Jodi (antsmarching81) reviewed Body Brokers: Inside America's Underground Trade in Human Remains on + 51 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is a fascinatingly disturbing book that examines the underground brokering of human remains and cadavers. There are people out there making profits off of bodies that loved ones think were cremated or donated for scientific purposes. This book was rather graphic, and probably not meant for those that are squeamish or are extra-sensitive to topics involving death.
Meghan P. (CompulsiveBookBuyer) reviewed Body Brokers: Inside America's Underground Trade in Human Remains on + 42 more book reviews
I wrote this review for Amazon:
I hadn't read much of the book before I thought that this book went into what Mary Roach's Stiff did not go into - exactly where cadavers come from. And this is exactly what the book is about - it is not about how useful and valuable cadavers are to medicine (read "Stiff" if that's what you're looking for) and it is not telling people NOT to donate their bodies. This book simply illuminates how/where a fair percentage of bodies and parts come to be part of medical science - she is not saying that this is where ALL of the bodies and parts come from. She is merely letting us know that a lot of people who donate their bodies are mislead - if not blatantly lied to - about how their bodies are used; they are especially misled when their donated bodies are capable of turning a nice profit where it was thought no profit would be made. Because people are so concerned about their bodies after death, this is a very valid piece of journalism. It also lets people know that there is a possibility their bodies could very well be harvested without their loved one's knowledge or consent.
While this book was very informative I felt it read more like a crime novel or a true crime book (depends on the author in comparison). This book was more true crime readable than expose readable. I wouldn't call it a brilliant sample muck-racking but it was a pretty well thought out attempt that included plenty of primary sources.
I hadn't read much of the book before I thought that this book went into what Mary Roach's Stiff did not go into - exactly where cadavers come from. And this is exactly what the book is about - it is not about how useful and valuable cadavers are to medicine (read "Stiff" if that's what you're looking for) and it is not telling people NOT to donate their bodies. This book simply illuminates how/where a fair percentage of bodies and parts come to be part of medical science - she is not saying that this is where ALL of the bodies and parts come from. She is merely letting us know that a lot of people who donate their bodies are mislead - if not blatantly lied to - about how their bodies are used; they are especially misled when their donated bodies are capable of turning a nice profit where it was thought no profit would be made. Because people are so concerned about their bodies after death, this is a very valid piece of journalism. It also lets people know that there is a possibility their bodies could very well be harvested without their loved one's knowledge or consent.
While this book was very informative I felt it read more like a crime novel or a true crime book (depends on the author in comparison). This book was more true crime readable than expose readable. I wouldn't call it a brilliant sample muck-racking but it was a pretty well thought out attempt that included plenty of primary sources.
TakingTime reviewed Body Brokers: Inside America's Underground Trade in Human Remains on + 1072 more book reviews
This book reminds me a lot of The Immoral Life of Henrietta Lacks - which I loved - in its method of giving a lot of fact, but in a pure story lead fashion.
It takes the disgusting process of brokering human body parts and weaves a really good non-fiction story. It reveals how this business has prospered from the grave robbers of the 1800's right up to the current problems as late as 2006. This book will make you look twice at the funeral, creamation, death process. Beware! 4 stars
It takes the disgusting process of brokering human body parts and weaves a really good non-fiction story. It reveals how this business has prospered from the grave robbers of the 1800's right up to the current problems as late as 2006. This book will make you look twice at the funeral, creamation, death process. Beware! 4 stars
Angie A. (sh0rtstak) -
Being in the medical field, the book had my interest piqued. The book started off decent but after a few chapters it fizzled out and got downright boring. Who cares about specific names in the past and their role in the underground remains department? Get to the good stuff! I felt this book repeated itself so many times, it could have been half its size and lost no information. This is definitely an interesting topic, too bad the author couldn't deliver without boring a reader to "tears". (and you thought I was going to say death) *grin*
