Cyril H. Wecht

Cause of Death is a fairly well written true crime book by Dr. Cyril Wecht, a famous forensic pathologist, in which he delves into several famous cases involving mostly celebrities and draws conclusions based upon the evidence available. I bought the book back when I was aspiring to become a forensic pathologist myself and I was fascinated by the information contained within. Dr. Wecht is one of the greats in his field and it was very interesting to read his conclusions regarding a number of noted cases including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, and the death of Elvis Presley. Some of the cases I had read about previously having been reviewed by some of his equally famous peers and it intrigued me to learn what conclusions he drew when examining the exact same evidence.

If I had to place a negative on the book, it would be the amount of time devoted to the JFK assassination, which could have easily filled a book on its own and I felt it took away from many of the other stories contained in the book. Don't get me wrong. It is still a great book. One that I will perhaps read again some day.… (altro)

Cause Of Death Interesting book filled with details about cases the author, noted forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht, was asked to review in the course of his life, including the assassinations of JFK and Bobby Kennedy, Elvis, and other high profile murder investigations.  Although the subject matter can be a little dry, the facts were presented in an easy to read and straightforward manner.  Although there was a slight hint of "I was right, they were wrong" sentiment, I would hesitate to call it arrogance.  More frustration at his sound scientific findings disregarded because of politics or ineptitude.
 
The first quarter of the book was taken up by the Kennedys, from JFK's assassination to the killing of Bobby Kennedy to Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick.  I confess that I've never bought into all the hype surrounding the assassinations of JFK and Bobby, but the questions raised in the book about the findings certainly makes it difficult to deny a government cover up.  As for Teddy, he deserved all he got, in my opinion.
 
The rest of the book was high profile cases, such as Elvis Presley's death and whether it was suicide, an overdose or a heart attack, to the case of Jean Harris, who was convicted of murdering Scarsdale Diet doctor Herman Tarnower, to Claus Von Buelow who was accused of trying to kill his wife by injecting her with insulin.  Again, Wecht's findings were neatly laid out, rational and fascinating.  I had little knowledge of the cases before I read the book, so I don't know how it stacks up against other sources, but his arguments were certainly believable.
 
Overall, a great book that looked behind the scenes of forensics at some of the most sensational crimes of the late 20th century. … (altro)

A well-documented book on nine high profile and controversial true crimes in the USA. Written in gruesome detail, the style is at times pedantic, but one would imagine this is an essential quality for a forensic scientist who would need to be meticulous down to the last hair.

There's also personal anecdotes (e.g. the information that the author doesn't gamble)and prejudices (e.g. the author's overt judgement on beauty pageants for little girls) which, at times, detracted from the overall professionalism of his fact-reporting.

Clearly a strong personality, who enjoys the limelight, Dr Wecht's comprehensive reporting of these cases provides interesting research background and information.… (altro)