Dissecting Death

June 6, 2005
While not a household name, Zugibe, who was chief medical examiner of Rockland County, N.Y., for 35 years, has the experience and credentials to write meaningfully about his field: he developed numerous new techniques for forensic pathology and presided over an amazing variety of investigations. In this readable account, the doctor presents 10 challenging cases he encountered, as well as his insights as a self-described Monday-morning quarterback on two of the most notorious crimes of the 1990s: the brutal slaying of JonBenét Ramsey and the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. As Zugibe's own work is intriguing enough, the inclusion of those sensations seems like a ploy to widen appeal, and the authors' decision to include a section on the scientific accuracy of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
may strike some as odd. The writing is sometimes flat, and the book would have had more depth and resonance had Zugibe presented instances where, despite his skills and instincts, he was led astray. Nonetheless, Zugibe's detections in the 1981 Brinks robbery case and his pro bono work in the case of a young journalist who disappeared in El Salvador make compelling reading for fans of insider accounts of forensics.

August 15, 2005
Zugibe, a former chief medical examiner and a noted forensics expert, takes readers on a compelling insider's tour of the world of forensic pathology. Each chapter leads us to a different true crime scenefrom the sometimes ordinary to the truly bizarre. Unlike the stories on television's CSI, these real cases are not solved neatly in an hour. Zugibe explains the painstaking steps and procedures to which the forensic pathologist must adhere, from initial inspection of the body and crime scene to conviction in the courtroom. He introduces the myriad laboratory techniques and tools that speak volumes about methods of murder, and he discusses how the interactions of many playersfrom pathologists to attorneysaffect prosecution outcomes for better or for worse. And Zugibe enlightens readers as to how timing, serendipity, common sense, and plain hunches also can play critical roles in case solutions. Intriguing and accessible to the nonscientist, this title is highly recommended for popular science and true crime collections.Judith A. Matthews, Michigan State Univ. Libs., Lansing

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2005
Former Rockland County, New York, chief medical examiner Zugibe reveals how he helped solve some of the most complex murders in the county over the course of his 35-year career. Zugibe unwraps a body from 20 plastic bags and must determine what happened to the man's body after he died. In another case, he points out key evidence from a gunshot wound to disprove a suspect's claim that the victim was stabbed to death before being shot. He uses maggots found on a body to narrow down the time of death. Along the way he dispels assumptions about forensics and even delves into two of the most famous cases of the last 15 years, the JonBenet Ramsey murder and the O. J. Simpson trial, to show how the forensic evidence in those cases was mishandled or overlooked. Zugibe and Carroll's straightforward style makes for clear and fascinating reading, and the cases chosen are intriguing. With the popularity of " CSI: Crime Scene Investigation "and other forensic science dramas on television, expect wide interest in this gripping book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)