Stiff Competition

This book explores not death itself, but what remains after it: the human body. For most species, the dead simply decay where they fall. Humans, however, have long venerated their deceased, which explains the visceral disgust evoked by acts like body desecration, grave robbing, or unauthorized dissection. The book’s title nods to the "Doctors’ Riot" of 1788, a violent uprising in New York City triggered when teenage boys spotted a dissected arm dangling from a window at what would become Columbia University’s medical school. An enraged mob stormed the school and hospital, forcing doctors and staff to flee and hide in a nearby prison for safety. Order was restored only through the intervention of prominent figures like Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.

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