Customer Reviews

A Voice for the Dead: A Forensic Investigator's Pursuit of the Truth in the Grave

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

What a page-turner this is! The main theme in the six chapters of this book is the exhumation of human remains to help settle controversial issues, most of which are of historical value. The book is written in such an engaging style that the pages turn themselves. The cases discussed range from early nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. Although forensic techniques are discussed to an adequate degree, they are not belabored at the expense of other equally important details; thus, the reader is presented with well-balanced information that helps in establishing a good overall perspective of each case. The book's forte is really in the logical and suspenseful way in which each case is developed and presented. At the end, one is left with the feeling of wanting still more cold cases to read about. This excellent work would be of great interest to those who enjoy literature on true crime, history, forensics and unsolved mysteries.

James Starrs co-wrote Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases, one of the standard single volume reference books in the field. His talents as a memoirist, however, are limited. Voice For The Dead is filled with wooden dialogue and overused metaphors.

Every chapter begins with one or two epigrams, presumably in order to place Starrs' erudition on display. An epigram should serve as a sort of lodestar to guide the reader toward the author's way of thinking. But Starrs trots out some real warhorses, such as, "The evil that men do lives after them,"
from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Countless thousands of English 101 students have used that quote as an epigram for their essays; it tells us nothing special about what Starrs does for a living.

Starrs has a tin ear for dialogue. Even in a clinical discussion, I doubt a forensic scientist would say, in one breath, "...the dead prospectors were all buried in the vicinity of Lake City in spite of a large body of opinion insisting even to this day that they had been interred miles away on the shores of Lake San Cristobel, the terminus of the Gunnison River."

Try saying that, out loud, in a conversational tone.

Starrs tells us about the "legend" about him in his academic circles. He mentions accomplishments outside of forensic science. (Apparently he "bicycled across the breadth of the United States..." Rephrasing it as simply, "bicycled across the United States," would be less redundant, not to mention less florrid.)

Starrs' has failed to notice that the prose style found in 19th century novels doesn't work so well in a 21st professional memoir. Forensic science, since TV's CSI shows became popular, is a topic more people want to read about. But there are other recent books on the subject whose authors seem less self-satisfied about their accomplishments, and more aware that they are writing, not for themselves, but for a 21st century readership.

It's a dirty subject, and certainly an intriguing one, but what the reader ultimately unearths in this scientific memoir about forensic exhumation is how impressed the author is with his own skill and fame. Starrs describes himself as a man who is, among other things, "audacious," "bold," and "exacting," with "well-established credentials" and a dedication to "risk-taking" and "the greater good." This arrogance is off-putting, as is the author's unedited writing; his style includes redundancies ("pellucidly clear"), cliches ("savor life to its fullest"), floridity ("lest the ravages of time savage my hopes"), and more. Plus, he renders some re-created dialogue in a most awkward manner. Still, if you can slog through his language, the chapters on celebrity disinterments such those of Jesse James and Alfred Packer have some fascinating passages, and the author does convey the occasional bursts of excitement that punctuate his hours and hours of painstaking labor. I do wish he'd added a chapter about his grandfather, a funeral director whose work first inspired his interest in autopsying corpses and excavating graves. Overall, though, I just didn't dig A Voice for the Dead.

"A voice for the dead"is among the most self-centered,egotistical memoirs I have ever encountered.James E.Starrs,professor of law at George Washington university in Washington,D.C.leaves no doubt that,in his mind at least,he is the very center of the known universe,and that whatever"findings"he may turn up should stand forever and ever,as the very last and final word on the cases involved.Starrs,whose ego apparently knows no limitations,has had this work ghost-written by Katherine Ramsland,which has only added to the over-all negative effect,inasmuchasd Ramsland is a writer best known for the quantity of her output rather than its quality...
In this book,Starrs claims to give the final word on purported 19th century "cannibal"Alfred Packer.claims to have solved all of the mystery surrounding the assassination of Huey Long(and especially the mystery surrounding his alledged assassin,Dr.Carl Weiss),includes a disputatious chapter concerning the "Boston Strangler",and gives his opinion as to who is buried in the grave assigned to notorious 19th century western villian Jesse James...I am surprised that Starrs has not also laid claim to knowledge regarding the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa,or the exact date of the second coming of Jesus Christ,but these"mysteries"and more may yet turn up in some future Starrs volume...
Personally,I do not believe a word of anything that I read in this book...Starrs,and his co-author Ramsland,have presented us with an arrogant memoir..Nothing is as "final"as Starrs investigations claim to be...A touch of humility,an admission that error is always possible,these would have gone a long,long way in making this work palatable..as it is neither is in evidence...
The cases involved are of an historic nature,and ,as they are not run-of-the-mill,"ordinary",or anonymous,one would think that,even despite the professor's over-whelming case of ego,they might still be interesting..WRONG !With Starrs,the mysteries themselves take a back-seat to his cocksure prouncements regarding them.
So,in the end,this book is about self-aggrandizement,with C.S.I.-style forensic science taking a very,very secondary role.

....then this book is for you. The subject matter is extremely interesting, and the cases Dr Starrs selected to profile are all unique in their own way. However, the writing itself left much to be desired. The sentences are extremely complicated, and the vocabularly is obscure on occasion. Emily Craig's "Teasing Secrets From the Dead" read like a very good novel, and is more relevant is some of the cases it covers. "A Voice for the Dead" reminded me of one too many required textbooks in college. I would recommend this only if very, very interested in the subject.

I would say that this book was fun to read from a historical and investigative perspective. Stretches of the book can become a bit tedious when Starrs goes through the legal proceedings, etc. in an attempt to give us all the background. However, I read it all the way through and for the most part was thoroughly entertained. Especially interesting, I thought, was the chapter detailing the "suicide" that was really the murder of a CIA agent in a fall from a ten story hotel room (or so Starrs argues).

I would recommend reading a chapter or two and if it interests you proceed. The good thing is you don't have to read the whole thing if you don't have time, but can instead read any of the cases that may interest you in particular.

After reading some of the other reviews, I almost bailed on buying this book. However, I'm glad I got it. I agree that the writing style and vocabulary is sometimes annoying, and that the author has a giant ego. But it was a good read.

If you've been celebrated, notorious, or people are just plum curious about what the heck ever happened to cause your demise or whether something in your body caused your notoriety, look out. Jim Starrs is likely to dig you up. Jim Starrs' curiosity and faith that science can give us answers to questions sometimes only he might contemplate have given us a grand book. Sometimes the answers are beyond the scope of anything we ever could have imagined, sometimes they are fascinating trivia.

Whether Merriwether Lewis was murdered, committed suicide, was bipolar, or suffered from syphilis, Starrs is on the trail. When a participant in the CIA's LSD programs goes out a window in the Statler Hilton, Starrs is the person who goes back to try to figure out if he jumped or was pushed, was LSD-crazed, or something else.

Starrs was recently hired by the House Governmental Affairs Committee to dig up the remains of Henry Aaron and George "Babe" Ruth as part of their ongoing investigation into drug use in baseball.

This is the real deal--not lusty, busty forensic scientists in perfectly-equipped labs (two fantasies at work there), but using forensic science to answer questions, and coming up with ever-better questions to push the limits of forensic science.

If you like the CSI stuff, find out that life can be at least as fascinating when you're tagging along on the tails of Starrs' lab coat.

Professor James Starrs is a Professor of Law as well as Professor of Forensic Science at the George Washington University, Washington DC. His work Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases is a standard text in its field. Starrs is probably best known for his 1995 exhumation of Jesse James, done in order to verify that the body found in that grave was indeed James. Throughout the years, Starrs has participated in a number of exhumations and subsequent forensic research, and this is the story of five of them, including the James exhumation.

He begins, naturally enough, at the beginning, with the story of his first exhumation, the victims of Alfred Packer. Packer was convicted in 1883 of five counts of murder, then eventually retried and convicted in 1885 of five counts of manslaughter. It was widely believed that he had committed cannibalism, though he was never charged with that particular crime. As with each case discussed the in book, Starrs discusses how he came to hear about the case, and what drove him to take it up. He also talks about the legal hurdles to such an undertaking (pardon the pun), such as finding a relative to secure permission from for the actual exhumation. Equally important, though, are the technical issues, like making sure one finds the right grave, and covering the gravesite with a sunshade during the exhumation, to prevent the sun from drying the bones.

The book reads somewhat like a college lecture, which is unsurprising given Starrs' professorial background. The reader can almost picture him strolling around the front of a classroom, a piece of chalk carried loosely in the hand as he briefly saunters off on a tangent before returning to the case at hand. In other chapters, the reader might feel as though Starrs is discussing the case at a dinner party, complete with occasional asides regarding different people or aspects of the case.

The cases themselves are fascinating, running the gamut from victims of a 19th century cannibal to Jesse James, Huey Long's accused assassin Dr. Carl Weiss, and Mary Sullivan, the apparent last victim of the Boston Strangler.

Starrs even manages to include a case where the people he wants to talk to conveniently start dying off just before their appointments with him. Was the CIA involved in the death of Frank Olson? If not, how did he get enough of a running start to push himself through a closed 13th-story window, when the room was too short to allow even a professional athlete to reach the requisite speed? And why was a suicidal man being held in a 13th story hotel room when there was a CIA safe house just a few minutes away?

The final chapter touches on cases Starrs tried to take on and how he was thwarted. Why isn't Gouverneur Morris, the author of much of the US Constitution, buried in the casket that is in his tomb? Did explorer Meriwether Lewis die by his own hand? Why is the National Park Service preventing an exhumation that could answer that question? What about Lizzie Borden's parents? Why did the Falls River Historical Society stymie his efforts to learn more about their deaths?

This book is a great read for those who watch every episode of CSI, or anyone who wishes they could. Starrs does a wonderful job of conveying the human side of exhumations, while conveying just enough scientific knowledge to whet the appetites of those who enjoy the technical side of CSI as much as the human drama.

James E. Starrs takes you for a ride of his fictitious investigations. He does not intend to set the record straight, but present you with fairy tales about his investigations. The investigation I am referring to is the Frank Olson investigation. There were several inconsistencies in his investigation. His inaccuracies and exaggerations with the Olson investigation would make me wonder about the legitimacy of his other investigations. You should definitely think twice about purchasing anything written by Mr. Starrs.