Dead Men Do Tell Tales : The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist

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Summary: Interesting reading, but a tad egocentric
Review: This is one of the many recent "forensic science" books that seem to be in vogue since the notorious OJ case heightened the public's awareness of forensics. It was interesting reading and enlightening, but could have eliminated the material about the author's personal life and credentials. The constant glowing references to self in the text became annoying.

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Summary: A adiquate introduction to the subject
Review: Aside form being an interestingread, this book gives a good overview of the kinds of cases forensic investigators work.

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Summary: Entertaining AND educational
Review: What a wonderful book! Fun and informative. Great Stuff!

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Summary: This book is fabulous.I could not put it down.
Review: I am a person who reads very few books.I have a learning disability the prevents me from concentrating on reading. This is the first book I have ever read none stop. This book is not for someone with a sensitive system. The auther is very blunt but the stories he tells are great. If you are interested in forensic science as a carrier this would be a wonderful book to get before you make up your mind. I loved this book. I will buy and read more about this issue in the future.

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Summary: It Should Have Been Better
Review: What should have been a very interesting page turner turned out to be a little tedious, slightly repetitive and a little vain. We had to be reminded sevewral times that Dr. Maples and his peers would never have become sick with the sites and smells of a forensic laboratory. Although I managed to learn a few valuable things from "Dead Men," it wasn't written very well. This book fell short of my anticipations.

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Summary: Brilliantly written.
Review: I must admit when I ordered this book I was a little afraid it would be boring and hard to understand.Maples has written a first class book. I found it to be easy to understand and quite fascinating. He was graphic, but not to the point of being repulsive, and his honesty came pouring out in every sentence. Anyone who is interested in Forensics has to read this book.

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Summary: Listening to bones
Review: Maples is a great storyteller, and he really draws you in to his quest for clues about the circumstances of life and death, of both famous and common people. You can get some absolutely fantastic cocktail party chatter from this book--the section on the massacre of Nicholas II and his family is riveting. If science had been presented to me in grade school as such an fundamentally "neat" endeavor, I might have taken a different path in life. But if, like me, you're an armchair forensic scientist, and you like to watch HBO's "Medical Detective" series, this book is for you. I also highly recommend "Bones" by Douglas Ubelaker.

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Summary: Grabbed my interest from front to back.
Review: I have always enjoyed reading and hearing about the ways in which a crime is solved and this book told extremely technical and medical information in a way in which anyone can understand. Besides that, the subject matter itself was fascinating and enriching. Dr. Maples is one of the most amazing forensic anthropologists. He has worked on cases ranging from the family of Tsar Nicholas II in Russia to that of President Zachary Taylor. This man is highly respected in and outside of his field. I was captivated from the moment I read the first chapter and I read all 283 pages in 3 days. I couldn't put it down. In fact, why do you think I'm here? I'm looking for more books on this subject because Dr. Maples made it so interesting. There are a couple of instances which some would find stomach-turning, but not many. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this type of matter.

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Summary: My review of William R. Maples "Dead Men Do Tell Tales"
Review: I'm not much of a reader and rarely read non-fiction books. But when I was given this book and began to read it I couldn't put it down. At best I can cover 20 pages a day. I finished reading "Dead Men Do Tall Days" (289 pages) in 3.5 days! It shatters all the myths of decomposing (From if hair/finger nails grow once the body is dead to how much of the body really decays away) Mr. Maples presents each of the many cases (from Presidents, Tsars, Historic figures, murdered victims, sucides, etc) He resurects the dead from the ashes (litterally) so they can tell their tells. What I like most about the book is that each case starts out with exactly how much Mr. Maples had to start with (usually close to nothing) and build on that thanks to a lot of detective work. As you read further you learn more and more. He keeps you guessing until the very end. I highly recomend this book to anyone interest in true life accounts and mysteries.

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Summary: An absolute must for anyone's library
Review: This is, quite simply, just about the best book I have ever read. It is informative, fascinating and totally un-putdownable. Did you know that a person can be positively identified - after they have been cremated? After reading this book you will see that dead men really do tell tales. Nothing is a secret anymore.