Customer Reviews

The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Forensic anthropology has been an interest of mine ever since I read Dr. Maple's book, "Dead Men do Tell Tales." I was hooked, but not under the impression that I could do much with a degree lower then a doctorate in the subject. Mary Manhein is an equally engaging author,yet is encouraging throughout the book. She tells of her own life and how she returned to school after her children got older. She doesn't have a doctorate, but she still teaches college courses and is an active forensic anthropologist. Her story is equally balanced with details of her personal life and her career. The book gives an excelent perspective on what a forensic anthropologists experience in the context of reality.

"The Bone Lady - (Life as a Forensic Anthropologist)" by Mary H. Manhein, ISBN 01402.9192X (pbk), Penguin Books 2000, is a 137 page curiously enticing story-telling recount of Manhein's personal encounter and infatuation with college anthropology which led her to become a working forensic bioanthropologist and Director of Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Laboratory (FACES), forensics instructor (LSU), and deputy coroner.

A gifted story teller, she provides an articulate recital of her childhood, then marriage, and finally 'matriculating' at age 33; and she then delves into a dozen or so intriguing cases where she is asked to help provide identification of remains, often just bones and thus she acquires rank as 'The Bone Lady,' and later fellowhip distinction (FAAFS). The medley of cases provide some modicum about similariy of mammalian bones, grave sites, viewing windows in cast-iron coffins, insights into aging of bone, and differentiation of male vs. female remains.

The book yields the "feeling" of field forensics by touching on the politics, stenches, miseries, hazards, grief, closure, and those too few triumphs unearthed by 'The Bone Lady." It is well written and easy to read and priced just right.

Ms. Manhein's story telling and humor kept me glued to the pages of her book. It's not an easy task to describe the complicated world of Forensics in a way for others to understand. Yet, Ms. Manhein accomplishes this in an informative, yet simple manner. Her humorous stories mixed in with her own personal life, not only made me feel as if I knew a little more about Forensic Anthropology, but I knew her famly and the state of Louisiana as well. She is an excellent writer and congratulate her on a job well done.

I must agree with the reviewer from Eindhoven, Netherlands, the buildup was great and I scoured the city for a copy, alas it left me wanting. Perhaps a closer scrutiny of the title would have been justified, "the Bone Lady" is about the bone lady, and much less about how she does what she does. I wuld recommend "Dead Men do tell Tales" fascinating and revealing.

I got this book as a Christmas present and couldn't wait to start it - a few hours later I had finished reading it and felt something lacking... A fan of John Douglas and the like, I wanted more in-depth case studies and less personal narrative of Ms. Manhein's Lousiana childhood. The cases were only briefly mentioned, many either undeveloped or simply left unfinished. Most "chapters" concering particular cases are a mere two pages in length, hardly enough to qualify a solid devlopment or conclusion of a case and how it was solved using forensic anthropology. I anticipated learning more about the science of forensic anthropology, and was unsatisfied. I guess I sub-conciously expected something more along the lines of "A Fly for the Prosecution", an excellent, well-written, descriptive yet not too difficult read which describes forensic entymology. I'm sure Ms. Manhein knows her stuff, but I wish she had educated me more about what really goes on, not just a brief mention of "Oh, by the way, we solved this case using forensic anthropology."

Don't waste your time or money on this one as there are far better forensic books out there. This book was just a collection of short narratives reading more like a personal diary than any kind of scientific narrative laying out the facts of cases. I guess it lives up to its subtitle of "Life as a Forensic Anthropologist" in that she usually presents only HER part in each case with little presentation of the entire case. The forensic cases are not really the star of this book, the author is. I was frustrated with the lack of depth. Instead, read "The Body Farm" by Bill Bass. Excellent storytelling there! He gives you personal stories, but also provides all the fascinating forensic info to provide a complete picture for the cases he has investigated.

In a very small book, Mary Manhein provides the novice with a wealth of information about the day-to-day life of a practicing Forensic Anthropologist. Though some aspects of her personal life are woven into the book, it deals mainly with the stories behind the headlines. One should not underestimate the worth of this book based on its brevity.

It is rare when a book captivates such a variety of people, but this book does it. I bought The Bone Lady after several suggestions to do so and I was not disappointed, you will not be either. Only a gifted author, such as Manhein can weave a delicate web of childhood stories, forensic anthropology basics, and actual forensic cases in an autobiography. This book is everything-humorous, enlightening, inspiring, and it is for everyone.

What is a forensic anthropologist? "We are physical anthropologists who are trained in the human skeleton, and we use that training in a medico-legal context to assist law enforcement."

The real live "Bone Lady," Mary Manhein, answers this and another questions with smooth narrative and a Southerner's story-telling charm.

A Louisiana State University graduate who didn't begin undergraduate studies until her early thirties, Manheim weaves her own autobiography into the short book's twenty-seven chapters. After completing the bachelor's degree in English, she earned a master's degree in anthropology from LSU. She grew up loving literature, she says. And her early years were anchored in rural home places, "the hills of southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana, where my life revolved around stories."

Today, she is director of the Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) at LSU.

The Bone Lady tells dozens of work-related stories in and around her FACES Lab. Many detailed photographs and illustrations accompany the puzzle-like scenarios that the author finds herself trying to solve when either attempting to determine the identity of human remains, or the cause of death.

Filled with bits of trivia, the story takes readers into mysterious and sad cases of the "lost" people that Manhein has tried to identify, from drown victims to a suicide stowed away under a family porch. Even the controversial case of Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long's assassination receives a chapter-length treatment, at least Dr. Carl Austin Weiss's alleged participation in the shooting on September 8, 1935.

Readers of true crime, memoir, and Louisiana history will find this slim volume interesting, strong, and crisp. These are the hard-won stories that have made the author; all of it is rooted in the red clay and swamps of Louisiana.

----------Reviewed by Dayne Sherman

Interest in Forensic science has exploded over the past few years. As a result so have books concerning the subject area. Many of the books are well and scholarly written. The Bone Lady reads well for the general public, but for thise truly interested in the field of forensic science there are a number of books that are much more informative with respect to science. For a forensic anthropology book, consider Bill Maples Dead Men Do Tell Tales. If however you are simply looking for a simple entertaining excursion into memoirs, the Bone Lady is for you.