Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner

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Forensic pathologist Michael Baden was a medical examiner in New York City for more than 25 years. Now he works for the New York State Police and teaches forensic medicine. This engrossing book covers: (1) several famous cases, including Baden's personal re-examination of the autopsy findings for Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy; (2) unusual cases Baden had as medical examiner for NYC, such as an autopsy on a dining room table at the Plaza Hotel; (3) how medical examiners decide on means of death, with a section on poisons; (4) the history of coroners and medical examiners since 12th century England; (5) disturbing politics involved in the office of the Chief Medical Examiner of NYC; (6) identification of the dead; (7) time of death; (8) multiple-murder cases; (9) an almost perfect murder; (10) close calls, including near deaths during sex; (11) cases of mistaken diagnosis; and (12) autopsy findings that shed light on what happened in the Attica uprising.


From Publishers Weekly
The function of medical examiners is to perform pk autopsies and determine causes of death; examiners must be expert in forensic pathology. Baden here "delivers a sobering indictment of a system in which, he claims, fewer than a thousand physicians nationwide are qualified to conduct this work," maintained PW. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Baden, formerly Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, is an angry man with a message. He persuasively argues that medical investigations of unnatural deaths have been hampered by politics, money, position, and religion. Family wishes, political expediency, and actual medical incompetence often make for bungled autopsies or the true cause of death not being disclosed. Using his forensic skills, Baden analyzes some famous cases--John F. Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller, John Belushi, and Elvis Presley--as well as many lesser-known but very perplexing ones, sometimes leading to surprising conclusions. Breezily written, this reads like a collection of mystery stories. Recommended.- Sandra K. Lindheimer, Middlesex Law Lib., Cambridge, Mass.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
* JFK's autopsy failed to disclose crucial evidence.* The deaths of John Belushi and Elvis Presley were far more complex than anyone has let on.* Decisive medical findings in the von Bulow affair were consistently overlooked.These are but three of the shocking revelations in Dr. Michael Baden's first-person, no-holds-barred account of his distinguished career in forensic pathology. In determining the causes of tens of thousands of deaths, from those of presidents and rock stars to victims of serial killings, exotic sex rituals, mass disasters, child abuse and drug abuse, Baden has come to the unavoidable conclusion that the search for scientific truth is often sullied by the pressures of expediency. He produces dramatic evidence to demonstrate that political intrigue, influence peddling, and professional incompetence have created a national crisis in forensic medicine."A fascinating look into the mechanics of forensics and a disconcerting lesson in the politics of death." -- The New York Times Book Review


From the Inside Flap
* JFK's autopsy failed to disclose crucial evidence.
* The deaths of John Belushi and Elvis Presley were far more complex than anyone has let on.
* Decisive medical findings in the von Bulow affair were consistently overlooked.
These are but three of the shocking revelations in Dr. Michael Baden's first-person, no-holds-barred account of his distinguished career in forensic pathology. In determining the causes of tens of thousands of deaths, from those of presidents and rock stars to victims of serial killings, exotic sex rituals, mass disasters, child abuse and drug abuse, Baden has come to the unavoidable conclusion that the search for scientific truth is often sullied by the pressures of expediency. He produces dramatic evidence to demonstrate that political intrigue, influence peddling, and professional incompetence have created a national crisis in forensic medicine.
"A fascinating look into the mechanics of forensics and a disconcerting lesson in the politics of death." -- The New York Times Book Review


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Baden, formerly Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, is an angry man with a message. He persuasively argues that medical investigations of unnatural deaths have been hampered by politics, money, position, and religion. Family wishes, political expediency, and actual medical incompetence often make for bungled autopsies or the true cause of death not being disclosed. Using his forensic skills, Baden analyzes some famous cases--John F. Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller, John Belushi, and Elvis Presley--as well as many lesser-known but very perplexing ones, sometimes leading to surprising conclusions. Breezily written, this reads like a collection of mystery stories. Recommended.-- Sandra K. Lindheimer, Middlesex Law Lib., Cambridge, Mass.


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