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All That Remains

bySue Black

A Life in Death

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'Utterly gripping' - The Guardian
'Fascinating' - The Sunday Times
'Moving' - Scotsman
'Engrossing' - Financial Times

Sue Black confronts death every day. As a Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology, she focuses on mortal remains in her lab, at burial sites, at scenes of violence, murder and criminal dismemberment, and when investigating mass fatalities due to war, accident or natural disaster.

In All That Remains she reveals the many faces of death she has come to know, using key cases to explore how forensic science has developed, and examining what her life and work has taught her.

Do we expect a book about death to be sad? Macabre? Sue's book is neither. There is tragedy, but there is also humour in stories as gripping as the best crime novel.

Part memoir, part science, part meditation on death, her book is compassionate, surprisingly funny, and it will make you think about death in a new light.
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SUE BLACK'S NEW BOOK, WRITTEN IN BONE, IS OUT NOW
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'One might expect [this book] to be a grim read but it absolutely isn't. I found it invigorating!' (Andrew Marr, BBC Radio 4 'Start the Week')

'Black's utterly gripping account of her life and career as a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology manages to be surprisingly life-affirming. As she herself says, it is "as much about life as about death"' (PD Smith Guardian)

'An engrossing memoir . . . an affecting mix of personal and professional' (Erica Wagner, Financial Times)

'A model of how to write about the effect of human evil without losing either objectivity or sensitivity . . . Heartening and anything but morbid . . . Leaves you thinking about what kind of human qualities you value, what kinds of people you actually want to be with' (Rowan Williams, New Statesman)

'For someone whose job is identifying corpses, Sue Black is a cheerful soul . . . All That Remains feels like every episode of 'Silent Witness', pre-fictionalised. Except, you know, really good' (Helen Rumbelow, The Times)

One might expect [this book] to be a grim read but it absolutely isn’t. I found it invigorating!

Andrew Marr, BBC Radio 4 'Start the Week'

About Sue Black

Professor Sue Black is one of the world’s leading anatomists and forensic anthropologists. She is President of John’s College, Oxford and previously Pro-Vice Chancellor for Engagement at Lancaster University . From 2003 to 2018 she was Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee.
She was the lead anthropologist for the British Forensic Team in the war crimes investigations in Kosovo, and one of the first forensic scientists to travel to Thailand following the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Sue was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to forensic anthropology and is a Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.
She is the author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Sunday Times bestsellers All That Remains and Written in Bone. Her new book, Dissection of an Expert Witness is published in 2026.
Details
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • ISBN: 9781784162818
  • Length: 368 pages
  • Dimensions: 197mm x 22mm x 127mm
  • Weight: 260g
  • Price: £10.99
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