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

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Summary: This was the best book I've read in a long while.
Review: I lerned alot about this subject and how they can figure out who the person is , how long they have been dead and how they died. This is worth reading if you are into this kind of field.

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Summary: I wish Dr. Maples could have lived to see these reviews.
Review: Dr. Maples passed away on Feb. 28. I wish he could have lived to see these friendly reviews by readers. He would have been delighted. One reader wonders if Maples were an egotist. As his co-author I can say he was an extremely modest, reserved, dignified man. What may come across as "egotism" in the book is my fault, and it springs from my admiration for him. He died of brain cancer, without pain or suffering, aged 59, at the very height of his powers, with a worldwide reputation in the field of forensic anthropology. He and I were working on a fiction mystery based on his experiences -- I still hope to bring it to fruition sometime soon. His funeral was attended by hundreds of admirers and well-wishers, and on a special wall set aside for personal messages near the University of Florida in Gainesville, his students wrote: "WE HAVE STOOD ON THE SHOULDERS OF A GIANT." On behalf of the doctor and his wife, Margaret, I should like to thank the above readers for taking the time to express their opinions. Again, the doctor would have been delighted to read them

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Summary: Basically, a very good book, but not perfect.
Review: I found Dr. Maple's book to be fascinating. I must admit, that when I first picked up this book, I was somewhat skeptical as to what one could learn by looking at bones. By explaining, step by step, the process that he uses, Dr. Maples slowly erased my skepticism, as I now understand HOW he learns these tales! I do, however, have two problems with this book. The first problem is minor: Dr. Maples seems to be somewhat conceited. Perhaps I should not be so harsh on him, since he IS one of the best forensic anthropologists in the world, but none-the-less, the book did seem to brag a little bit too much. My second complaint is more major. I have a friend who grew up near Lima Peru, and he pointed out to me that Lima is one of the most humid locations in the world, yet Dr. Maples claims that the body of Francisco Pizzaro was preserved due to the dry climate of Lima. Based on this major error, I have to wonder if some of his other statistics are also faulty. On the whole, though, the pros of this book definately outweigh the cons!

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Summary: I laughed, I cried, I kissed my phobias good-bye.
Review: I found the book to be very educational and it stripped away many of my misconceptions about death and the dying process. The author does a very good job of bringing the subject to layman's terms. Everyone should read this book

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Summary: Fascinating!
Review: How someone can work with decaying human beings is beyond me. I love the way the author explains exactly what was on his mind and what he was looking for with each of the cases he highlights. It's a classic, "here's what I'm going to tell you, let me tell you, then here's what I told you" type reading. His witty style of writing takes the edge off some of the more gruesome cases. First class reading...but not when you're alone

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Summary: These intelligent and gripping tales are most amazing!
Review: Strange and Fascinating....this book definately lives up to its lengthy title. I was completely astonished by the intelligent writing and gruesome tales told in this collection of cases. You will laugh, cry, and more often than not grit your teeth at the witty tales that dead men tell in this book by William R. Maples and Michael Browning. This is a truly cunning book for people with the slightest interest in, well, death. Overwhelmingly educational and extremely well-written, "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" is extraordinary and brilliant in more ways than one. This is one of the most thought-provoking books you could ever read

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Summary: Essential for the broadly-educated
Review: "All Knowledge is useful"; an observation which has been made by many. Perhaps you build houses, program computers, paint, write or live a life of leisure, and wonder why you would be benefitted by a book on forensic anthropology; this is exactly why. To know a little about as much as possible can only benefit you--if only to enable you to converse in a more interesting manner at a dinner party! Dr. Maples' writing style captured me from the first paragraph and I only reluctantly put the book down each night. He is reverent when dealing with the deceased, yet capable of humor. His description is devoid of the gratutitous gore possible in such a subject (and which would certainly be indulged in by Hollywood); yet not dryly clinical. He avoids jargon, yet manages to educate. I consider this "must" reading for any person who simply enjoys learning for its own sake

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Summary: A fascinating look into the world of Forensic Science!
Review: I was unable to put this book down. Page after page was filled with fascinating case studies from the interesting world of Forensic Science. Was a former president poisoned? His body exhumed, the truth comes out. Who murdered the last Tzar of Russia & his family? An examination of the remains brings vital clues to their last moments alive.. View the skeleton of Joseph Merrick, the famed "Elephant Man". If only his bones could talk! Did the 'victims' of Waco die from fire or smoke inhalation? That question is yet to be answered. Study gruesomely fascinating past & present cases from the diaries of one of the foremost Forensic Anthropologists in the world as he takes on a journey not for the faint-of-heart. A must-read book.

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Summary: Fascinating, memorable, pure enjoyment
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Reminded me a lot of "How We Die," another fantastic book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who finds medical topics, CSI, and autopsies interesting. Made me think, made me learn, made me want to know more.

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Summary: Explaining Forensic Anthropology
Review: This book is very readable because it is oriented to the general reader. Chapter 1 gives his short autobiography as to why he became an anthropologist, and his experiences in Kenya. A forensic pathologist is a medical doctor trained in pathology. A forensic anthropologist has a Ph.D. and studied anthropology, specializing in the human skeletal system. Chapter 3 tells about his laboratory, and the tools used for his work. Chapter 4 has many of the cases he worked on. Chapter 5 notes that most dismemberments result from the drug trade or motorcycle gangs. The Interstate Highway System provides arteries for crimes and serial killers. (p.63). Chapter 6 discusses cases of suicide. Many people kill themselves without intending to. It is important to distinguish between murder and suicide (p.86). Page 87 tells why Florida has an inordinate number of suicides. Chapter 7 explains how forensic anthropology developed in response to murders. This chapter discusses some famous cases of this relatively young science. Page 101 tells how to distinguish between bone from rock by taste! Chapter 8 says bones are not solid and unchanging, they are constantly reshaping themselves.

In Chapter 9 Maples tells of the use of capital punishment (p.128), and discusses the various methods (pp.129-131). He seems emotionally involved. Chapter 10 informs us about cremation. Chapter 11 has Maples' most difficult and most fascinating and perplexing case. The two dead in High Springs FL were linked to a shocking double murder in New Hampshire (p.152). Page Jennings' parents made a big, fatal mistake in sending their daughter so far away after her failure as a freshman (p.164). Chapter 12 deals with the MIA in Vietnam, about 2200 compared to the 8170 in Korea. Hollywood movies created this popular image of captured men (p.187). A "delusion" (p.188)? Maples describes the US Army Central Identification Laboratory that identifies remains recovered from Vietnam. Page 202 tells what happened at the Executive Office Building. Chapter 13 tells of his investigation to recognize the skeleton of Pizarro, and correct an old mistake. The exhumation of President Zachary Taylor and the tests for arsenic poisoning are told in Chapter 14. Page 224 tells of his importance to those times: he backed free states in the new territories. His replacement changed his policies.

Chapter 15 may be the most historically important. Maples was part of a team that identified the bones of Tsar Nicholas and his family. Maples draws political conclusions from "rotten, neglected teeth" (p.259). Chapter 16 tells of the murder of five college students over two days in Gainesville Florida. Maples identified the murder weapon (pp.271-273). The book concludes with the complaint that states are not funding forensic anthropologists, who are few and far between, especially in Florida (pp.278-279). Florida is "the most crime-ridden state in the Union". That is a political decision for each state government. This recalls the most realistic portion of "Quincy, M.E.": whenever Quincy wanted to do more research, his manager often said "there's no money in the budget"!