Rating: 
Summary: Interesting But Jaded
Review: In 1977, Congress set up the Select Committee on Assassinations to look into JFK's assassination. Baden was in charge of the forensic pathology investigation and set up a panel of nine medical examiners. Others investigated the non-forensic areas. Baden feels that the conspiracy theories abounded due to a poor medical-legal autopsy performed on the president by Commander Humes who'd never done one before. Baden feels these theories still abound because he was not allowed to testify about the committee's forensic findings. The Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that theirs was a second gunman based on acoustical evidence.
I think the book was poorly organized. In his Introduction, Baden explains the science of forensic pathology. He followed this with a chapter on Heroes and Conspiracies possibly for the sensationalism. It makes more sense to follow the explanation of forensic pathology with the following chapter order History, The Education of a Medical Examiner, Autopsy, Manhattan Postmortem (about city politics and how they interfere with ability of the ME to do his job), Earthly Remains, Time of Death then Heroes and Conspiracies with the remaining chapters in the same order. The book provides a lot of valuable information on the profession however I recommend reading Cause of Death (which I also reviewed) by Cyril Wecht, M.D., J.D. with Mark Curriden and Benjamin Wecht for the story behind JFK's assassination. Wecht was also on the Select Committee on Assassinations.
Rating:
Summary: interesting topic - but definitely from a non-writer
Review: Michael Baden has many fascinating stories to tell - and there IS alot of interesting information. But be aware that Mr. Baden is NOT an author - some may find that comforting (in the sense that he isn't using all those high-falootin' big words to explain simple concepts) - but at the same time, there is a distinction in the quality of the writing that can't be overlooked. Overall, I was happy with this book - it's a ...purchase and a subject that fascinates me. But his stories are MUCH better told on HBO's Autopsy series - penned by professionals.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fascinating Read
Review: Michael Baden's 'Confessions', of course, are not confessions at all,but the book is a fascinating discussion (in no particular order) of many of the very high profile (and not high profile) cases he has handled over the years. The book is more anecdotal in style, moving along at a brisk pace, covering the forensic points quite well , with little wasted verbage. Along the way, he attacks his past critics, and confesses no sins of his own. Baden provides a useful discussion as to how politicians , prosecutors and the police bias sometimes affect, influence and even corrupt the independent judgenent of a the coroner's office. He makes a strong case for establishing nationwide standards. The recent explosion of TVs shows such as CSI (and its immitators) will hopefully attract highly talented physicians to this forensic science,which science not only helps convict the guilty, but frees the innocent, as long as the ME remains independent (and not an appendage of the prosecutor).
While many of the cases have been covered well in other
books or are familiar to true crime buffs, Baden discusses
the forensic points of each case quite well and succcintly.
The creation of 'chapters' for this book was gratuitious, as
there does not seem to be any real order to the book. Still,
I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested as to
what the victim's body tells a forensic pathologist about the victim's death, and in a homicide, what it tells about the
killer
Rating: 
Summary: Two thumbs up.
Review: The book doesn't just talk about dead bodies - it talks about the circumstances surrounding dead bodies and gives us a better understanding of what really happened. The book explains things in layman terms to the average reader, making it easy to comprehend and follow. I found the book to be thorough and matter-of-fact. The book points out different M.E. customs, especially in different countries, which explains how the actual cause of death can be misdiagnosed. In addition to this, there are strong political factors that influence what M.E.s write as the official cause of death because people don't want to hear that a loved one committed suicide. Murder is somehow more glamourous, especially if it's a celebrity that really died of a drug overdose. The book explains the three ways to determine the cause of death although it's not an exact science since there are factors that can influence the situation such as temperature and location of the body. There are certain features to look for in an autospy since specific drugs only remain for a short time and are easily overlooked. The eyes retain fluids which can be a tell-tale sign of certain presences in the body. There is so much information in this book that it's almost impossible to put it down. The most appalling thing is not what's found in the dead bodies, but the political pressures, the various professional incompetences, and gross abuse of justice that occurs in the judical system. You should read about how one doctor tested his theory on dead babies without the parents' knowledge. Unbelieveable.
Rating:
Summary: Mixing Medicine with Politics
Review: The patients of medical examiners cannot explain why they died. The ME must detect this thru medical evidence, laboratory findings, the circumstances, and the patient's medical history. These circumstances are used to analyze unnatural deaths - suicide, homicide, and accidents. Forensic pathology is an untaught specialty. Apprentices train in a medical examiner's office, and learn by on the job training. MEs see the failures of society in deaths that need not have happened. Alcohol is involved in almost half of all unnatural deaths. In Europe, forensic pathologists in emergency rooms analyze victims to see what they can learn. This book contains twelve chapters on various topics from his varied experiences. Dr. Baden was a medical ME for 25 years in New York city. His book will also tell you about the politics involved in his work. It tells a lot about his experiences with the justice system. Chapter 1 deals with celebrities, and uses the phrase "conspiracy theory" to dismiss those who use the facts to question any Official Explanation. Bobby Kennedy was NOT shot by Sirhan, who was 6 feet in the front, but by a gun held less than 3 inches from the right rear of his head. Note the careful wording of his sentence! The same careful wording is used about James Earl Ray and the question of the extent of his guilt. The sly dedication is another example of careful wording. Dr. Baden takes the Warren Report position on the JFK assassination. The experienced trauma doctors at Parkland all said the shots came from the front. But it was not inevitable that conspiracy theories would arise, any more than they did with Lincoln. He says JFK's autopsy was bungled. Some in Europe (who have an older history) said this clumsiness was sanctioned as a way to destroy evidence. The doctor who did it had never performed an autopsy on a gunshot wound; he didn't know the difference between and exit and entry wound. Dr. Milton Helpern later suggested more experienced MEs should have been called it. His name was then removed from the list of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (but this was no conspiracy). The Warren Commission did not seek advice from any forensic pathologist, but this was no conspiracy. Finding the "magic bullet" with no deformities by somebody's stretcher was not a conspiracy either. "The result was an autopsy report filled with errors, sins of omission and commission" (p.13). But it was no conspiracy! The doctor who did the Bethesda autopsy said "the complexities of these fractures and the fragments thus produced tax satisfactory verbal description and are better appreciated in photographs and roentgenograms which are prepared" (p.10). Has a doctor avoided a verbal description in any other case? Other books better document the problems of this case.
Rating:
Summary: FORENSIC PATHOLOGY AT ITS BEST
Review: THIS BOOK BRINGS THE READER INTO THE EVER NEW/EVER CHANGING FIELD OF FORENSIC SCIENCE. DR. BADEN TAKES A IN-DEPTH LOOK INTO HIS PAST CASES AS WELL AS GIVING THE READER A BRIEF GLIMSPE INTO THE EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS OF FORENSIC PATHOLOGY. LET'S HOPE DR. BADEN WRITES ANOTHER BOOK, THAT WAS A GOOD AS THIS ONE!
Rating: 
Summary: When great stories go bad
Review: This book had amazing potential in its premise alone: the former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City gives us insight into the medical (and often political) twists and turns behind the scenes of highly publicized unnatural deaths. Unfortunately, this book turned out to be a HUGE letdown. The writing was poor and often confusing. Not a smooth read by any means - very fragmented, scattered and random. The stories themselves pull you in because they are interesting, true and controversial, but then the author leaves you with about a dozen loose ends and unanswered questions. For example, in Chapter 11, he talks about the murder of Gail Morris. We are taken through the story only to be left hanging at the end. Why did Leonard Barco confess? Too many important details are left out. I feel like I only read half a book. Then, there is the story of Miriam Weinfeld (Chapter 5). Baden claims that she could not have been raped because her hymen was intact, making her a virgin. This is misleading, since that is not a definitive test of virginity (it is possible for a small percentage of women have an elastic hymen, which does not break). So, for someone who does know that, that definitive statement is misleading. Little details like this - statements made without any qualifications - made me distrust the book. I am sure Michael Baden has some great stories to tell (and is obviously qualified to tell them), but the writing screwed them up. It's too bad...it could have been an incredible book.
Rating:
Summary: For the Curious
Review: This book is very well written, all of the cases are in layman's terms so that even those who did not chose to major in science could understand it. It was enthralling all of the different manners crimes and even accidents are solved, pieced together by the most vague clues that come together and from a riveting image of hard-to-put-down suspense.
Rating:
Summary: OUTDATED! OUTDATED!! OUTDATED!!!
Review: This book is well written, but quite outdated. It provides interesting details of cases we've all heard about through the media and includes information on obscure cases, as well. An interesting read, although it could've been longer. It's quite short. It's MUCH better than David Fisher's Hard Evidence, so don't waste your time on that one.
Rating:
Summary: interesting but lacking
Review: This was a very good book, but some parts just skimmed over the subject and other parts didn't need to be that long. The section about Kennedy was very interesting, but the whole book could have just been written about that. He just skimmed over his findings. He pointed out the politics in being a ME and made his feelings very clear about certain people he worked with. This alone made me feel the book wasn't as good as it could have been.
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