The Sack-'Em-Up Men: An Account of the Rise and Fall of the Modern Resurrectionists

The lives of Messrs. Burke and Hare, who provided Dr. Knox with dissecting material, have been variously revealed, including volumes in several series of Notable British Trials. The cold-bloodedness of their technique for securing bodies by a quicker route than digging them up is almost unique in the history of crime. With their records as the main feature of the story, Dr. Ball gives a fine picture of anatomic study in the early part of the nineteenth century and reveals as well something of the social situation in England which could permit such a possibility to exist as long as it did. The book is well printed, exceptional for its illustrations, well documented and quite readable.