Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

A New York Times science bestseller from "America's funniest science writer" ( Washington Post ), this "quirky, funny read offers perspective and insight about life, death and the medical profession" ( Wall Street Journal ). With a New Epilogue by the Author.

"Delightful—though never disrespectful" ( Time Out New York ), science writer Mary Roach's Stiff investigates the strange lives of our bodies postmortem and answers the question: What should we do after we die?

"One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year. . . . Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting." — Entertainment Weekly

For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender confirmation surgery, cadavers have helped make history in their quiet way.

"You can close this book with an appreciation of the miracle that the human body really is." — Wall Street Journal

"Acutely entertaining, morbidly fascinating." — Forbes