Beyond the Body Farm by Dr Bill Bass & Jon Jefferso

I have to read everything that this fantastic duo turn out. I was intrigued with Dr Bass and his work - but meeting Dr Bass and Jon Jefferson in person sealed the deal for me. Anything they write - I will have to read :) The full title of this book is Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries and the Revolution in Forensic Science. That is a mouthful - but it does say it all.

This is the 2nd non fiction collaboration for Dr Bass and Jon - the first was Death's Acre (read my review here - http://nikkisreviews.blogspot.com/2008/02/deaths-acre.html).

Both of these books are about Dr Bass' experiences as a bone detective. For people who aren't familiar with Dr Bass - years ago he started The Body Farm (made popular by a Patricia Cornwell novel). The Body Farm is a research facility at the University of Tennessee where Dr Bass worked for years. In his work he discovered that people could determine the time of death with more accuracy by studying the decomposition of the body - so he started a facility where they would study - body decomposition.

This may not sound glamorous - and its not. However through the pages of Death's Acre and Beyond the Body Farm - you will learn why this is important information and how it can help law enforcement, the legal community and the family of the victims and people who are falsely accused of crimes.

Learn about plane crashes into rivers, an ancient mystery,the smallest clues in the bones, bite marks, the importance of bugs, the long term search to identify a skeleton and much more including exhuming the body of The Big Bopper. Its all here and if you are interested in forensics and forensic anthropology or a good mystery - this book is for you. Take a walk through the interesting career of this knowledgable and charismatic professional. If you have the chance to meet Dr Bass and/or Jon Jefferson - I highly recommend that you do it.

I've also reviewed several of their novels which include forensic information Dr Bass gleaned through the years - they are very good :)

http://nikkisreviews.blogspot.com/2008/01/carved-in-bone-by-jefferson-bass.html