Black has spent her life dealing with remains, but the title harks back to Philip Larkin’s “An Arundel Tomb”.

This fascinating look by a world-leading forensic scientist at what the dead can tell us is a real eye-opener. She provides an outline of why having a response team for such disasters is important for all countries. All That Remains provides a fascinating look at death - its causes, our attitudes toward it, the forensic scientist's way of analyzing it. Written with warmth and humanity, All That Remains reveals her life among the dead, who can surely count her as their best friend.Highly recommended for anyone worn down by the cynicism of today's uncaring and sensationalist news reporting, and for those who have a fear of death. Khalidi is a cofounder of the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS, Beirut), of which he was general secretary until recently.

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. As you can guess she sees the aftermath of horrific events, and the stories are quite touching (as well as possibly triggering, fair warning). Like [David] Nott, Black travelled the world at times, sifting maggots, bullets and human body parts in war zones. Black's utterly gripping account of her life and career as a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology manages to be surprisingly life-affirming.You are left with the feeling throughout this book that few people in the world know more about her subject than Sue Black. More than 40 men and boys had been herded into this building and sprayed with bullets from a Kalashnikov. She is able to give people peace, especially when it is a murder enquiry, and the family wish to know what events unfolded at that time.

José Saramago did this brilliantly in All the Names where she, Death, was a fully-fledged character and the linchpin of the story. The book has the feel of the author having referred to an exacting diary because it is so well-written, coherent, and put together.To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The book considers death in its clinical and personal aspects: the seven stages of postmortem alteration and the challenges of identifying the sex and age of remains; versus her own experiences with losing her grandmother, uncle and parents. She gives us some backstory as to how she became interested in studying the anatomy of the deceased and also personal stories about deaths occurring in her family. This book is perfect for you if you are an avid (true) crime reader, who is looking to expand their interest in the non-fiction genre. I never had any desire to work with the living,” she confesses; “The dead are much more predictable and co-operative.