Description

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‘Utterly gripping’ – The Guardian
‘Fascinating’ – The Sunday Times
‘Moving’ – Scotsman
‘Engrossing’ – Financial Times
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The incredible memoir from the Sunday Times Bestseller. Professor Sue Black breathes new life into the subject of death.

Sue Black confronts death every day. As a Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology, she focuses on mortal remains in her lab, at burial sites, at scenes of violence, murder and criminal dismemberment, and when investigating mass fatalities due to war, accident or natural disaster. In All That Remains she reveals the many faces of death she has come to know, using key cases to explore how forensic science has developed, and examining what her life and work has taught her.

Do we expect a book about death to be sad? Macabre? Sue’s book is neither. There is tragedy, but there is also humour in stories as gripping as the best crime novel.

Part memoir, part science, part meditation on death, her book is compassionate, surprisingly funny, and it will make you think about death in a new light.
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‘One might expect [this book] to be a grim read but it absolutely isn’t. I found it invigorating!’ (Andrew Marr, BBC Radio 4 ‘Start the Week’)

‘Black’s utterly gripping account of her life and career as a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology manages to be surprisingly life-affirming. As she herself says, it is “as much about life as about death”‘ (PD Smith Guardian)

‘An engrossing memoir . . . an affecting mix of personal and professional’ (Erica Wagner, Financial Times)

‘A model of how to write about the effect of human evil without losing either objectivity or sensitivity . . . Heartening and anything but morbid . . . Leaves you thinking about what kind of human qualities you value, what kinds of people you actually want to be with’ (Rowan Williams, New Statesman)

‘For someone whose job is identifying corpses, Sue Black is a cheerful soul . . . All That Remains feels like every episode of ‘Silent Witness’, pre-fictionalised. Except, you know, really good’ (Helen Rumbelow, The Times)

Publisher Review

"One might expect [this book] to be a grim read but it absolutely isn't. I found it invigorating!" -- Andrew Marr * BBC Radio 4 'Start the Week' * "Black's utterly gripping account of her life and career as a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology manages to be surprisingly life-affirming. As she herself says, it is "as much about life as about death"." -- PD Smith * Guardian * "An engrossing memoir ... an affecting mix of the personal and professional." -- Erica Wagner * Financial Times * "A model of how to write about the effect of human evil without losing either objectivity or sensitivity ... Heartening and anything but morbid... Leaves you thinking about what kind of human qualities you value, what kinds of people you actually want to be with." -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman * "For someone whose job is identifying corpses, Sue Black is a cheerful soul ... All That Remains feels like every episode of Silent Witness, pre-fictionalized. Except, you know, really good." -- Helen Rumbelow * The Times * "This fascinating look by a world-leading forensic scientist at what the dead can tell us is a real eye-opener... Sue Black must be one of the most unusual people in Britain... extraordinary...part meditation, part popular science and part memoir...the book offers a close-up and startlingly clear view of a subject that makes most of us look away." -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times * "The real thing here is not the cause of death, but the nature of the life. Black is genuinely moving about the respect we should have for the dead ... There is much to admire in this book." * Scotsman * "Poignant and thoughtprovoking... it is the book's humanity which will connect with readers." * Scottish Daily Mail * "Let [Sue Black] take you by the hand and lead you on a journey which will inspire your awe and devotion ... A wonderful surprise of a book." -- Brian Masters * The Tablet * "Most of us are terrified of death, but Sue Black shows us that death is in fact a wondrous process, intimately tied with life itself. Written with warmth and humanity, All That Remains reveals her life among the dead, who can surely count her as their best friend." -- Tess Gerritsen