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Bones: A Forensic Detective's Casebook
by Douglas H. Ubelaker, Henry Scammell
Product Group: Book
Publisher: HarperTorch (1993-10)
ISBN: 0061091456
EAN: 9780061091452
Dewy Decimal #: 614.1
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
SKU: CH566
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Publisher: HarperTorch Date of Publication: October 1993 Binding: Mass Market Paperback Condition: Very Good Description: 0-06-109145-6 Book in good condition from non-smoking home.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
A look at the state-of-the-art techniques that enable forensic experts to read the details of a life from a single bone presents a collection of cases that take readers from archaeological digs to courtrooms. Reprint. PW.
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Customer Reviews
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Sadly, I found it tedious
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-02-25
Forensic anthropolgy is fascinating, and there are a number of excellent books about both the practice of the discipline and stories about it. Sadly, _Bones_ is not among the better of the lot. In a word, I found the book tedious.
As the title states, it is a casebook - a memoir, actually - of several cases on which Ubelaker has worked on as a forensic anthropologist. The cases are interesting, to be sure: fragments of bone or an entire section of a murder site delivered to his laboratory for examination. It is the way in which these otherwise interesting cases are presented that I had diffuculty with. The percentage of probablity of determining time since death, gender and age of victim are focused on in a montonous fashion that really was detrimental to both the author and the subject. This is regretable, as things could have been written and disucssed in a much more lively (no pun intended) manner.
_Death's Acre_ by Bill Bass is a much better book on the same topic, and is the measure by which I compare similar books on this subject. (Bass is considered the preeminent authority of forensic anthropology, and in fact taught Ubelaker years ago.) _No Bone Unturned_ is also good, although it is less concerned with the law enforcement aspects of the discipline. For those interested in the practice of forensic anthropology I recommned Bill Bass' _Human Osteology_ and Byers' _Introduction to Forensic Anthropology_. (Both are more "textbooks" than narratives, but they are interesting nonetheless.)
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A Must Read
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-12-29
Loved it a must read.
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Crime Scene Investigations
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-11-04
This entertaining and educational book is about a Smithsonian curator who helps to solve crimes as an FBI consultant, and uses this same science to uncover ancient secrets. A forensic expert's testimony can mean the difference between a conviction and a miscarriage of justice. Hunters and gatherers of crops have long been important for discovering lost bodies. Connecting found bones to a missing person does not always lead to a suspect. The rules of evidence in court require a witness to speak from his observations, not from other's reports. Archeology is closely related to forensic anthropology. Human skeletal identification was used during the Korean hostilities. Forensic anthropology can enable the bones to speak in police investigations! The analysis of modern violence can explain what happened centuries ago. Large samples of skeletons can be used to determine the frequencies of various diseases. The 33,000 skeletons in the National Museum of Natural History provide a standard of comparison. Statistics promote objectivity.As a young student Ubelaker wrote a term paper on the femur. You could determine that it was human, the height, estimate the sex, age at death, ethnic origin, body weight, patterns of locomotion, clues to certain diseases, indications of occupation, and sometimes how he died (p.45). About 10% of those executed for murder were subsequently proven innocent (p.63)! The low number of reported poisonings suggest that medical examiners should be more vigilant in identifying murder victims (p.62). An "accidental overdose" could be murder. Far more crimes are committed with paper and a pen (p.74). Chapter 6 tells about distinguishing human from animal bones. Chapter 7 tells of determining sex, size, race, and age at death. Chapter 8 tells that much may be learned from the environment where a body was found. Time since death can be estimated from the type of insects feeding on the corpse (p.108). Tooth marks on bones can hide or destroy evidence, or create false clues. Insects, larvae, and mollusks can create signs of pathology. Issuing more hunting licenses can result in more found remains (p.120). Chapter 10 explains how "dreams" can help solve crimes. Chapter 11 says attempts to hide a murder by burning attracts attention to the crime, even if they destroy some evidence. Chapter 13 tells what can be learned from larvae in a body. Chapter 14 says sketches based on skulls are not too accurate, but work because they are close enough to get a response from someone 9p.169). The interpretation of evidence can be highly subjective, as when expert witnesses disagree 9p.195). Do professional witnesses shape their testimony to please their clients (p.196)? Chapter 16 shows Ubelaker misquoting that Borden jingle (p.208). Does the "alleged murder weapon" have a chain of custody? Page 221 tells of a skull drilled by a .25 caliber Black & Decker! "Children who are loved grow faster than those who are not" (p.228). The big challenge is to distinguish between evidence of foul play from other environmental changes (p.298). If other people know of a murder, eventually they will tell (p.258). Chapter 21 explains why there are so few serial killers around. A lot of murders go unrecognized (p.263). Chapter 22 tells of murderers that almost got away with it. The murderer of a Swansea Mass girl was named as a suspect, confessed to at least six of his friends, but wasn't prosecuted until five years later. Chapter 24 tells of the need to keep a certain distance from cases to preserve objectivity, and any emotional drain.
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I'd rather watch cable!!
Rating  (1)
Date: 2003-02-03
4 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
I have worked in the 'Osteoarchaeology' field for nearly 10 years and I when I bought this book I did not expect to be reading a novel type book. Books like this are dramatised on frequently watched cable/network tv - I live in Ireland! I have used other books by the author and found them invaluable, but not this.....an ok read but dreadful reference material.
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Just a memoir
Rating  (2)
Date: 2002-05-25
5 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
Although the authors are clearly very well versed in forensic anthropology, I was disappointed in the way they presented their material. The chapters weren't difficult to follow, but they read like memoirs of the authors' cases and I got the sense the authors were more interested in showing off than sharing knowledge with nonscientists. That made it tricky to isolate details, and frankly I've learned more from general crime scene books that devoted just one chapter to forensic anthropology. Bottom line: If you're looking for a solid reference book that you can turn to again and again, you'll probably find satisfaction only in the glossary at the end.
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