Review: Death's Acre by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson

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Death's Acre by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson

Overview: Dr. Bill Bass is a world renown forensics anthropologist. He is the creator behind the infamous Body Farm. It's a place where they have tested and observed different stages the human body decomposes. They submerge bodies in water, bury them, leave in the open, etc. to see how different elements affect the body's decomposition. Dr. Bass writes the story of how he started The Body Farm and his students who have gone on the better and greater things, including advancing forensics. He also has stories of cases he has worked on and gives insight on how forensics really do their job, (hint: it's not as glamorous as  CSI).

The Writing and Words: Dr. Bass writes this book in trying to intertwine stories together. Though some authors achieve this flawlessly, Dr. Bass does not. He goes out of order on when events happened and often times the reader is confused on when this is happening and has to go back to remind themselves. Dr. Bass tries to show how human he is by telling stories about his personal life, but fails at making the reader care. He could have left out stories of his life and the reader would have found him very human anyways. He goes into very long and very technical details that can start the grate the readers nerves.

My Opinion: All in all, it wasn't a terrible book. The guy is well into his 70's, so kudos for him for even being alive. This is obviously his first book and the writing shows it. However, one thing I really liked is that he told stories about cases where they were unsolved or the victim didn't get their justice, which shows the other side of the law: the one that doesn't always win. He does a great job, however, of not leaving you feeling let down when the case isn't solved because each case brought a new way for forensics to advance.

He does do a great job on describing bodies and the scenarios, although a bit too descriptive at times which leads to be boring at times. However, he also describes disgusting details without being too disgusting. This book would be a great read for people who are interested in forensics but get squeamish at the blood and guts.

Overall, it wasn't a terrible book, but not the best thing I've ever read. He wrote another book several years later that I am now reading to see if he improved on his writing and story telling skills. I did enjoy the book but not as much as other forensic books. Average rating at best.

Once again, the guy is well into his 70's, so I'll cut him some slack.