25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent resource for horror writers!, February 19, 1999
This book is probably the single most useful reference work I have beside my desk, and one of the few I've read cover to cover. It contains more details than most of us have ever wanted to know about what happens to bodies after death - including funeral practices, the hows and whys of autopsies, the timeline of rigor mortis and decomposition, tales of cannibalism, body snatching and premature burial... it's all in here. Well-written and well-indexed, too. I cannot recommend it too highly.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Everything you may not have wanted to know..., April 8, 2002
For most besides the medically-minded, this book will surely fall into the Ooh-Yuck category -- the kind of reference work that tells you volumes of things you didn't know and quite a few that you would probably not have cared to know, but can't forget once you do. Like: Have cadavers historically been used for target practice by weapons manufacturers? You betcha! And have moviemakers ever used cadavers to make their special effects really special? ...
Rest assured, however, that Galen Press (named after the famed Greek physician Galen of Pergamum) and Dr. Iserson have far more profound purposes in mind with the updated edition of this encyclopaedic guide to mortification than inciting ghastly giggles among adolescent boys and presumably mature reviewers. What sets this magnificently researched and dutifully footnoted volume apart from your usual dry-as-dust medical text is its literary sensibility, first noticeable in fourteen artfully titled section heads. I'm Dead -- Now What? covers the definition of death and what usually happens soon afterward; Beauty in Death details the embalming and cosmetic processes of treating cadavers; Souls on Ice takes a detour into the chilly science of cryonics; and Say It Gently anthologizes some sayings, poetry, and epitaphs in honor of the dead. The writing is clear, friendly, and gently humorous throughout, as if the good doctor Iserson were your charming raconteur uncle who just happens to know everything about the dead, and can't wait to tell you. I don?t see how librarians, med students, and mystery and horror writers can live without this one. -- P.MILLER ...
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Encyclopedic Overview of Death & Dying, July 25, 2005
This review is from: Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies? (Hardcover)
Of the many books on death and dying that I've read over the past six months, Kenneth Iserson's "Death to Dust" is by far the most comprehensive and enjoyable of the bunch. Weighing in at over 800 pages, "Death to Dust" is truly an encyclopedic approach to the subject.
Iserson divides his discussion into fourteen chapters; the shortest is about eleven pages (the introduction), while the longest is a massive 80+ pages (the average chapter length is about 50 pages). He adeptly covers all aspects of death, dying, grief, mourning, and post-mortem activities and concerns. He discusses practical matters, such as how to arrange a funeral, bodily transport across state lines, embalming, funerary rituals and etiquette, cremation, and advance directives. Iserson even includes a helpful, ten-page "Body-disposal Instructions and Discussion Guide," designed to help the living ease the inevitable burden their next of kin will face when they pass away.
However, "Death to Dust" is not simply a consumer guide. Although he does offer a wealth of practical information, he also launches into more esoteric and macabre discussions. Some chapters are certainly not for the faint of heart. If cannibalism, headhunting, corpse dismemberment, grave robbing, anatomical dissection, autopsies, or putrification give you the heebie-jeebies, read with caution! True to its encyclopedic nature, "Death to Dust" takes care to cover ALL aspects of death and dying - particularly the more unpleasant and morbid topics. Iserson approaches these subjects with a dry sense of humor. Although I thought that his witticisms spiced the book up and made his discussion more entertaining, some audiences might be taken aback by Iserson's (sometimes) light tone.
It's obvious that Iserson (or his editor!) spent a lot of time making the book easily navigable (an especially important detail in a book this size!). Each of the fourteen chapters is further sub-divided into lettered subsections (usually 25+ per chapter). The subsections each have their own heading and read like short articles, so that readers can easily browse through the book and skim over desired sections. The index and table of contents are also very detailed. Finally, Iserson has gone to great pains to cite every single reference he consulted while constructing the book - and there are many! The typical chapter has hundreds of footnotes, which are conveniently included at the end of each individual chapter.
For the macabre among us, if you buy just one book on death and dying this year, look no further - "Death to Dust" is it! Those looking to arrange for their own post-mortem plans might find the book helpful as well, although there are consumer guides designed specifically for advising individuals of wills, advance directives, organ donation, and corpse disposal ("Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love," by Lisa Carlson, is an excellent place to start). I'm not sure I'd recommend "Death to Dust" to the newly bereaved, however; some of the subject matter might prove a bit upsetting. On the upside, it's easy to skip over these sections altogether, as the book is very organized.
My only gripe: Iserson included WAY too many quotes from the self-proclaimed "poet-mortician," Thomas Lynch - who, I have determined, is a gawd-awful poet with an exaggerated view of his own self-importance. I literally cringed every time Iserson included excerpts of his amateurish prose - it's just that painful.
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