Bone Voyage: A Journey in Forensic Anthropology

by Stanley Rhine

Book Overview

A husband preserved in mothballs, a vigilante victim encased in red mud, and convicts beaten and burned in a prison riot are only a few of the cases of death examined here by forensic anthropologist Stanley Rhine. Drawing on cases he worked for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, Rhine demonstrates how unidentified skeletal remains indicate race, sex, age, height, and ultimately identity and how the specialist decodes skeletal anomalies...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826319688
• ISBN13: 9780826319685
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent forensic anthropology book!

This is a thoroughly interesting and entertaining book about Rhine's experiences as a forensic anthropologist in the state of New Mexico. Anyone interested in forensic anthropology forensics in general should give this book a try...I may be biased because Stan Rhine is a professor emeritus of the University of New Mexico, where I am a student, but this book is absolutely wonderful!

Enjoyable, informational, morbidly funny

For those of you interested in working in the field of forensics (a seemingly popular job choice in recent times), this book is a must read. Rhine engages the reader by telling a number of tales; for example, the puzzling discovery of a body that looked female, but wearing male clothes, and how he determined the sex of the individual. He even tells us in a quite funny essay how he made enemies of the museum staff by boiling off the soft tissue of a body and causing people to vomit on the museum floor. All in all, a very practical view into the field. Rhine does not attempt to romanticize the profession; he merely tells his stories the way they should be told- very matter of factly. The book is funny at times, but his humor does not overshadow the information conveyed here.

"Bone Voyage" Definitely worth your reading time

"Bone Voyage" is absolutely one of the best books on Forensic Anthropology that I've ever read! I was very impressed with the detail, and every base was covered, from balistics to the examination of the criminal mind. This book had some pictures, I would have liked more, but with the descriptions given by the author, I guess more pictures would not have been necessary. The book was broken down in to a lot of short chapters dealing with one case per chapter, unlike several books I've read where it's just one long run on of several different cases. This book was very organized in its writing and its reading. I've read a lot of books on the subject of Forensic Anthropology, and this book is definitely worth another reading. DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED.

Good book by a good teacher of forensic anthropology

I am biased--Stan Rhine was a professor of mine at UNM. His book reads much like his delivery in class. Stan is an excellent storyteller and a solid forensic anthropologist. His 30+ years as a forensic investiagtor have led him into many adventures. The best of these he relates in this book. I myself have handled the skeletal evidence from some of these cases. While his investigations lack the notariety of say, Clyde Snow's or Bill Maples', the experiences are no less entertaining. I heartily recommend this book for its subtle humor and educational value.