Summary Of The Book 'Death's Acre'

Introduction "Death's Acre" reminisces the career of a forensic hero named Dr. Bill Bass. He is the founder of the well­known "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee. This extraordinary site is the world's only research location committed to observing deceased human decomposition. The research information collected at the Body Farm has helped Bass and police solve many grotesque homicides and lock up some very morbid murderers. The story is based mainly around these cases, which give it a tough nosed true crime theme, but it also probes into Dr. Bass's personal life, loves, and losses as well, creating an image of a man who is an idealistic scientist, brilliant detective, eloquent ambassador for murder victims, and an ironically humorous person.

Key Idea 1 One key idea that we learned this semester that relates to the story is the skin. All throughout the book the skin plays a major factor. Every time Dr. Bass arrives to inspect a dead body, one of the first things he checks is the skin. The skin is a very resilient part of the body. Skin cells can last for days after death because they are able to metabolically perform anaerobically. This helps Dr. Bass Determine how long a person has been dead. After death the organs are usually the first things to start decomposing. When the heart stops the skin …show more content…
Bill Bass is a story about a man that has created a “body farm” on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Dr. Bass also helps some police enforcement identify murder victims that have started to decompose. The skin, bones, rate of decomposition, the stages of decomposition, and mainly the skull all play major parts in this story. The story is based mainly around these ideas. The story also probes into Dr. Bass's personal life, loves, and losses as well, creating an image of a man who is an idealistic scientist, brilliant detective, eloquent ambassador for murder victims, and an ironically humorous