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

~ James Starrs (Author) "Exhumations, don't you know, resemble parades..." (more)
Key Phrases: deceased prospectors, osteon counting, capitol corridor, Jesse James, Meriwether Lewis, Frank Olson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With the CSI craze showing no sign of abating, there will doubtless be an eager audience for Starrs's intriguing but quirky accounts of the noteworthy and notorious exhumations he has participated in. Starrs, a pioneer in forensic science, recounts his dogged, almost obsessive involvement with seven historical mysteries, ranging from the assassination of Louisiana demagogue Huey Long to the Boston Strangler. Using clues from Dr. Carl Weiss's exhumed skeleton, Starrs makes a powerful case that the young doctor widely believed to have been Long's assassin was probably innocent. Starrs will also probably change the minds of many who have discounted challenges to the veracity of Albert DeSalvo's confession to the sex murders that plagued Boston in the 1960s. His narrative isn't for everyone--it's occasionally repetitive (he explains several times that remains with flesh still attached are "stinkies"), and it's filled with "humor" that many will find distasteful. Furthermore, despite his assertions of respect for the dead, he displays a cavalier attitude toward some bones he recovers, which are occasionally on the verge of being damaged in airplane overhead bins. These oddball aspects should not overshadow the significance of Starrs's accomplishments, but they easily might. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW.Agent, John Silbersack with Trident Media Group. (Feb. 17)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Starrs is a law professor who gained media attention in the 1990s for exhuming the corpora delicti in historical cases of suspicious deaths. In these accounts of six such cases, an affinity for publicity appears to be entangled among Starrs' motivations, plainly so in his digging up of Jesse James. (Yup, that was Jesse in the grave.) Also palpable, however, Starrs' desire to rectify injustice when he encounters deficiencies in the official investigation. Often descendents of victims requested that Starrs reinvestigate a case. So began his scrutiny of the murder of Huey Long, the 1953 death-by-defenestration of a CIA agent, and the Boston Strangler murders; for each Starrs concludes officialdom got it wrong. Other matters Starrs opened because they intrigued him, including his attempt to unearth Meriwether Lewis (request denied) and his excavation of the 1874 victims of Colorado cannibal Albert Packer. Like the memoirs written by forensics experts (e.g., Emily Craig's Teasing Secrets from the Dead [BKL Ag 04]), Starrs' work enhances a genre enjoying pronounced popularity. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (February 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399152253
• ISBN-13: 978-0399152252
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,005,970 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Elvis is dead, and so is Starrs' prose, June 28, 2006

By	Banquo Moscowitz (Cincinnati, USA) - See all my reviews

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Well-Written Book!, May 3, 2006

By	G. Poirier (Orleans, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There is a reason why this books sells NEW for one penny!, March 8, 2007

By	Charles H. Levenson "chubbybuns" (new jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"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.