Death's Acre: The Story of a Forensic Anthropology Facility

Death's Acre, by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson, is like no other book I have ever read before. If you flip through the book, you quickly see signs that this is not a boring science text nor a sentimental autobiography. The title, Death's Acre, is intriguing even if you don't know where it is referring to. The subtitle sheds a little more light: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales. There are pictures of bones, crime scenes, and decaying bodies within the text. The appendix includes a diagram of the human skeleton.

Forensics has become not only vitally important in solving crimes and catching criminals, it has also become an item of pubic interest. TV programs such as CSI and Waking the Dead are tremendously popular. Books by authors like Patricia Cornwell (who wrote the introduction to Death's Acre) sell millions of copies. Yet few people know about the real-life basis for forensic knowledge. How do they know how long a body has been dead or how they were murdered? Where does this wealth of information come from?

Near the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, there is an inconspicuous fence surrounding an acre of land. Inside is the Body Farm (technically called the Anthropology Research Facility). It is the only place of its kind in the world, and the information gathered there is used around the world in a variety of applications. Put quite simply, the Body Farm studies death.

Donated dead bodies are arranged in a variety of settings (in cars, in water, in shallow graves, etc.), and then carefully observed. Because of the research done here, murder victims can now be better identified and their time and manner of death more accurately determined. Seemingly inconsequential items like the insects on and around the body can provide vital clues to the anthropologists and law force officials trying to discover the victim's story.

In an honest, respectful, and sometimes humorous way, Dr. Bass talks about his life, the many projects and cases he's worked on, and the work of the Body Farm. He includes personal details about himself and his family that make you feel as though he's a friend telling his story to you over a cup of coffee. Yet his knowledge is obvious and amazing. He explains complicated processes in a way that is understandable, but not condescending. Real life cases are used as examples. They are intense and sometimes disturbing to read, but are always there to prove a point or further our knowledge. Reading the book made me want to meet Dr. Bass or attend one of his lectures. [My sister and mother have met Dr. Bass and tell me that he is an engaging personality and extremely likeable person.]

For me the book had a significance beyond morbid curiosity. When my brother died, we donated his body to the Body Farm. A few years later, my uncle had a fatal heart attack and his body was sent there as well. As we donated their bodies, we don't have gravesites for them. Although it may sound weird, reading the book made me wonder what research project their bodies had been used for. To me, it is comforting to know that although these loved relatives of mine have died, they are still helping people. As is explained in the book, the information gathered here has provided closure to many families and helped to catch killers.

Read this book. It may not always be an easy read, but it will teach you things you had never considered and open your eyes to both some of the beauties and evils of the world around you.