Research Catalog

Title

Postmortem : how medical examiners explain suspicious deaths / Stefan Timmermans.

Author

Timmermans, Stefan, 1968-

Publication

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

x, 367 p.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Postmortem goes deep inside the world of medical examiners to uncover the intricate web of pathological, 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. Although these professionals attempt to remain objective, medical examiners are nonetheless responsible for evaluating subtle human intentions. Consequently, they may end - or start - criminal investigations, issue public health alerts, and even cause financial gain or harm to survivors. 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."--BOOK JACKET.

Series Statement

Fieldwork encounters and discoveries

Uniform Title

• Fieldwork encounters and discoveries.
• University press scholarship online.

Subject

• Autopsy
• Cause of Death
• Coroners and Medical Examiners
• Criminal investigation
• Death > Causes
• Death > Proof and certification
• Forensic Medicine
• Forensic sciences
• Medical examiners (Law)

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [331]-356) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction: brokering suspicious deaths -- Making the case for heart disease -- The fifty-one percent rule of suicide -- Forensic credibility at the "nanny trial" -- The perfect crime -- A baby died. Where were the parents? -- The organ and tissue trade -- Conclusion: the hope of forensic authority -- Postscript: "how can you watch autopsies?".

ISBN

• 0226803988 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 9780226803982

LCCN

^^2005032147

OCLC

62282067

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library