About book Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange And Fascinating Cases Of A Forensic Anthropologist (1995)
From my Cannonball Read 5 review ...Dead Men Do Tell Tales is a fascinating, detailed book by Dr. William Maples, an amazingly accomplished forensic anthropologist. You may be familiar with that field if you watch “Bones,” although as is usually the case, what you see on screen doesn’t closely match reality. A forensic anthropologist is trained in examining human remains to learn more about the decedent. They can tell if bones belonged to a woman or man, approximate age, and explain wounds. It’s very detail-oriented work, at times taking months or years when the identity is unknown (not the 45 minutes plus commercials Emily Deschanel might suggest).In his book from the 90s, Dr. Maples takes the reader through many different cases he’s participated in over the years. Some involve people you’ve never heard of, and some are so famous it would be understandable if you didn’t quite believe what you were reading. Dr. Maples was, no joke, part of the small team that confirmed the identity of the bones of the murdered last Tsars of Russia. He put to rest the idea that President Taylor was killed by arsenic poisoning. He also helped convict murderers whose crimes were devastating but whose names you and I might not recognize.As evidenced by my line of work, I find this to be an extremely interesting topic. I’ve read Mary Roach’s Stiff, as well as a couple of other books about the lives of medical examiners. If nothing else is on TV, I’ll likely leave it tuned to Dr. G. Medical Examiner or some other disease-related show on TLC or Discovery. I say all of that in service of the recognition that this type of writing is just not for everyone.It is EXTREMELY graphic. Not to shock, but to explain. How else can he express to you how he was able to identify a murder weapon than to explain how he matched it to the wounds to the victim’s bones? Without the detail, it would be a very short book, with each chapter consisting of “so I did my work and concluded X.” His way of writing is so much better – it makes sense, and gives the reader a real insight into how forensic anthropology works.If you enjoy history, or true crime stories, or science, and are not easily sickened by detailed descriptions of human remains, I think you’ll really enjoy this book. The only reason I gave it four stars is because at times the non-forensic writing (the set-up to the crime, or background) is a bit too flowery for my tastes. I appreciate creative turns of phrase, and I don’t doubt that the authors really do write this way, but at times it felt a little like one of them just got a new thesaurus. Additionally, while it suits the structure of the book, each chapter feels like its own independent essay; he re-explains some things as though the reader hadn’t just learned about them 50 pages prior.But those are minimal complaints. It’s a great book.
Imagine that your uncle or grandfather were a forensic anthropologist who worked on famous cases like identifying the remains of the Romanov family or figuring out if President Zachary Taylor had died of arsenic poisoning, and you asked him to tell you stories every time you got together. As he told you stories about cases he's worked on, he would mix in some history, science, and descriptions of things like the labs he's worked in. Inevitably, as these storytellers do, (especially if they are experienced teachers who know the students won't get it till the third time you say it) he will repeat some points he really wants you to get. If you wrote down those stories, this would be the book version.I found this a fascinating read, but perhaps I am not the average reader since I have taught Biology and Anatomy, and I actually seriously considered going into forensic anthropology myself. Puzzles and science have always intrigued me. That said, this book is definitely not for everyone. If you can't eat dinner while watching CSI or Bones, you may want to avoid this book, particularly if you have a good visual imagination. Dr Maples does go into some graphic details at times. There are a few pictures in the book, mostly of skeletal remains, but they could be easily avoided since they are printed on different paper and you know exactly where they are in the book. The language in the book is for the most part clean, except for one f-word in a suicide note that is included in one of the chapters. The cases in the book range from average to strange murders, accidents, and suicides in the USA, to the challenges of identifying remains from wars, to extremely famous cases like identifying the remains of the Czar's family in Russia. I liked that this was a good dose of reality after watching too many CSI-type shows in which the criminalists quickly identify the victim and find the criminal within 24hrs almost every time. Dr Maples points out that the real life of a forensic anthropoligist is filled with more unaswered questions than solved cases and that even those that do have answers can take a really long time to wrap up; an important thing to know, especially for anyone who wants to go into the field.This book was actually written before CSI and all the other forensic science shows hit the tv scene. You would think the science in this book would be dated since it is almost 20 years old, but the only thing I really noticed was how hard it was for him to get DNA testing done. It actually took me a little while to realize the book had been written in the 90s instead of in the past decade.
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This was right up my nerdy geeky alley! Not only are pictures included (which, if you're queasy, ignore), but step-by-step conclusions to some of his real life cases are explained in detail. He throws in the murderers and some really good who-dunnits, but also throws in the cases of former President Taylor (was he poisoned or did he die of natural causes?), and of course, Anastasia and the last Romonovs. Ah, if only I would have been a forensic anthropologist instead of a medical anthropologist.... I'm going to have to purchase this for my anthropology collection. Loved it and would read it again and again.
—Jamie
If I ever won the lottery, I'd go back to school and become a forensic anthropologist. Since I've already spent enough money on school, I'll take armchair forensics for now. This book was overall, amazing. There were portions where Dr. Maples was rather self-serving. However, his descriptions of his cases and how they were solved was fascinating, and just on the right side of scientific to keep people who know terminology interested while also appealing to people with less skeletal familiarity.
—Amanda
Totally disappointed with this book! I have a rule never to stop reading a book I've started, but the overwhelming arrogance of this guy had me put it down to reconsider many times. He is, of course, more intelligent than all the lazy, incompetent colleagues, police, and technicians he encounters. He takes credit for every aspect of well organized programs, while shamelessly calling out and criticizing his colleagues before finding humor in their career downfalls. He actually calls family members and the American public delusional for concerns about how perfectly MIA remains are handled and identified (I guess he missed the Arlington cemetery grave problems) while crediting himself alone with creating this perfect system. Also, his retelling of how cooly he became involved in and identified the Romanov remains is (unsurprisingly) pointedly different than what historians have reported. Very little forensic anthropology discussed - A total waste of time! (Just as a side note, please don't mistake my dislike with a general dislike of the type of book - I'm a big fan of these types of books- I've read about a dozen in the forensic anthropology area and find the topic and discussion of bone remains and what we can learn from the fascinating.)
—Hannah
