Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner,   ISBN:9780804105996

Customer Rating: 

I disagree with "By a Customer". I feel the book was well written and enjoyed reading it. My only complaint is with the author believing some things are only conspiracy, like Kennedy's killing. There were 7 different bullet holes, but yet only one gun used by a man named Harvey Oswald? I don't think so. I don't understand how he can speak of things as fact that are not fact. However, that being said, the book is generally a good read and I found it hard to put down. I Wouldn't spend money on it though, get it at the library.

Customer Rating: 

As a past student of Mortuary Science and a person with great interest in Law Enforcement, this book held the best of both worlds for me. Dr. Michael Baden does a great job of grabbing and holding the readers interest with his many stories of case experiences as a Medical Examiner, and brief stint as Chief Medical Examiner. I highly recommend this book to anyone with interest in Forensics and Law enforcement.

Customer Rating: 

After you get past this author's overweening ego, he has a great story to tell. First, he educates you that his specialty is forensic pathology, meaning that as a doctor he focuses not on the living but on the dead--and their three kinds of unnatural deaths (suicides, homicides, and accidents) and the traumatic causes thereof (e.g., drowning, asphyxiation, gunshot and stab wounds, blunt force, poisoning, overdose, etc.). He explains the three traditional signs used to determine how long a person has been dead (temperature, color, and stiffness) and gets you thinking about toxicology screenings so that you enter the main body of the book more prepared for what follows.

And he tells his story as an insider, as indeed he is, being one of the most renowned MEs in the world. When he says, for example, "Where bungled autopsies are concerned, President Kennedy's is the exemplar," we listen. He goes on to give a rather definitive answer to questions that we have all wondered about, as told from the prospective of the evidence: Oswald acted alone, Claus von Bulow didn't do it, Cathy Smith did give Belushi his fatal injection, and so forth. His stories of less well-known folks are no less compelling, and Baden does a good job of leading the reader through the gory and technical details to a scientific conclusion. Ideally, however, one should read the companion volume of his friend, Dr. William Maples, in tandem with this one. He is a forensic anthropologist who does with skeletons what Baden does with "fresher" evidence. All in all, a good read . . .

Customer Rating: 

This is a very good book if you are interested in forensic science; it's probably not for everyone. It goes hand in hand with the series on HBO.

Customer Rating: 

I got this book because of a recommendation from my boss and it was GREAT. She was right- I can't put it down. I am entranced and it's described just right. Very interesting book! :)