Death. It Doesn't Have To Be Boring.

Life Contains These Things: Leakage And Wickage And Discharge, Pus And Snot And Slime And Gleet. We Are Biology. We Are Reminded Of This At The Beginning And The End, At Birth And At Death. In Between We Do What We Can To Forget.

The Terms "idiot" And "lunatic" Were Acceptable Diagnostic Terms In England Up Until 1959. "imbecile" And "feeble-minded Person" Were, Likewise, Listed As Official Categories In The 1913 Mental Deficiency Act. England Has Always Lagged A Bit Behind In Discarding Outdated Terms For The Disadvantaged. When I Was There In 1980, It Was Still Possible To Shop For Used Clothing At The Local Spastic Shop. That Is, Compared To The United States, Where It Takes, Oh, About Twenty-five Minutes For A Diagnostic Euphemism To Become A Conversational Faux Pas.

Many People Will Find This Book Disrespectful. There Is Nothing Amusing About Being Dead, They Will Say. Ah, But There Is.

I Don't Write On Topics That Require A Lot Of Urgency. But In 'stiff,' I Wanted To Change People's Hearts About Organ Donation. Whenever I Get A Chance, I Try To Talk About That.

In 'packing For Mars,' I Tried To Convey The Importance Of Getting Young People Interested In Science.