Overview

As elected coroners were replaced by medical examiners with scientific training, the American public became fascinated with their work. From the grisly investigations showcased on highly rated television shows like CSI to the bestselling mysteries that revolve around forensic science, medical examiners have never been so visible—or compelling. They, and they alone, solve the riddle of suspicious death and the existential questions that come with it. Why did someone die? Could it have been prevented? Should someone be held accountable? What are the implications of ruling a death a suicide, a homicide, or an accident? Can medical examiners unmask the perfect crime? Postmortem goes deep inside the world of medical examiners to uncover the intricate web of social, legal, and moral issues in which they operate. Stefan Timmermans spent years in a medical examiner’s office following cases, interviewing examiners, and watching autopsies. While he relates fascinating cases here, he is also more broadly interested in the cultural authority and responsibilities that come with being a medical examiner. How medical examiners speak to the living on behalf of the dead is Timmermans’s subject, revealed here in the day-to-day lives of the examiners themselves. “Postmortem is a wake-up call to forensic pathology. . . .This book should be viewed as provocative, rather than threatening, and should be a stimulus for important discussions and action by the forensic pathology community.”—Journal of the American Medical Association

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9780226803999

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Reviews

Postmortem is a revelatory account of how medical examiners use the tools of modern science to discern causes of suspicious deaths. Timmermans takes us deep into the grisly world of forensic investigators, with gripping stories from the autopsy table and vivid descriptions of the morgue's back rooms. His greatest contribution is to explain how and why medical examiners gained the authority to tell us why we die, and to help us understand what their perspective reveals and conceals. An unforgettable book. - Eric Klinenberg, author of Heat Wave Postmortem is a wake-up call to forensic pathology.... This book should be viewed as provocative, rather than threatening, and should be a stimulus for important discussions and action by the forensic pathology community. - Journal of the American Medical Association

Author Information

Stefan Timmermans is professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of two previous books, including Sudden Death and the Myth of CPR.

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