In 1981 Dr William Bass founded the Anthropology Research Facility at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. It was the first, and remains the only, institution in the world dedicated to research into the timing of post-mortem human decomposition. It quickly acquired the nickname 'the Body Farm' - a phrase given international recognition after Dr Bass assisted Patricia Cornwell with her forensic research and she used the sobriquet as the title for the fifth Dr Kay Scarpett a novel.
Besides detailing the meticulous work on the 'Body Farm' - the study of the effects of humidity, temperature, clothing and shelter on bone and flesh, and how insects and bacteria leave a now easily interpreted trail - and describing how numerous killers were brought to justice through Dr Bass's work, 'Death's Acre' also offers a fascinating and intriguing chronicle of a visionary scientist who has inspired his peers and who has helped shape the art of forensic investigation into the remarkable science it is today.
