as well as accessible to mainstream crime buffs...Some cases are heartbreaking; at least one is downright weird." -- BookPage

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060875291
• ISBN-13: 978-0060875299
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #208,994 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting forensic anthropology, September 17, 2007

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Beyond the Body Farm is a collection of vignettes from the wide-ranging experience of forensic anthropologist Bill Bass. He and co-writer Jon Jefferson intrigue readers with stories illustrating the many ways forensic science has helped bring criminals to justice. At the same time, they provide a basic education in anatomy and physiology for the layperson.

I appreciated how Dr. Bass was able to share true-crime stories without indulging in shock tactics. Although murders, almost by definition, can be gruesome, Bass dwelt on the science of his investigation, rather than on gory details.

I also liked the way the majority of the stories stood on their own. It was easy to get through an entire chapter whenever I had a few minutes to spare.

One feature of his writing I found unappealing, however, was his habit of starting one story, introducing another one in which the investigative process was similar, then winding his way back to the original story. I found this circuitous path distracting; rarely did it enhance the main story for me.

Overall, however, Beyond the Body Farm was a good read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's curious about the constantly advancing field of forensic anthropology.

Armchair Interviews says: If you are a "forensic junkie"--watching all those shows on TV, this book would give you added insights.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating, September 20, 2007

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

With two body farm novels (see FLESH AND BONE and CARVED IN BONE) and an account of his forensic anthropological work (see DEATH'S ACRE), Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson provide a sort of autobiographical account of the former's work in Kansas and more so in Tennessee where he created the first "living" forensic research lab. Dr. Bass gives credit to his instructor five decades ago Dr. Krogman, known as the "Bone Detective" who got him interested in the unnamed at that time field of forensic anthropology. He also credits Patricia Cornwell with her novel THE BODY FARM for making him famous and his type of work acceptable amidst the public; without Ms. Cornwell there is no CSI on TV. However, the fascinating segments of the book are the cases over the last fifty years that run the gamut from the Big Bopper to the wrongly identified corpse to a fireworks factory explosion to ancient Persia to solving modern day cases for local police departments. It is these cases and how he and his team solved them by shaking and tossing of the bones that makes for a fine CSI read with Harry Houdini appearing as a star performer in a future exhumation.

Harriet Klausner

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Old Bones Can Tell Us...If We Listen, September 23, 2007

By	Frederick S. Goethel "wildcatcreekbooks" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Dr. Bill Bass is, without a doubt, the most famous and prestigious forensic anthropologist in the United States, if not the world. He is the creator of the famous Body Farm at the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus and he has consulted on thousands of cases throughout his long career.

This book is a group of cases that he found to be of particular interest and range from researching ancient bones in the Middle East to digging up the remains of the Big Bopper. The book contains about 15 such stories, each roughly a chapter long and each discusses various unusual aspects of forensic anthropology. It is well written and has a touch of dark humor added.

If you like crime shows and forensic shows, you will love this book. It contains just enough science to make it interesting to those with a science background, but not so much as to overwhelm the average reader.