AFTER WE DIE
The Life and Times of the Human Cadaver
Norman L Cantor
Georgetown University Press
2011'BR" ISBN: 978-1-58901-695-8, 1589016955
death, dying, dead, corpse, cadaver
This is a fascinating and in-depth informative autopsy of the corpse through the ages.
Did you know, for example, that corpses have legal rights? Did you know that doctors still debate the actual time of death?
And what do you want to know about the dead? What's involved in donating organs? What actually happens during an autopsy? What happens to the deceased in a funeral home? What are some of the ways that a body can be preserved?
These and many more questions are examined and answered.
Strange and horrifying as it might very well sound, did you know that a female cadaver could be used as a surrogate mother? That dead women have given birth?
That, and other legal, moral, and ethical questions are also discussed within the pages of this book. The author has endeavored to steer clear of spiritual or religious enigmas.
Readers of After We Die will not find it to be a dry treatise. Rather, Cantor has filled it with anecdotes, facts, and relevant explanations through painstaking research and occasional humor, but he treats the subject matter with respect.
In the end, the author devotes a chapter to the reader, giving advice on making plans for his or her own body once the soul and spirit have departed.
Like it or not, the fate of your body will eventually have to be considered. This book will certainly open your eyes and help you to understand what is involved, not only for you, but for your family, relatives and friends.
[Book Review by Michael Woodhead, 2011]
