{"id":9108,"date":"2017-06-27T15:28:11","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T19:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9108"},"modified":"2017-06-27T15:28:11","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T19:28:11","slug":"dead-men-do-tell-tales-the-strange-and-fascinating-cases-of-a-forensic-anthropologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9108","title":{"rendered":"Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist<\/a><\/em> (1994) Dr. William Maples<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I’ll be honest. I bought this on sale, so the fact I only paid a dollar or two for it colors my opinion. If I’d paid full price, I’d have liked it a lot less.<\/p>\n

Take that as you will.<\/p>\n

This book is a bit of a memoir of Dr Maples, who was a forensic anthropologist in Florida, and often consulted on both criminal cases and with the military, in identifying the remains of bodies found.<\/p>\n

First, this was very obviously written before the interest in CSI and forensics. WVU has a Forensics program, so his complaints, about the lack of forensic anthropology programs sees to be not so true anymore. Since there were many of these comments, it was kind of amusing. Especially since the TV program he mentions (disdainfully I might add!) is Quincy. (I loved Quincy as a kid.)<\/p>\n

Nevermind the state of DNA analysis at the time the book was written.<\/p>\n

Although I have not heard of it done yet, there will undoubtedly come a day when the debris left over by a chain saw after a dismemberment, or even minute traces of flesh, bone and blood on the chain-saw blade itself, will be analyzed for their DNA content and matched up with the DNA of the victim.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interestingly, what he writes about is the stuff I liked best about Kathy Reichs’ Tempe Brennen series, until I got sick of her never resolving her love life. <\/p>\n

And he’s amusing.<\/p>\n

Another skull I examined was perforated with a pattern that perfectly matched the one on this pry bar. I often go to Sears and look at the tools there to see if any match up to the holes in the skulls that come to this laboratory. When the salesman asks: \u201cCan I help you, sir?\u201d I tell him, \u201cNo, you wouldn\u2019t understand. I\u2019ll know what I\u2019m looking for when I see it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is a lot easier to saw through a human bone with a hacksaw than with a wood saw. I have verified this myself.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I always make a point of telling the airline ticket agent just how many skulls I have with me in my baggage\u2014 not to shock her, but to make sure that, in case the plane crashes, investigators will know why there were more skulls than passengers aboard. This is mere professional courtesy to my colleagues, who will have to pick through my remains in the event of an accident.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s an interesting book, and I really enjoyed the glimpses into how old cases were solved, but the book could have used some editing, since it rambles on in places. But if you can pick it up on sale? Totally go for it.
\nRating: 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Broadway Books<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist (1994) Dr. William Maples I’ll be honest. I bought this on sale, so the fact I only paid a dollar or two for it colors my opinion. If I’d paid full price, I’d have liked it a lot less. Take that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[32,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biography","category-non-fiction","category-science-nature"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2mU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1009,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1009","url_meta":{"origin":9108,"position":0},"title":"Deja Dead","author":"Michelle","date":"March 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Deja Dead (1997) Kathy Reichs Kathy Reiches was recommended to me by Ms Bookish, who (during my Great Book Giveaway) sent two later books in the series along for my grandmother. Reading those books piqued my interest, however, I really prefer to read a series in order if at all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Female"","block_context":{"text":"Female","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/female"},"img":{"alt_text":"deja_dead","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/deja_dead.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1156,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1156","url_meta":{"origin":9108,"position":1},"title":"Break No Bones","author":"Michelle","date":"May 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Break No Bones (2006) Kathy Reichs Tempe Brennan is teaching a special summer anthropology course and running a dig in Charleston, South Carolina when her students discover bones that are not ancient, but are instead relatively fresh--a corpse that's appeared in the last decade instead of the last millennium. 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However, she did so not only without a medical degree, but she didn't even have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Biography"","block_context":{"text":"Biography","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/non-fiction\/biography"},"img":{"alt_text":"18 Tiny Deaths","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/18-TIny-Deaths.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1737,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1737","url_meta":{"origin":9108,"position":3},"title":"The Poisoner’s Handbook","author":"Michelle","date":"June 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York (2010) Deborah Blum I think that anyone who enjoys mysteries has to be at least a little bit fascinated with poisonings and forensic medicine, and The Poisoner's Handbook looks at the beginning of forensic medicine\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/non-fiction\/history"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/poisoners_handbook.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8609,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8609","url_meta":{"origin":9108,"position":4},"title":"The Water’s Edge","author":"Michelle","date":"January 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Water's Edge (2007\/2009) Karin Fossum translated Charlotte Barslund A married couple, out for their weekly walk, pass a strange man exiting the area, and then stumble upon the body of a young boy. One of the things I especially like about Inspectors Sejer is that his thinks a good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Waters-Edge.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1026,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1026","url_meta":{"origin":9108,"position":5},"title":"Fatal Voyage","author":"Michelle","date":"March 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Fatal Voyage (2001) Kathy Reichs This time Tempe finds herself in the North Carolina woods helping with the recovery of a plane crash. 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