Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a 2003 nonfiction book by Mary Roach. Published by W. W. Norton & Company, it details the unique scientific contributions of the deceased. In the book, Roach gives firsthand accounts of cadavers, a history of the use of cadavers, and an exploration of the surrounding ethical/moral issues. She places each chapter's content into a historical context by discussing the history of the method of using a cadaver she is about to witness. Stiff was a New York Times Best Seller, a 2003 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, and one of Entertainment Weekly Best Books of 2003. It also won the Amazon.com Editor's Choice award in 2003, was voted as a Borders Original Voices book, and was the winner of the Elle Reader's Prize. Stiff has been translated into 17 languages, including Hungarian (Hullamerev) and Lithuanian (Negyvėliai). Stiff was also selected for Washington State University's Common Reading Program in 2008–09.

Topics covered

The book covers 12 topics:

Reception

The Daily Telegraph reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale for the novel out of "Love It", "Pretty Good", "Ok", and "Rubbish": Sunday Telegraph review under "Love It" and Sunday Times, Literary Review, and TLS reviews under "Pretty Good" and Daily Telegraph, Guardian, and Spectator and reviews under "Ok".