Roach writes in an insouciant style and displays her métier in tangents about bizarre incidents in pathological history. Death may have the last laugh, but, in the meantime, Roach finds merriment in the macabre.
Gilbert Taylor - Booklist
Mary Roach is one of an endangered species: a science writer with a sense of humor. She is able to make macabre funny without looting death of its dignity.
Brian Richard Boylan - Denver Post
Roach is authoritative, endlessly curious and drolly funny. Her research is scrupulous and winningly presented.
Adam Woog - Seattle Times
As weird as the book gets, Roach manages to convey a sense of respect and appreciation for her subjects.
Roy Rivenburg - Los Angeles Times
A laugh-out-loud funny book... one of those wonderful books that offers up enlightenment in the guise of entertainment.
Michael Little - Washington City Paper
This quirky, funny read offers perspective and insight about life, death and the medical profession.... You can close this book with an appreciation of the miracle that the human body really is.
Tara Parker-Pope - Wall Street Journal
"Not grisly but inspiring, this work considers the many valuable scientific uses of the body after death." —Library Journal
Droll, dark, and quite wise, Stiff makes being dead funny and fascinating and weirdly appealing.
As fascinating as it is funny.... The research is admirable, the anecdotes carefully chosen, and the prose lively; and they combine to produce a book that everyone in the health care field should have to read, and everyone else will want to.”
A fascinating book and, once you pick it up, you won't likely put it down.
William R Wineke - Wisconsin State Journal
Roach...goes into gruesome detail, but she also succeeds in not making the subject at hand too morbid.
Kim Colton - Willamette Week
Our own instinctive discomfort with death provides fodder for Roach's dry sense of humor throughout the book
Ana Marie Cox - Washington Post
A laugh-out-loud funny book....one of those wonderful books that offers enlightenment in the guise of entertainment.
Roach's dry, irreverent wit makes for a delightful—though never disrespectful—read.
Les Simpson - Time Out New York
An unflinching, often hilarious cultural history.
Erica C Barnett - The Stranger
[Roach] has written a curiously funny, touching and respectful study.
Nancy Summers - Tampa Tribune & Times
Delightful....authoritative, endlessly curious and drolly funny.
Adam Wong - Seattle Times
[Roach's] firsthand accounts of places and people make this a captivating look at life after death.
Well written, with a reader-friendly format.
Howard S Pitkow - Science Books and Films
[Roach] manages to make material that normally comes with a warning for the faint-hearted somehow light-hearted.
Jill Wolfson - San Jose Mercury News
Every page fairly drips with dark humor.
Matt Palmquist - San Francisco Weekly
Fascinating and oddly fun.
A joy to read....this is wonderful stuff.
Tim Redmond - San Francisco Bay Guardian
Lively and quirky....the writer's style is genuinely warm...she has a keen eye for observation of unique and ironic details.
Michael Jaffee - San Antonio Express-News
[Roach] artfully and humorously unwraps the mystery of the dead body....an interesting and informative read.
Deborah Love - Richmond Times-Dispatch
Expect the insightful with the hilarious.
Bridget Kinsella - PW Daily
What saves the subject matter from intolerable gruesomeness is Roach. Her interest is genuine, despite her droll tone.
B.T. Shaw - Portland Oregonian
Genuinely funny and destined to be a classic read.
Donald A Collins - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Roach traces the use of the cadaver...and describes odd, behind-the-scenes moments perfect to halt all discussion at dinner.
T.D. Mobley-Martinez - Philadelphia News
A quick and compelling, if slightly uneasy, read.
Justin Bauer - Philadelphia City Paper
Roach's conversational tone and her gallows humor bring her subjects to life....Morbidly entertaining.
Alex Abramovich - People Magazine
[A] mordantly witty history of the scientific contributions made by the no-longer-living.
Roach's deliberate carefulness diminishes the topic's gore and sets a comfortable, comic tone that finds solace in its own oddity.
A funny but never disrespectful look at the curious world of cadaver research.
Mary Roach is an extremely funny science writer
Laurence A Marschall - Natural History
Bizarrely entertaining.
Susan Ellis - Memphis Flyer
It's a rare talent that can make people want to throw up and laugh at the same time.
Roy Rivenberg - Los Angeles Times Book Review
As weird as the book gets, Roach manages to convey a sense of respect and appreciation for her subjects.
The numerous tidbits of information derived from the author's travels and interviews make [this book] uniquely appealing.
Roach is a masterful writer....Irreverent? Maybe a little. Disrespectful? Emphatically no.
Lisa Parsons - Hippo Press
Well-written and deadly funny.
Bruce Willey - Good Times Magazine
An informative, gently funny but never irreverent look at the various uses society makes of the dead.
Acutely entertaining, morbidly fascinating.
A fascinating survey of the data yielded by corpses both medieval and modern.
Whimsical, hysterical and terribly interesting.
Katy Human - Detroit Free Press
Though the cover...will draw many readers to this book, its deft prose will keep them returning.
Fred Bortz - Dallas Morning News
[Roach's] knack for detailed research and loose Dave Barry-ish style makes Stiff a leisurely and enjoyable read.”
Tom Westin - Daily Yomiuri
This bizarre tome will shock, disgust, intrigue and entertain you all at the same time.
Mary Morrison - Coral Gables Gazette
Her morbid subject—perverse, unsettling and voyeuristic—makes her book hard to put down.
Dean Narcisco - Columbus Dispatch
Bring[s] alive a subject that has the potential to be deadly dull.
Steve Fiffer - Chicago Tribune
Every detail is fascinating.
Henry Kisor - Chicago Sun-Times
Surprisingly entertaining. Similar in tone to Bill Bryson's travel books, Roach manages to be humorous yet respectful.
Rick Mathis - Chattanooga Times Free Press
Roach saw some macabre things, but she describes them with respect and irresistible humor.
Austin American-Statesman
A very funny book....full of surprises.
Craig McLaughlin - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Roach exhibits both a keen sense of humor and a sincere respect for the dearly departed.
It's a rare talent that can make people want to throw up and laugh at the same time.”— Roy Rivenberg
Los Angeles Times Book Review
Surprisingly entertaining. Similar in tone to Bill Bryson's travel books, Roach manages to be humorous yet respectful.”— Rick Mathis
Chattanooga Times Free Press
A joy to read....this is wonderful stuff.”— Tim Redmond
San Francisco Bay Guardian
Genuinely funny and destined to be a classic read.”— Donald A Collins
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
A very funny book....full of surprises.”— Craig McLaughlin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Lively and quirky....the writer's style is genuinely warm...she has a keen eye for observation of unique and ironic details.”— Michael Jaffee
A fascinating book and, once you pick it up, you won't likely put it down.”— William R Wineke
Well written, with a reader-friendly format.”— Howard S Pitkow
[Roach] artfully and humorously unwraps the mystery of the dead body....an interesting and informative read.”— Deborah Love
A quick and compelling, if slightly uneasy, read.”— Justin Bauer
[Roach] has written a curiously funny, touching and respectful study.”— Nancy Summers
[Roach] manages to make material that normally comes with a warning for the faint-hearted somehow light-hearted.”— Jill Wolfson
Every page fairly drips with dark humor.”— Matt Palmquist
This bizarre tome will shock, disgust, intrigue and entertain you all at the same time.”— Mary Morrison
Well-written and deadly funny.”— Bruce Willey
Though the cover...will draw many readers to this book, its deft prose will keep them returning.”— Fred Bortz
What saves the subject matter from intolerable gruesomeness is Roach. Her interest is genuine, despite her droll tone.”— B.T. Shaw
Whimsical, hysterical and terribly interesting.”— Katy Human
Roach's dry, irreverent wit makes for a delightful—though never disrespectful—read.”— Les Simpson
Roach traces the use of the cadaver...and describes odd, behind-the-scenes moments perfect to halt all discussion at dinner.
Her morbid subject—perverse, unsettling and voyeuristic—makes her book hard to put down.”— Dean Narcisco
Every detail is fascinating.”— Henry Kisor
Roach...goes into gruesome detail, but she also succeeds in not making the subject at hand too morbid.”— Kim Colton
Our own instinctive discomfort with death provides fodder for Roach's dry sense of humor throughout the book”— Ana Marie Cox
Roach's conversational tone and her gallows humor bring her subjects to life....Morbidly entertaining.”— Alex Abramovich
Mary Roach is an extremely funny science writer”— Laurence A Marschall
Bring[s] alive a subject that has the potential to be deadly dull.”— Steve Fiffer
Delightful....authoritative, endlessly curious and drolly funny.”— Adam Wong
Bizarrely entertaining.”— Susan Ellis
[Roach's] knack for detailed research and loose Dave Barry-ish style makes Stiff a leisurely and enjoyable read.”— Tom Westin
An unflinching, often hilarious cultural history.”— Erica C Barnett
Outrageously funny, irreverent"—but respectful....so delightfully written, this book is difficult to put down.”— Brian Richard Boylan
Roach's deliberate carefulness diminishes the topic's gore and sets a comfortable, comic tone that finds solace in its own oddity.”— Tom Lynch
Roach displays her metier in tangents about bizarre incendents in pathological history.”— Gilbert Taylor
An informative, gently funny but never irreverent look at the various uses society makes of the dead.”— Tom Pantera
