Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist
    Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist
    Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist
    Audiobook11 hours

    Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist

    Written by William R. Maples, PhD and Michael Browning

    Narrated by Stephen Bel Davies

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From a skeleton, a skull, or a mere fragment of burnt thighbone, prominent forensic anthropologist Dr. William Maples can deduce the age, gender, and ethnicity of a murder victim, the manner in which the person was dispatched, and, ultimately, the identity of the killer. In Dead Men Do Tell Tales, Dr. Maples revisits his strangest, most interesting, and most horrific investigations, from the baffling cases of conquistador Francisco Pizarro and Vietnam MIAs to the mysterious deaths of President Zachary Taylor and the family of Czar Nicholas II.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateOct 3, 2017
    ISBN9781541485198
    Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist

    Related to Dead Men Do Tell Tales

    Related audiobooks

    Medical Biographies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Medicalbag

      Oct 8, 2020

      Medicalbag
      4 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Nov 1, 2021

      The afterlife is an infinity of custom shelving, where everything you have ever loved has a perfect place, including things that don’t fit on shelves, like the weeping willow from your parents’ backyard, or an old boyfriend, exactly as he was in your

      9 min read

    • Article

      The Signpost

      Sep 1, 2019

      The Signpost
      5 min read

    • Article

      Death Without Ceremony

      May 5, 2020

      Death Without Ceremony
      6 min read

    • Article

      One Word: Avuncular

      Mar 19, 2019

      In our column One Word, writers expound on their favorite words.  Man with beer, artist unknown, c. 1920 My uncle Henry has killed a lot of people. In spite of his dark past, and because of it, he’s my favorite American uncle. Since I cherish bilingu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Oct 7, 2021

      Nigel Watson reported on the suggestion that the ancient aliens thesis was inherently racist because it refused to acknowledge the ability of people of colour to construct impressive edifices [FT409:32]. Now, while I don’t deny that some aficionados

      9 min read

    • Article

      Gay Hero Of The SAS

      Dec 14, 2022

      My elder brother Carlos was a pal of Paddy (real name Robert) Blair Mayne (1915-55) – one of the prominent SAS men in the BBC TV series Rogue Heroes. Back in the 1950s, they went carousing together around the many Dublin pubs. PBM was from a strict P

      3 min read

    • Article

      International Books

      Jan 13, 2020

      Imagining the world in the first century AD (not yet called that), it’s difficult to envision Christianity (not yet called that) when it was considered a “blasphemous cult”. It’s 35AD in Jerusalem and Saul, a Jew, is hunting down Christians for execu

      5 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Dec 1, 2022

      My father Alfred Emile Maloret (born on Jersey in 1900) told me that, around 1910, he witnessed the aftermath of a fish fall in St Helier, when the streets were littered with small, herring-like fish. Some years later, while walking down a country la

      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Mar 24, 2022

      CONTACT US BY POST: PO BOX 1200, WHITSTABLE CT1 9RH, OR E-MAIL SIEVEKING@FORTEANTIMES.COM PLEASE PROVIDE US WITH YOUR POSTAL ADDRESS The very interesting report on ‘Man Of Russia’ and his outlandish claims about giant trees [FT415:9] got me thinking

      14 min read

    • Article

      Against Argument

      Aug 8, 2017

      Against Argument
      9 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Jan 26, 2023

      CONTACT US BY POST: PO BOX 1200, WHITSTABLE CT1 9RH, OR E-MAIL SIEVEKING@FORTEANTIMES.COM PLEASE PROVIDE US WITH YOUR POSTAL ADDRESS “In search of British Bigfeet” [FT425:30-36] mentions the wode-wose (the wild man of the woods). The article says tha

      9 min read

    • Article

      STUFF BOOKS & DVDs

      Jun 22, 2021

      STUFF BOOKS & DVDs
      5 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Feb 25, 2021

      Dennis Lien [FT388:70] gave instances of size discrepancies between alien species, leading to unexpected results. I immediately thought of two more examples: Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “The mighty ships tore across the emp

      13 min read

    • Article

      The Final Countdown

      Feb 12, 2022

      The Final Countdown
      8 min read

    • Article

      Tristram And The Tyrants

      Sep 30, 2021

      Tristram And The Tyrants
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Dead Men Do Tell Tales

    4/5

    215 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator, the content and the writing style. I think I skipped only two chapters.
    • 4/5
      From my Cannonball Read 5 review ...

      Dead Men Do Tell Tales is a fascinating, detailed book by Dr. William Maples, an amazingly accomplished forensic anthropologist. You may be familiar with that field if you watch “Bones,” although as is usually the case, what you see on screen doesn’t closely match reality. A forensic anthropologist is trained in examining human remains to learn more about the decedent. They can tell if bones belonged to a woman or man, approximate age, and explain wounds. It’s very detail-oriented work, at times taking months or years when the identity is unknown (not the 45 minutes plus commercials Emily Deschanel might suggest).

      In his book from the 90s, Dr. Maples takes the reader through many different cases he’s participated in over the years. Some involve people you’ve never heard of, and some are so famous it would be understandable if you didn’t quite believe what you were reading. Dr. Maples was, no joke, part of the small team that confirmed the identity of the bones of the murdered last Tsars of Russia. He put to rest the idea that President Taylor was killed by arsenic poisoning. He also helped convict murderers whose crimes were devastating but whose names you and I might not recognize.

      As evidenced by my line of work, I find this to be an extremely interesting topic. I’ve read Mary Roach’s Stiff, as well as a couple of other books about the lives of medical examiners. If nothing else is on TV, I’ll likely leave it tuned to Dr. G. Medical Examiner or some other disease-related show on TLC or Discovery. I say all of that in service of the recognition that this type of writing is just not for everyone.

      It is EXTREMELY graphic. Not to shock, but to explain. How else can he express to you how he was able to identify a murder weapon than to explain how he matched it to the wounds to the victim’s bones? Without the detail, it would be a very short book, with each chapter consisting of “so I did my work and concluded X.” His way of writing is so much better – it makes sense, and gives the reader a real insight into how forensic anthropology works.

      If you enjoy history, or true crime stories, or science, and are not easily sickened by detailed descriptions of human remains, I think you’ll really enjoy this book. The only reason I gave it four stars is because at times the non-forensic writing (the set-up to the crime, or background) is a bit too flowery for my tastes. I appreciate creative turns of phrase, and I don’t doubt that the authors really do write this way, but at times it felt a little like one of them just got a new thesaurus. Additionally, while it suits the structure of the book, each chapter feels like its own independent essay; he re-explains some things as though the reader hadn’t just learned about them 50 pages prior.

      But those are minimal complaints. It’s a great book.
    • 4/5
      well-written but just not that interesting.
    • 4/5
      Recently, an online acquaintance suggested we begin exchanging books through the post. The first book she wanted to send was Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William R. Maples, PhD and William Browning. ‘And it has pictures too!’ she said. I promptly gave her my address (I’m typing this post two months later, so she wasn’t a homicidal maniac) and shortly thereafter the book arrived on my doorstep. (For those of you playing along at home, I sent her Execution by Geoffrey Abbott.)Forensic anthropology (what Temperance Brennan does on Bones) has always been something of a passing interest of mine, but this was my first in-depth reading about the subject. The science hasn’t been around all that long and Maples has been a part of a good portion of it. Particularly interesting were chapters on cremation, the truly twisted Meeks-Jenning case, his involvement with identifying the Romanovs and his thoughts upon meeting Ted Bundy, but the book was full of wonderful information. Like this:"The instruments of murder are manifold as the unlimited human imagination. Apart from the obvious–shotguns, rifles, pistols, knives, hatches and axes–I have seen meat cleavers, machetes, ice picks, bayonets, hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, crowbars, prybars, two-by-fours, tree limbs, jack handles (which are not ‘tire irons'; nobody carries tire irons anymore), building blocks, crutches, artificial legs, brass bedposts, pipes, bricks, belts, neckties, pantyhose, ropes, bootlaces, towels and chains–all these things and more, used by human beings to dispatch fellow human beings into eternity. I have never seen a butler use a candelabrum! Such recherché elegance is apparently confided to England. I did see a pair of sneakers used to kill a woman, and they left distinctive tread marks where the murderer stepped on her throat and crushed the life from her. I have not seen an icicle used to stab someone, though it is said to be the perfect weapon, because it melts afterward. But I do know of a case in which a man was bludgeoned to death with a frozen ham."Maples also talks about the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, which, at the time of writing, only had fourteen members, and they got together once a year. It sounded rather like a hair-raising hoot. One member would share slides of his most…eye-opening cases and the group would discuss historical problems like whether or not Van Gogh’s color imagery and style was a result of digitalis poisoning or what was the final body count of the legendary feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys.During the annual meetings, prospective applicants had to undergo rigorous examinations including identifying bones. This involved members transporting skulls to and from the gatherings."This requires some explanation, particularly at airports. I always make a point of telling the airline ticket agent just how many skulls I have with me in my luggage–not to shock her, but to make sure, in case the plane crashes, investigators will know why there were more skulls than passengers aboard. This is mere professional courtesy to my colleagues, who will have to pick through my remains in the event of an accident."I can’t help picturing one of the members being late for a plane and not having time to explain what’s in his bag–the plane crashing and the forensics people being completely baffled with the extra bits and bobs everywhere. An extra Asian male tibia hither and an extra African female fibula yon will really mess up an incident report.But I digress, I’ve taken loads of other notes, all of which will eventually appear over in the left sidebar under Sciences.Dead Men Do Tell Tales was published in the mid 90s and I would love to know how the field has changed in the last twenty years. The beginning was a little slow and some of the case studies could drag a bit but overall it was an excellent introduction to forensic anthropology by someone who was there. The first-person account of identifying Tsar Nicholas II and his family is worth it if you find a used copy somewhere.
    • 3/5
      A lively book, that works on its shock value. But useful as a corrective to some TV shows, the one with the plant that only grows in one location inside a cave in North Carolina, solving the murder type of show.
    • 3/5
      One of the better popular forensic anthropology books but a little grosser than some. Well written and informative but not too technical. I picked it up for the section on the Romanovs but that case is covered in other sources in more detail. Some of his descriptions of procedure are detailed but never boring.
    • 3/5
      “parts were a bit boring and/or prosaic. However, this man has been involved in a lot of interesting cases- identifying MIA soldiers from Vietnam, deciphering which of 2 bodies is the true Pizarro, identifying the murdered Romanov family remains, and even exhuming President Taylor to determine whether or not he was actually assassinated. Very interesting stories.
    • 4/5
      Dr. Maples was doing forensics before it was on tv and "cool" so when I found this book, I had to read it. Dr. Maples was a great anthropologist, lots of excellent cases in this book, BUT I found his personality that came through as incredibly arrogant. And I caught him in an extreme exaggeration, which caused me to cast a jaundiced eye on him in general... I was also at the disinterment of Pres. Zachary Taylor in 1991. We had just moved to Louisville, I had a toddler, and was pregnant, but forensics junkie as I am, I went to the disinterment when I heard about it. There were not thousands of people and the big, crushing, irritating throng he claims there was. Two local tv stations had paid homeowners whose back yards backed up to the cemetery to let them set up over the high stone walls. They were barely noticeable. The rest of us, watching at a respectful (and roped off) distance in the cemetery proper, numbered MAYBE 75. So there it is. He also spent some time lamenting the disappearance of his craft, which I found a bit cloying, but this was before csi et al, so I will give him a pass on that. Otherwise, good book from one of the pioneers of modern forensics.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating overview of this man's career and the entire modern (and brief) history of forensic anthropology -- a very niche skill set that allows the experts to be involved in noteworthy cases, including the Romanov's, Zachary Taylor, Pizarro, MIA's, and several famous criminal trials.
    • 4/5
      If you want to read about forensic anthropology, this is the book to read. In the first half of the book, Dr Maples gives an overview of the field and how he got into it. The second half of the book details some specific cases he has worked on, including such notable ones as the royal Romanovs, our missing Vietnam heroes, and Zachary Taylor. I did get bogged down in some of the details later on in the book -- I didn't want to read a treatise on the life and times of Conquistador Pizarro, for example, but it was fascinating to learn how much can be learned from just a few bone fragments.
    • 3/5
      A solid book detailing some of Maples' more interesting cases as a way of demonstrating the various things that can be determined from a skeleton. Interesting for physical anthropologists or those interested in forensics generally, although the book was a bit basic.
    • 5/5
      An amazing bio of a forensic-anthropologist. Great humor, a fast read.