Dead Men Do Tell Tales Essay - 2533 Words

Dead Men Do Tell Tales In the book, Dead Men Do Tell Tales, by William R. Maples, Ph.D. and Michael Browning, a story is told in how the dead, no matter how dead, still â€Å"talk† to us. The book is appropriately titled because, according to Dr. Maples, truth is discoverable, truth wants to be discovered (2). Dr. Maples tells us of what it is like to be a Forensic Anthropologist. Dr. Maples does not hold anything back in any of his descriptions, from the smell of corpses to the explanations of maggots. Dead Men Do Tell Tales is a complete engrossing journey into the world of Forensic Anthropology and the science of bones. The book is well organized and easy to follow. The story is not from some published medical work containing†¦show more content†¦As Dr. Maples puts it, â€Å"It was a combination of good luck and bad character.† (6) It is in this beginning chapter that we get to know William Maples, the small boy who did not grow up wanting to become a Forensic Anthropologist, initially majoring in English, but realized that it was his passion. It is in this chapter were we first hear of the notorious teacher, Tom McKern. â€Å"It was McKern who, more than any other man save only my father, shaped and directed my life† (6). We find out about his â€Å"odd† jobs that he undertook while attending the University of Texas, from working at a morgue to being an ambulance driver. In the end, he ends up spending time in Africa to study baboons. I feel the admiration that he has for his newfound love of Anthropology when he makes reference to Newton. â€Å" ‘I have seen further, Newton said, it is because I have stood upon the shoulders of giants’. In my case, it has been the shoulders of baboons, but I am nonetheless grateful† (19). We should all be so fortunate to find are true passion as Dr. Maples did. I appreciated the humor in the next chapter, â€Å"Talkative Skulls†, when Dr. Maples immediately disassociates himself from the television show character, Quincy. I immediately compared Quincy to Bill Nye the science guy of my generation. In this chapter, he starts putting together how anthropology and crime investigation starts going hand in hand. In many of theShow MoreRelatedTell Tale Heart vs. the Black Cat Essay1096 Words   |  5 Pages(Clark). Possibly, without those troubling experiences, Poe couldn’t have imagined such eerie and enthralling tales. Some of his most acclaimed and well-known works are â€Å"The Black Cat† and â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart.† These are stories based on characters that go insane over obsession involving an eye. Both characters have a relentless urge to kill. 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