Thanks to the glowing review from Defective Yeti's Matt Baldwin I decided to pick up this strange, strange book. I still have about 30 pages to go but I can say that I've learned a lot of things that I'll never use, a few things that will come at handy for small talk and a handful of things that grossed me out.
It's very true that we tend to objectify the dead in order to deal with them. Not that I've ever dealt with the dead, but it's a lot easier t read about this stuff when you aren't thinking about the person they once were.
This book is also a good case for donating your body/parts to science. I agree with the author and I can't think of anything better to do with myself in the afterlife if I'm not helping out my fellow people.
If you aren't too squeamish, this is a fascinating read. For example, the average human stomach can hold about 4 quarts of food before bursting. In one case, this was surpased by a supermodel (of all people.. probably making up for starving through her first 23 years) who managed to get down 19 lbs of food. Seriously.
Once you've read the book let me know and we can sit down over coffee and see if we can freak out the people at the next table over.