Embalming: History, Theory, and Practice

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I am a PA licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer. I studied at NCACC. Most of my embalming training was through hands on experience, the rest through Xerox copies of outdated texts. Also, there was the 1st edition of this book. I only found it useful to study the history section. This new version has not improved at all. This book covers the legal requirements and BORES you to "death", but it is not very practicle for embalming techniques. The title is very misleading. The Theory & Practice Sections you can rip out of the book. I reiterate: This book is only good for the History of Embalming (& perhaps some of the federal requirements too). If you want a good embalming text, ask your local funeral director to Xerox his old embalming book for you --just make sure It's not by Mayer!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I am a PA licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer. I studied at NCACC. Most of my embalming training was through hands on experience, the rest through Xerox copies of outdated texts. Also, there was the 1st edition of this book. I only found it useful to study the history section. This new version has not improved at all. This book covers the legal requirements and BORES you to "death", but it is not very practicle for embalming techniques. The title is very misleading. The Theory & Practice Sections you can rip out of the book. I reiterate: This book is only good for the History of Embalming (& perhaps some of the federal requirements too). If you want a good embalming text, ask your local funeral director to Xerox his old embalming book for you --just make sure It's not by Mayer!

Rating:
Summary: Very Informative, Easy to understand
Review: I am currently a student at the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Services in NYC and this is the textbook we use for our classes. I find the book very easy to follow and it makes the embalming and dying process, both Antemortem and Postmortem clear. I would definately recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTELY MESMERIZING BODY OF WORK!
Review: Since I am not a funeral director but have been interested in the profession (I used to work with friends on the east coast), I could not put the book down because it captured and sustained my interest. As a novice reader to the mortuary profession, I could not believe how much technical information you had to know. It is almost like becoming a physician. Although the diagrams/pictures were not in color, just having them spiked and fueled my interest -- with actual embalming techniques.

Finally, my favorite unit was on embalming instruments. I highly respect morticians because of the administrative, logistical, creative, and artistic so-called 'hats' they must wear in order to do a professional service!

Rating:
Summary: If this book is not Halloween, I don't know what is.
Review: So you're just like me eh? Always wanted to close one eye, yet see what goes on in the "prep" room. Be prepared for a journey that is fascinating, intriguing - and downright morbid. This book is spectacular. Just don't read it alone - or after a close relative has "gone to the other side." I opted to "not go to the funeral profession after reading (and looking at the pictures) of this gem!"

Rating:
Summary: This Book is OUTDATED!!!!
Review: This is THE standard Mortuary text book used in most American Mortuary-Funeral Sciences classrooms. NOT intended for the casual or avid book reader. THIS IS A TEXTBOOK. Materials contained therin include legal and practical applications of the Mortuary Sciences. Mark Alan Harman-Buseman ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Amusing Topic, Dull Style
Review: Ths tyle that this book was written in is pretty dran boring, but then again, it is a textbook, and they're supposed to be dull, I reckon. The section on the history of embalming is a bit sparse and the legal requirements will put one to sleep, but the actual theory and practice I found to be quite informative, if somewhat out-of-date. I wish the pictures were in colour (at least some of them) as the balck-and-white rendering defeats the purpose of some of them; for example, we are shown an example of someone who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in which the extremitieas are shown to be bright red -- a characteristic of that type of death -- and the picture illustrating this is not in colour, so one really does not get any additional information from it. There are chapters on dealing with "unusual" deaths -- hanging, refrigeration, poisoning, etc., positioning problems, the methods of aspirating the various sections of the body, organ and tissue donors, care of the autopsied body, embalming of infants and those in various stages of decomposition and most other relevant topics, but I would hate for this to be one's only source -- there are better texts available and of course nothing can beat hands-on experience. This may be a good place for an interested party to start, but I think a more modern text would be in order for actual funeral practice.

Rating:
Summary: The top textbook for Funeral Services
Review: Upon reading the standard textbook for Funeral Services in Canada I wasn't satisfied with the large volume of text involved so I turned to Mayer's Theory History and Practice. This book is an excellent resource for students and professionals in the Funeral Services field. There are alot of visual representations and I found it to be very useful in helping with the 'hands on approach' needed to help perfect the embalming process. I hope more students and professionals start using this book as a reference.

This book is not for the average individual interested in gore.