Jeanne G. (IlliniAlum83) - , reviewed on 12/30/2011 + 181 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

Wonderful non-fiction book with all the excitement of a fictional forensic murder mystery. Dr Bass includes several anecdotes about mistakes he made which reveals the human side of scientific research and the perils of making assumptions. Though written as a biography, all fans of Bones, CSI, or Criminal Minds will love this book that shares not only how "The Body Farm" came into being, but many of its precedent-setting experiments as well as a selection of real-life crimes that Dr. Bass is called upon to help solve thru the science of forensic anthropology.
The only negative I found was that some of the chapters seem to have been written as "stand alone" stories, then included in the book so that certain references are repeated over and over (such as the mistakes Dr Bass made over the years).
Additional treat is the foreword by Patricia Cornwell as well as the chapter about her request for a forensic experiment to be done that helps her write her novel "The Body Farm" which in turn brings Dr Bass' research facility into the public limelight and greatly increases donations of bodies for his research.

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