Started: 2/16/18
Finished: 3/7/18
Year: 2007
Pages: 257
Genre: Forensics
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: TBR shelf
Blurb (from book jacket): "There is no scientist in the world like Dr. Bill Bass. A pioneer in forensic anthropology, Bass created the world's first laboratory dedicated to the study of human decomposition-three acres of land on a hillside in Tennessee where human bodies are left to the elements. His research at 'the Body Farm' has revolutionized forensic science, helping police crack cold cases and pinpoint time of death. But during a forensics career that spans half a century, Bass and his work have ranged far beyond the gates of the Body Farm. In this riveting book, the bone sleuth explores the rise of modern forensic science , using fascinating cases from his career to take readers into the real world of C.S.I.
"Some of Bill Bass's cases rely on the simplest of tools and techniques, such as reassembling-from battered torsos and a stack of severed limbs-eleven people hurled skyward by an explosion at an illegal fireworks factory. Other cases hinge on sophisticated techniques Bass could not have imagined when he began his career: harnessing scanning electron microscopy to detect trace elements in knife wounds; and extracting DNA from a long-buried corpse, only to dine that the female murder victim may have been mistakenly identified a quarter-century before."
Opinion: I have enjoyed Bass/Jefferson's fictional series and was happy to read some of Bass's real cases. The Body Farm has always intrigued me since reading Patricia Cornwell's book so I've been trying to read up on it as much as I can.
