Past Mortems

Author: Carla Valentine
Publisher: Sphere
ISBN: 9780751565348
Category : Autopsy
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
A day in the life of Carla Valentine - curator, pathology technician and 'death professional' - is not your average day. She spent ten years training and working as an Anatomical Pathology Technologist: where the mortuary slab was her desk, and that day's corpses her task list. Past Mortems tells Carla's stories of those years, as well as investigating the body alongside our attitudes towards death - shedding light on what the living can learn from dead and the toll the work can take on the living souls who carry it out. Fascinating and insightful, Past Mortems reveals the truth about what happens when the mortuary doors swing shut or the lid of the coffin closes.

The Chick and the Dead

Author: Carla Valentine
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250120683
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
"Using the most common post-mortem process as the backbone of the narrative, [this book] takes the reader through the process of an autopsy while also describing the history and changing cultures of our relationship with the dead. The book [examines] what happens to our bodies in the end. Each chapter considers an aspect of an autopsy alongside an aspect of Carla's own life and work and touches on some of the more controversial aspects of our feelings towards death, including the relationship between sex and death and our attitudes toward human tissue collection"--

Past Mortem

Author: Ben Elton
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448167485
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Book Description
'A writer who provokes, almost as much as he entertains' Daily Mail 'Engaging and smartly plotted' Observer ___ With old friends like these, who needs enemies? It's a question mild mannered detective Edward Newson is forced to ask himself when, in romantic desperation, he logs on to the Friends Reunited website in search of the girlfriends of his youth. Newson is not the only member of the Class of '88 who has been raking over the ashes of the past. As his old class begins to reassemble in cyberspace, the years slip away and old feuds and passions burn hot once more. Meanwhile, back in the present, Newson's life is no less complicated. He is secretly in love with Natasha, his lovely but very attached sergeant, and failing comprehensively to solve a series of baffling and peculiarly gruesome murders. A school reunion is planned and as history begins to repeat itself, the past crashes headlong into the present. Neither will ever be the same again. ___ What readers are saying: ***** 'Fun, frightful and relentlessly gripping.' ***** 'Clever and original . . . a great read' ***** 'Darkly comic, intriguing . . . and with a real twist in the tail.'

Postmortems from Game Developer

Author: Austin Grossman
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1136064613
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Book Description
The popular Postmortem column in Game Developer magazine features firsthand accounts of how some of the most important and successful games of recent years have been made. This book offers the opportunity to harvest this expertise with one volume. The editor has organized the articles by theme and added previously unpublished analysis to reveal successful management techniques. Readers learn how superstars of the game industry like Peter Molyneux and Warren Spector have dealt with the development challenges such as managing complexity, software and game design issues, schedule challenges, and changing staff needs.

Mortuary Confidential

Author: Kenneth McKenzie
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 0806531797
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
From rookie mistakes and runaway corpses to screaming dead men and unusual requests, a collection of stories by funeral directors.

Body Language

Author: A. K. Turner
Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre Ltd.
ISBN: 1838770054
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
For fans of Tess Gerritsen, Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs comes a gripping debut thriller introducing Camden's most exciting new forensic investigator. **DON'T MISS CASSIE RAVEN'S NEWEST MYSTERY, DEAD FALL, AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW!** 'SPELLBINDING STORYTELLING' VAL MCDERMID 'A FIRST-RATE CRIME NOVEL ... I LOVED IT' ELLY GRIFFITHS 'LIKE SILENT WITNESS BUT MUCH MORE BELIEVABLE' SUSI HOLLIDAY When the dead are silent, she will be their voice Mortuary technician Cassie Raven feels a special bond with the bodies in her care, but when somebody she loved turns up on her autopsy table, her job suddenly gets personal. Cassie's instincts are screaming foul play, but the police say it was an accident - and uptight detective Phyllida Flyte has no time for a tattooed morgue girl with attitude. But when Cassie is proved right, she and Flyte must work together to find a murderer - before Cassie ends up on the mortuary slab herself. Praise for Body Language: 'Blackly humorous, with a fabulously one-of-a-kind protagonist' Heat Magazine 'Ingenious and sardonically written' Financial Times '[A] gritty novel with an engaging heroine' Sunday Times 'A terrific, well-placed plot' Spectator 'Cassie Raven is a lot of fun to spend time with' Big Issue 'Excellent fun, compulsive and Cassie Raven is a protagonist I want to meet again soon' James Oswald 'Cassie Raven is a blast of fresh air, striding onto the crime scene like a punk superstar' Sarah Hilary 'Move over Silent Witness - Cassie Raven is an utterly compelling contemporary forensic heroine' Isabelle Grey 'A fresh and exciting new series' Claire McGowan 'One of the best series openers I've read in years' Jane Casey

The Science of Murder

Author: Carla Valentine
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1728251869
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
Discover the science of forensics through Agatha Christie's novels in the ultimate true crime investigation Agatha Christie is the bestselling novelist of all time, and nearly every story she ever wrote involves one—or, more commonly, several—dead bodies. And the cause of death, the motives behind violent crimes, the clues that inevitably are left behind, and the people who put the pieces together to solve the mystery invite the reader to analyze the evidence and race to find the answer before the detective does. Nearly every step of the way, Christie outlines the nuts and bolts of early 20th-century crime detection, relying on physical evidence to tell the real story behind the facades humans erect to escape detection. Christie wouldn't have talked of "forensics" as it is understood today—most of her work predates the modern developments of forensics science—but in each tale she harnesses the power of human observation, ingenuity, and scientific developments of the era. A fascinating, science-based deep dive, The Science of Murder examines the use of fingerprints, firearms, handwriting, blood spatter analysis, toxicology, and more in Christie's beloved works. What readers are saying: "Highly entertaining with many fascinating snippets of insider information about real life criminal cases. This is a must for Christie fans." "Thoroughly researched and a delight to read!" "A wealth of information and knowledge to help give an insight to the golden age of crime fiction." "Absolutely brilliant book that looks at how Agatha Christie made use of developments in forensic science in her novels and upgraded her understanding over time." "Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors, unparalleled in her clever plots and twisting tales. She was also a forensic expert, weaving into her novels human observation, ingenuity and genuine science of the era. This book illuminates all of Agatha's incredible knowledge, showing how she stayed at the cutting edge of forensic knowledge, as seen through her much loved characters."

Over Our Dead Bodies:

Author: Kenneth McKenzie
Publisher: Citadel
ISBN: 0806536659
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
Discover a more lighthearted side of the funeral industry in this collection of real-life stories from the authors of Mortuary Confidential. Not knowing what to do, I sat on the church steps and waited. As the gravity of my failure began to well up in me, I began to cry . . . I Had Lost The Hearse! Funerals and the all the things that accompany them are traditionally somber, contemplative events in which the bereaved look to their undertaker to guide them through that most difficult of times. Of course, sometimes tradition gets thrown under the bus. From a dysfunctional family who turn their mother’s wake into a full-blown riot, to funeral crashers looking for free meals, to a horse-drawn hearse taking the dearly departed for the ride of their afterlife, these accounts from actual undertakers will have you laughing, thinking, and gasping in disbelief. A literal graveyard of wild coincidences, slapstick humor, and touching moments, Over Our Dead Bodies explores the lighter side of the dead, the living, and the lone undertaker who must make it all go as planned—even if it doesn’t. Praise for Mortuary Confidential “Outrageous funeral stories, dipped in beauty and morbid humor.” —Caleb Wilde, author of Confessions of a Funeral Director “Curious, wildly honest stories that need to be told, but just not at the dinner table.” —Dana Kollmann, author of Never Suck a Dead Man’s Hand “As unpredictable and lively as a bunch of drunks at a New Orleans funeral.” —Joe R. Lansdale, author of Moon Lake “Sick, funny, and brilliant! I love this book.” —Jonathan Maberry, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of They Bite! And Rot & Ruin “These true mortuary tales are poignant—and suddenly, gaspi

Postmortems

Author: Raph Koster
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780996793742
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 702

Book Description
Legendary game designer and author of the classic "A Theory of Fun for Game Design," Raph Koster is back with his first volume of selected essays. "Postmortems" collects new material and classic writings to provide a history of the development of virtual worlds, including behind-the-scenes glimpses of Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, and more.

Audacity

Author: Jonathan Chait
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062426990
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

Book Description
"An essential starting point for those assessing the Obama presidency.” —Washington Monthly Two presidencies later, the time has never been better to revisit the legacy of Barack Obama. In Audacity, New York Magazine writer Jonathan Chait makes the unassailable case that, in the eyes of history, Obama will be viewed as one of America’s best and most accomplished presidents. Over the course of eight years, Barack Obama has amassed an array of outstanding achievements. His administration saved the American economy from collapse, expanded health insurance to millions who previously could not afford it, negotiated an historic nuclear deal with Iran, helped craft a groundbreaking international climate accord, reined in Wall Street and crafted a new vision of racial progress. He has done all of this despite a left that frequently disdained him as a sellout, and a hysterical right that did everything possible to destroy his agenda even when they agreed with what he was doing. Now, as the page turns to our next Commander in Chief, Jonathan Chait, acclaimed as one of the most incisive and meticulous political commentators in America, digs deep into Obama’s record on major policy fronts—economics, the environment, domestic reform, health care, race, foreign policy, and civil rights—to demonstrate why history will judge our forty-fourth president as among the greatest in history. Audacity does not shy away from Obama’s failures, most notably in foreign policy. Yet Chait convincingly shows that President Obama has accomplished what candidate Obama said he would, despite overwhelming opposition—and that the hopes of those who voted for him have not been dashed despite the smokescreen of extremist propaganda and the limits of short-term perspective.