The best books about cadavers

Who picked these books? Meet our 11 experts.

11 authors created a book list connected to cadavers, and here are their favorite cadaver books.
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Stiff

By Mary Roach,

Book cover of Stiff

R.B. Thorne Author Of Listen: The Sound of Fear

From the list on when the body is dead, but the book goes on.

Who am I?

I’ve been a fan of horror—specifically, supernatural horror—for as long as I can remember. Though the topic of life after death is perhaps one of the most long-standing debates in existence, almost every family has a story or two about things that can’t be explained. I’ve turned my lifelong interest in death, the occult, and how the two can coexist, into slow-burn horror stories for people who like a little weird with their fear. Stories that explore the beautiful complexity of queer people. Stories for the strange at heart.

R.B.'s book list on when the body is dead, but the book goes on

Discover why each book is one of R.B.'s favorite books.

Why did R.B. love this book?

This book is a must-read for all horror writers, horror fans, and those who love to find humor in the strangest, most unexpected places. It’s nonfiction, and Roach will take you on a journey across time and cultures that’ll have you gasping, gagging, and rolling with laughter. Beware the snap, crackle, pop.

Stiff

By Mary Roach,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Stiff as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers-some willingly, some unwittingly-have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. In this fascinating account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.


The Silent Teacher

By Claire F. Smith,

Book cover of The Silent Teacher: The Gift of Body Donation

Janet Philp Author Of Burke - Now and Then

From the list on the supply of cadavers and what they can teach us.

Who am I?

I am an anatomy educator and doctoral researcher looking at the use of human material in anatomy education. My historical research into the antics of body suppliers has caused me to explore many publications on what we do with the remains of our relatives. This is a subject that can be fascinating but also requires compassionate handling and sometimes asks us questions that we often do not want to ponder.

Janet's book list on the supply of cadavers and what they can teach us

Discover why each book is one of Janet's favorite books.

Why did Janet love this book?

Right up to date with a book written by an anatomist detailing how cadavers are used in a modern teaching facility in the UK. In an unusual break from the silence that usually surrounds the use of human cadavers, Dr. Smith talks us through the whole process from donation to disposal and the assistance they provide to medical teaching.

The Silent Teacher

By Claire F. Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Silent Teacher as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One single body donation could affect the lives of around ten million patients. Body donation is an amazing gift which enables doctors and healthcare professionals to understand the human body. Surgeons can refine existing surgical skills and develop new procedures to create better treatment for you. Dr Claire Smith goes through every aspect of donating a body, clearly describing what happens to a body once it has been donated, how it is used, how bodies are reassembled and then placed in coffins before cremation.

This is the fascinating journey into the untold story of the Silent Teacher.


Book cover of How to Be a Movie Star

Jude Tresswell Author Of A Right To Know

From the list on M/M for asexuals.

Who am I?

I chose the ‘Best’ title with trepidation: there are many sorts of aces and reading tastes will differ. I’m a cis-gender female, sex averse, verging on sex-repulsed. So, why M/M? Firstly, because reading about other females is too much like being involved myself. Secondly, because I’m het-romantic so I like my MCs to be male. And sex? I can take sex on the page as long as it isn’t gratuitous; it must be meaningful. I’ve chosen five very different books, but they all have gay protagonists and they meet my ace-based needs. In case it’s an issue, I’ve commented on the flame count.   

Jude's book list on M/M for asexuals

Discover why each book is one of Jude's favorite books.

Why did Jude love this book?

Finally, a story that’s M/M and has an asexual character. It isn’t easy to write ace M/M protagonists. For obvious reasons, some of the tropes are excluded. However, TJ Klune gets around this, perhaps because the man who wants to be a movie star, Josiah (Josy) Erickson, is probably demisexual and demiromantic. That is, sex and romance aren’t impossible for Josy, but he needs a lengthy emotional connection with another man before he desires either. The story is funny, charming, touching, and validates people who don’t see enough of themselves in print. 

How to Be a Movie Star

By TJ Klune,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Be a Movie Star as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Josiah Erickson wants to be a movie star. The problem with that is so does half of Los Angeles. But he's on his way, what with memorable roles as a TV show background cadaver and a guy in a commercial for herpes medication. All he needs is his big break. And that break may come in the form of a novelist who goes by the enigmatic name of Q-Bert. Q-Bert, who is ready to make his directorial debut in a film Josy would be perfect for. Q-Bert, who Josy may or may not have a friend-crush on, and potentially something…


Human Anatomy for Artists

By Eliot Goldfinger,

Book cover of Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form

Uldis Zarins Author Of Anatomy For Sculptors: Understanding the Human Figure

From the list on human anatomy for artists.

Who am I?

I’m a traditional sculptor with more than 25 years of experience. Being a dyslectic student in the 2000s, I developed a systematic approach to translating medical anatomy texts into visual information that I could use while sculpting.  All the anatomy books for artists at the time were text-centered. My reference sketches became quite popular among colleagues. It was clear that visual artists perceive information best when it’s visual, and that is how I got the idea for my first book. Now the Anatomy for Sculptors handbooks are bestsellers among visual artists striving to better understand the human form.

Uldis' book list on human anatomy for artists

Discover why each book is one of Uldis' favorite books.

Why did Uldis love this book?

Eliot Goldfinger’s book is very precise, reliable, and not too lengthy. Its systematic approach reminds me of a medical anatomy book, but it has been adapted for artists. The book is consistent in its depictions of human anatomy, and you will find each anatomical structure depicted from set angles: front, side, top, etc. It’s not always easy to find reliable human anatomy references, but this is one of them.

Human Anatomy for Artists

By Eliot Goldfinger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Human Anatomy for Artists as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Eliot Goldfinger, a realistic sculptor and instructor of human and animal anatomy, has designed and written a reference work for artists and art students on the visual and descriptive components of human anatomy. The format is simple and accessible; all information about one aspect of a topic is set forth on facing pages. For example, the anterior leg muscle is illustrated in a series of precise anatomical drawings and well-lit photos, with text on origin,
insertion, action, structure, and how it relates to creating surface form directly opposite the pictures. Unique to this book are photographs of a series of…


Stiff

By Mary Roach,

Book cover of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Evie King Author Of Ashes To Admin: Tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer

From the list on help you accept, embrace, and laugh at mortality.

Who am I?

I'm a death professional who lives in a world where nobody wants to talk about my specialist subject, so I hoover up any books that discuss mortality and our relationship to it. To do my job well, I need to face death on a daily basis in a matter-of-fact way, without losing that reverence, but equally not getting lost in the reverence because there is plenty to smile at, laugh at and be brutally honest about. These things make me the rounded human that is needed to perform the task well and the kind of people who write these books typically embody those qualities and inspire me. I hope they can inspire you too.

Evie's book list on help you accept, embrace, and laugh at mortality

Discover why each book is one of Evie's favorite books.

Why did Evie love this book?

Mary Roach is a woman after my own heart.

Grimly fascinated and unflinching without crossing the line into disrespect. Her very personal introduction, discussing how a cadaver is just that, no longer a person, and how she realised this when inadvertently made to spend time with her mother's body, sets her up as the perfect person to discuss bodies with humour, warmth, and interest.

The opening chapter about the medical use for decapitated heads sets the tone from the off, and the book made me finally get around to donating my body to medical science so that I too could go on a strange and useful to humanity adventure post-mortem.

Stiff

By Mary Roach,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Stiff as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For two thousand years, cadavers - some willingly, some unwittingly - have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender confirmation surgery, cadavers have helped make history in their quiet way. "Delightful-though never disrespectful" (Les Simpson, Time Out New York), Stiff investigates the strange lives of our bodies postmortem and answers the question: What should…


From Here to Eternity

By Caitlin Doughty,

Book cover of From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

Mallory McDuff Author Of Our Last Best Act: Planning for the End of Our Lives to Protect the People and Places We Love

From the list on change your relationship with death and heal Earth.

Who am I?

I teach environmental education at Warren Wilson College outside Asheville, North Carolina, where I’ve raised my two daughters in a 900-square-foot campus rental with an expansive view of the Appalachian mountains. My students work in jobs ranging from managing the herd of cattle to growing vegetables for the cafeteria. After the sudden deaths of my parents, I decided to take this one-year journey to revise my final wishes with climate change and community in mind as a legacy to my children and my students. I’ve written five books, including the forthcoming Love Your Mother: 50 states, 50 stories, & 50 women united for climate justice (April 2023). 

Mallory's book list on change your relationship with death and heal Earth

Discover why each book is one of Mallory's favorite books.

Why did Mallory love this book?

I could watch mortician Caitlyn Doughty’s YouTube videos about death for hours. She’s like a stand-up comedian and tour guide in a cross-cultural journey about death practices across the globe. To research my own book, I turned to her adventures exploring sky burials and flame cremation worldwide, as well as embalming in this country as an interrogation into the practices of the conventional U.S. funeral industry. PS: I’ll never think about putting makeup on the dead in the same way again. Doughty’s storytelling strength is her use of specific details you’ll never forget. 

From Here to Eternity

By Caitlin Doughty,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked From Here to Eternity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty embarks on a global expedition to discover how other cultures care for the dead. From Zoroastrian sky burials to wish-granting Bolivian skulls, she investigates the world's funerary customs and expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with dignity. Her account questions the rituals of the American funeral industry-especially chemical embalming-and suggests that the most effective traditions are those that allow mourners to personally attend to the body of the deceased. Exquisitely illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the…