Roach exhibits both a keen sense of humor and a sincere respect for the dearly departed. -- American Scientist
A very funny book....full of surprises. -- Craig McLaughlin - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Roach saw some macabre things, but she describes them with respect and irresistible humor. -- Austin American-Statesman
Roach displays her metier in tangents about bizarre incendents in pathological history. -- Gilbert Taylor - Booklist
Surprisingly entertaining. Similar in tone to Bill Bryson's travel books, Roach manages to be humorous yet respectful. -- Rick Mathis - Chattanooga Times Free Press
Every detail is fascinating. -- Henry Kisor - Chicago Sun-Times
Bring[s] alive a subject that has the potential to be deadly dull. -- Steve Fiffer - Chicago Tribune
Her morbid subject-perverse, unsettling and voyeuristic-makes her book hard to put down. -- Dean Narcisco - Columbus Dispatch
This bizarre tome will shock, disgust, intrigue and entertain you all at the same time. -- Mary Morrison - Coral Gables Gazette
[Roach's] knack for detailed research and loose Dave Barry-ish style makes Stiff a leisurely and enjoyable read. -- Tom Westin - Daily Yomiuri
Though the cover...will draw many readers to this book, its deft prose will keep them returning. -- Fred Bortz - Dallas Morning News
Outrageously funny, irreverent-but respectful....so delightfully written, this book is difficult to put down. -- Brian Richard Boylan - Denver Post
Whimsical, hysterical and terribly interesting. -- Katy Human - Detroit Free Press
A fascinating survey of the data yielded by corpses both medieval and modern. -- Discover Magazine
Acutely entertaining, morbidly fascinating. -- Forbes
An informative, gently funny but never irreverent look at the various uses society makes of the dead. -- Tom Pantera - Forum
Well-written and deadly funny. -- Bruce Willey - Good Times Magazine
Roach is a masterful writer....Irreverent? Maybe a little. Disrespectful? Emphatically no. -- Lisa Parsons - Hippo Press, Manchester, NH
The numerous tidbits of information derived from the author's travels and interviews make [this book] uniquely appealing. -- Joseph H Davis, MD - Journal of the American Medical Association
Fascinating, unexpectedly fresh and funny look at the multiplicity of ways in which cadavers benefit the living.... entertaining, absolutely. -- Kirkus Reviews starred review
Despite the irreverent, macabre title, this is a respectful and serious examination of what happens to cadavers, past and present. -- Michael D Cramer - Library Journal
As weird as the book gets, Roach manages to convey a sense of respect and appreciation for her subjects. -- Los Angeles Times
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
Bizarrely entertaining. -- Susan Ellis - Memphis Flyer
Mary Roach is an extremely funny science writer -- Laurence A Marschall - Natural History
A funny but never disrespectful look at the curious world of cadaver research. -- Netsurfer.com
Roach's deliberate carefulness diminishes the topic's gore and sets a comfortable, comic tone that finds solace in its own oddity. -- Tom Lynch - New City
[A] mordantly witty history of the scientific contributions made by the no-longer-living. -- Outside
Roach's conversational tone and her gallows humor bring her subjects to life....Morbidly entertaining. -- Alex Abramovich - People Magazine
A quick and compelling, if slightly uneasy, read. -- Justin Bauer - Philadelphia City Paper
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
Genuinely funny and destined to be a classic read. -- Donald A Collins - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
What saves the subject matter from intolerable gruesomeness is Roach. Her interest is genuine, despite her droll tone. -- B.T. Shaw - Portland Oregonian
As informative and respectful as it is irreverent and witty....Impossible to put down. -- Publishers Weekly starred review
Expect the insightful with the hilarious. -- Bridget Kinsella - PW Daily
[Roach] artfully and humorously unwraps the mystery of the dead body....an interesting and informative read. -- Deborah Love - Richmond Times-Dispatch
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
A joy to read....this is wonderful stuff. -- Tim Redmond - San Francisco Bay Guardian
Fascinating and oddly fun. -- San Francisco Chronicle
Every page fairly drips with dark humor. -- Matt Palmquist - San Francisco Weekly
[Roach] manages to make material that normally comes with a warning for the faint-hearted somehow light-hearted. -- Jill Wolfson - San Jose Mercury News
Well written, with a reader-friendly format. -- Howard S Pitkow - Science Books and Films
[Roach's] firsthand accounts of places and people make this a captivating look at life after death. -- Science News
Delightful....authoritative, endlessly curious and drolly funny. -- Adam Wong - Seattle Times
[Roach] has written a curiously funny, touching and respectful study. -- Nancy Summers - Tampa Tribune & Times
An unflinching, often hilarious cultural history. -- Erica C Barnett - The Stranger
Roach's dry, irreverent wit makes for a delightful-though never disrespectful-read. -- Les Simpson - Time Out New York
A laugh-out-loud funny book....one of those wonderful books that offers enlightenment in the guise of entertainment. -- Washington City Paper
Our own instinctive discomfort with death provides fodder for Roach's dry sense of humor throughout the book -- Ana Marie Cox - Washington Post
Roach...goes into gruesome detail, but she also succeeds in not making the subject at hand too morbid. -- Kim Colton - Willamette Week
A fascinating book and, once you pick it up, you won't likely put it down. -- William R Wineke - Wisconsin State Journal
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. -- Caleb Carr, author of The Alienist
Droll, dark, and quite wise, Stiff makes being dead funny and fascinating and weirdly appealing. -- Susan Orlean