Every year some 30% of American corpses are cremated. And as journalist Annie Cheney discovered, no one keeps track of them before they reach their final destination. While the government has tight controls on organs and tissue meant for transplantation, there are other uses for cadavers that receive no oversight whatsoever: parts are used in commercial seminars to introduce new medical gadgetry; torsos are used for surgery practice; bodies are bought by the Army for land-mine tests. A single corpse can generate up to $100,000. Dead bodies, it turns out, are a billion-dollar business. And when there's that much money to be made without regulation, there are all sorts of shady characters employing questionable practices. Body parts are shipped via FedEx or driven cross-country packed in coolers, and the deceased's families are usually entirely unaware. This book will make you look at death in a whole new way.--From publisher description.