The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 160 pages
• Published by: Penguin Non-Classics July 3, 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 014029192X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0140291926
• Book Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 2.4 ounces

From Kirkus Reviews
A subtly creepy collection of stories culled from the experiences of a leading forensic anthropologist. Manhein describes her role as an expert witness as the laying out of her analysis to the jury without a lot of unexplained scientific jargonthe exact technique she employs in this account. While one of her goals seems to be teaching the public about the field of forensic anthropology, she never loses sight of her main intention, the spinning of a good story. The result is a rare, effective blend of entertainment and education. As we follow Manhein into the Louisiana bayou, where she digs up the levee to claim a five-year-old corpse, into industrial fires where victims bodies lie unrecovered, into cemeteries both old, newly discovered, and improvised, under houses, and into the forest to examine the bones of potentially mistreated horses, we learn about identifying bodies through dental X-rays, bone composition, and facial reconstruction. It is the same combination of the desire to solve puzzles and a fascination with death that led Manhein into her field and which also compels the reader to move quickly from one story to the next. Whether she is describing a human skull being pulled up in a fishing net or her nervousness at testifying in court, she maintains a grounded eye for detail and a compassionately detached style which renders the subject matter interesting rather than gruesome. While many of Manhein's cases have attracted media attention, most notably the exhumation of the killer of Huey Long, the book primarily focuses on the much less glamorous side of the fieldthe identification of drowning victims sometimes years after their deaths, or the discovery that those bones in the yard belonged to the previous owners pet dog. Despite the morbid nature of her work, she loves what she does and communicates that enthusiasm in her absorbing harrative. (illustrations) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
When a skeleton is all that's left to tell the story of a crime, Mary H. Manhein, otherwise known as "the bone lady," is called in. For almost two decades, Manhein has used her expertise in forensic pathology to help law enforcement agents--locally, nationally, and internationally--solve their most perplexing mysteries. She shares the extraordinary details of the often high-profile cases on which she works, and the science underlying her analyses. Here are Civil War skeletons, cases of alleged voodoo and witchcraft, crimes of political intrigue, and the before-and-after of facial reconstruction.

Written with the compassion and humor of a born storyteller, The Bone Lady is an unforgettable glimpse into the lab where one scientist works to reveal the human stories behind the remains.

"Whether reporting the stench, suffocating heat, or brutal sorties by biting insects in steamy bayous . . . Manheim is at once straightforward and appropriately droll. . . . She teaches us a great deal, often puncturing popular misconceptions." --Book Page

"A subtly creepy collection of stories . . . A rare, effective blend of entertainment and education." --Kirkus Reviews

Reader Reviews
Don't waste your time or money on this one as there are far better forensic books out there. This book was just a collection of short narratives reading more like a personal diary than any kind of scientific narrative laying out the facts of cases. I guess it lives up to its subtitle of "Life as a Forensic Anthropologist" in that she usually presents only HER part in each case with little presentation of the entire case. The forensic cases are not really the star of this book, the author is. I was frustrated with the lack of depth. Instead, read "The Body Farm" by Bill Bass. Excellent storytelling there! He gives you personal stories, but also provides all the fascinating forensic info to provide a complete picture for the cases he has investigated.