William R. Maples (1937–1997)

Fieldnotes:
1 Expert Forensic Anthropologist
1 Utterly Unnecessary Chapter Regarding Baboons
Several Largely Irrelevant 'Soapbox' Chapters Regarding Suicide and His Moral Qualms Therewith, Child Abuse, Disdain for Psychology, etc.

3 Famous Historical Cases (Pizarro, Zachary Taylor, Romanovs)
including 2 Instances of Blatant Hypocrisy
namely 1 Overly Intricate Theory Ignoring the Most Likely Scenario Given the Evidence and
1 Case of Leaping to Identification Conclusions based on Insufficient Evidence

1 Intriguing Criminal Case (Meeks/Jennings)

1 Painfully Overabundant Ego Evidenced by:
Countless Instances of Ostentatiously Not Giving His Opinion as Irrelevant
An Equal Number of Instances of Giving His Opinion Despite an Utter Lack of Expertise in Pathology/Psychology/Other Discipline

The Short Version
When Maples focused on his actual cases, his discipline (and his conclusions) are generally quite interesting - though his arrogance put me off. Seriously, never tell me as a reader that something is 'beyond any doubt' - especially when the evidence is far from conclusive. Unfortunately for much of the book, Maples doesn't talk about his actual expertise and discipline - that of making skeletons 'talk'. Instead we're treated to snippets here and there interspersed with Maples views on suicides, sexual practices, child abuse, dismemberment, etc. While some of this might be link-able to his profession, most of these links are poorly done and don't really tie back to forensic anthropology. And I'm just not that interested in his soapbox.… (mer)