When We Die
28 May 98
When We Die
Cedric Mims has written an informative, compelling, sometimes shocking yet often humorous account of what happens to our mortal remains when we eventually die.
Death is the last great taboo and is the one thing that none of us has first-hand knowledge of. In this book, Cederic Mims takes an extraordinary look at what happens when we die: the decomposition of the dead, funerary rites and rituals in art and religion, the uses and abuses of the dead, and the often astounding ways in which we dispose of them.
Subjects covered in When We Die include:
What is death; the biological breakdown of the body
The causes of death, including natural death, premature death, accident, suicide, euthanasia and homicide
The definition of death and near-death experiences
Disposal of corpses; burial and cremation from around the world
Embalming, mummification and freezing
Corpses can be useful; spare parts surgery, the magic of DNA and the pathologist's skills
Whose body? Aspects of criminal investigation including the cause of death, fingerprinting and identifying a corpse from teeth, bones and blood
Death, the afterlife and the future, covering varying attitudes from around the world to death and the prospects for immortality.
