Books : Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science
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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 614.17
EAN num: 9780060875299
ISBN number: 0060875291
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: September 01, 2007
Publishing house: William Morrow
Release Date: September 04, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 37133
Studio: William Morrow
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There is no scientist in the world like Dr. Bill Bass. A pioneer in forensic anthropology, Bass created the world's very first laboratory dedicated to the study of human decomposition—three acres of land on a hillside in Tennessee where human bodies are left to the elements. His research at 'the Body Farm' has revolutionized forensic science, helping police crack cold cases and pinpoint time of death. But during a forensics career that spans half a century, Bass and his work have ranged far beyond the gates of the Body Farm. In this riveting book, the bone sleuth explores the rise of modern forensic science, using fascinating cases from his career to take readers into the real world of C.S.I.
Some of Bill Bass's cases rely on the simplest of tools and techniques, such as reassembling—from battered torsos and a stack of severed limbs—eleven people hurled skyward by an explosion at an illegal fireworks factory. Other cases hinge on sophisticated techniques Bass could not have imagined when he began his career: harnessing scanning electron microscopy to detect trace elements in knife wounds; and extracting DNA from a long-buried corpse, only to find that the female murder victim may have been mistakenly identified a quarter-century before.
In Beyond the Body Farm, readers will follow Bass as he explores the depths of an East Tennessee lake with a twenty-first-century sonar system, in a quest for an airplane that disappeared with two people on board thirty-five years ago; see Bass exhume fifties pop star 'the Big Bopper' to determine what injuries he suffered in the plane crash that killed three rock and roll legends on 'the day the music died'; and join Bass as he works to decipher an ancient Persian death scene nearly three thousand years old. Witty and engaging, Bass dissects the methods used by homicide investigators every day, leading readers on an extraordinary journey into the high-tech science that it takes to crack a case.
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Rated by buyers 
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I highly recommend this book. It is a great follow up to Death's Acre. I am currently finishing this book (should wrap up over my lunch hour today), but I have read Death's Acre and had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Bass and Mr. Jefferson a few months ago at a book signing for one of their new fiction books. I had actually purchased this book prior to the meeting, but hadn't gotten the opportunity to read it. The authors are just as interesting in person and were gracious enough to sign my book! As an aspiring prosecutor I find the information both interesting and insightful. I have gleaned information about the human body that will help me understand the questions I need to ask of potential law enforcement and other key witnesses to better develop my cases. I hope there will be another nonfiction book by the duo. I recently came back from Tennessee, traveling through some of the areas mentioned in the book- it was an interesting experience. I also highly recommend Teasing Secrets From the Dead- written by Emily Craig, one of Dr. Bass's former students mentioned in this book and Death's Acre. It too is a real treat.
Rated by buyers -
Great!! Loved the part on the Big Bopper. The whole book is wonderful just like the original!
Rated by buyers -
I found this book to be as engrossing as Death's Acre. Dr Bill Bass is truly a pioneer in forensic science. I found that I couldn't put this book down!
Rated by buyers 
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This is a quickie review for a quickie book. Dr. Bill Bass, the man who revolutionized forensics by examining the corruption of the flesh with scientific exactitude, follows up his memoir "Death's Acre" with a collection of stories of the cases he's worked on.
With the help of writer Jon Jefferson, Bass is an avuncular storyteller, exhibiting a pleasure in his work that readers who are uncomfortable with the thought of spending one's life hanging around the dead might find offensive. Of course, one should have a means of protection, a detachment that is vital when dealing with someone so elemental as witnessing for the dead.
Over 16 chapters, Bass and Jefferson recount 13 cases, some of which were solved or advanced due to research performed at the Body Farm. There's the case of the body found in the burnt-out car, whose time of death was determined by the age of the maggots breeding on him. There was the assistant DA, found trussed and stabbed inside his home, whose time of death helped convict the man who did it.
The high point of the book was a guest appearance by The Big Bopper, who died in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and Richard Valens. The rumored presence of a gun on board the plane, and the possibility of it going off and killing the pilot, led the family to request an exhumation. The Bopper's son, who was born after the singer's death, was present, and the tale acquires a thin sheen of fiction as he, surprisingly to all, finds a bit of closure with his tragically absent father, due in a large part to very, very good embalming.
True crime finds will probably treat "Beyond the Body Farm" like a treat, gobbled quickly and mostly forgotten -- apart from the Bopper's tale and that poor man's intestines -- but it also serves as a tonic against the "CSI effect". Solving mysteries in real life takes money, time, human effort, and is never interrupted by commercials. And in some of the cases, we're still left with questions.
Rated by buyers -
Dr. William Blass has written an entertaining and informative book about real forensic science. While he discusses the differences between television forensic science, such as show like "CSI", and the less flashy day to day life of a real CSI, he still makes real life forensics seem exciting and interesting.
Dr. Blass has written novels based on his experiences at the Body Farm, but I haven't read any of them. This real life look at crime scene investigation is as interesting and compelling as any screenplay or novel.
Although some of the cases were very touching, and all of them tragic in one way or another, this book still offered entertainment, information, and built a true respect for real forensic scientists.
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