Joe's Death's Acre

Forensics Joe Byrne
Death’s Acre by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson Summer Reading

Death’s Acre by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson was a novel of intriguing personal events experienced by Bass through the fields of forensic anthropology. Each chapter represented a different experience for Bass as he described each one individually with detail not meant for the queasy. The title of the novel says it all, death being the key word. Bass goes through a lot of horrifying situations that would even make the reader upset. But, one has to remember that Bass is a terrific man, doing his best to identify the dead and put the killers in a “coffin” of their own. On the cover page “Where the Dead Do Tell Tales” is written perfectly describing the job of a forensic anthropologist, telling the tales of the dead to people who are unable to read them. (I also noticed that Patricia Cornwell was mentioned at the top as well as many notes to her throughout the novel. I haven’t read her book The Body Farm yet but I will next.) Fortunately for us, Bass walks us through his process early in the novel.
Bass describes the big four: sex, race, age, and stature. He teaches his students about the important of the big four and walks them through his thought process on determining how to identify a corpse. He uses teeth, the skull, pelvic bones, hands, feet, anything that is given to his disposal. Sometimes, Bass is without a head and must make do with what he is given. But, Bass is a professional at his job and doesn’t jump to any conclusions unless he has a 100% identification on a corpse.
Some events that stick out in the book include how Bass found a positive match on a girl using a photograph and some teeth he collected down a river bank who was supposedly killed by her uncle. It amazes me how Bass improvises and is so good at what he does noticing a defect on her front teeth. Another situation that sticks out is how he tried to identify a horribly burned body without a head. He goes on to describe in grave detail what happens as the body is burned, starting with the fat and the skin being melted right off. I also remember how he explained how burned bodies are often found in the same position because the muscle flexors are forced to flex putting the person into a “boxing stance” almost. The one event that takes out the most was the chapter on the “Zoo Killer”. He was a man who used to work in the zoo who preyed on women often tying them up in the woods and leaving them for dead. Bass has a very difficult job but his whole life was once put on pause after heart failure.
My favorite chapter was the last one describing Bass’ near death experience. He heart gave out and woke up lying down after being shocked by the doctor to jump his heart. It shows some irony that he had seen so much death in his lifetime that he once stared death in the face. Bass is a terrific author as well as a forensic anthropologist. And although some chapters were more easily read than others, I still enjoyed this book and learned a lot based on Bass’ experiences and how his writing style perfectly captivated his point of views.