Reviews for Unnatural death

The average rating for Unnatural death based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-02-16 00:00:00 Alan Hoshor This book is about autopsies, politics, and I Told You Sos. Dr. Baden reveals the truth about multiple celebrity deaths, including John Belushi, Elvis Presley, Claus von Bulow, and John F. Kennedy. Apparently many autopsies are conducted by untrained coroners, or the pressures of expediency or politics affect the procedure and the results. Exit wounds go unnoticed, time of deaths figured incorrectly, tests for poisons or drugs not done right. The book is definitely very interesting, but almost every single incident is either about how the author is the ONLY one who was objective, or the only one who didn't bow to the political pressures. He was demoted because of his strict objective truth telling. He was let go unfairly, and then sued his ex employers and won. There are multiple pages about how his boss gave him a list of all the things he had done wrong, and him refuting them: “He said I didn't return phone calls on time and I DID! He says I took too long with this or that, and it was somebody else's fault!” etc. He had to repeatedly step in and redo autopsies, or reinterpret the results, in order to save the day. Don't get me wrong—I have no trouble believing that everything he says is true, it's just that the entire book was SOOO self congratulatory, and it left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. In spite of this, the book was extremely interesting. There are TONS of anecdotes and vignettes about unnatural deaths, and all the weird things that happen. Lots of deaths that look suspicious that turn out to be accidents or natural deaths or suicides, and people who are accused of murder and are freed when Dr. Baden finds out the truth.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-02-21 00:00:00 Paul Shinoda This memoir of one of the most famous medical examiners is a decent showing. It is immediately clear that Dr. Baden's strength is science, rather than writing -- many of his cases lack a proper setup, climax and/or conclusion and he could stand to add some excitement to his descriptions of his findings. The two major flaws of this book are length and audience. At approximately 250 pages for a narrative that covers Kennedy, Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, three serial killers, a prison riot, Baden's sundry employment history and several other chapters, each section can only be granted 2-3 pages, which really undermines the richness of the narrative. In terms of Dr. Baden's intended audience, it is simply unclear. He states in his conclusions that one of his intentions is to encourage more medical students to enter the field; however, as a senior medical student, I was untouched by his accounts. The clinical discussion did not occur at a high enough scientific level to intrigue me. At the other extreme, I am doubtful of how interesting this book would be to a purely lay audience -- there are several pages dedicated to the politics of the office of medical examiner, untold descriptions of hyoid bone fractures and petechiae and vitreous fluid, much of which with little explanation. A third drawback is that Unnatural Death is beginning to show its age -- Baden's discussion of the pathophysiology of cirrhosis is outdated and his account of how to prevent SIDS makes no mention of sleeping position, which is now the standard of care. Nevertheless, Unnatural Death is a quick read and a rare first hand account of the myriad of roles taken on by a medical examiner, from autopsy to crime scene investigation to courtroom. If you can overcome the awkward pacing and uncanny valley between medical text and popular science book, it is certainly worth a read.