Gory Details
{{Short description|2021 book about science}}
{{Infobox book
| italic title =
| name = Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science
| image = File:Gory_Details_book_cover_first_edition.jpg
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| caption = Cover of the first edition
| author = Erika Engelhaupt
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| illustrator = Briony Morrow-Cribbs
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| country = United States of America
| language = English
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| subject = Science, Medicine, Curiosities, and Wonders
| genre = Non-fiction
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| publisher = National Geographic Partners
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| pub_date = March 2, 2021
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| pages = 336
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| isbn = 978-1-4262-2097-5
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| website = {{URL|https://erikaengelhaupt.com/gory-details/}}
}}
Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science is a 2021 non-fiction book by American science journalist Erika Engelhaupt. It examines the more unsavory aspects of science, such as insects and death. The book was published by National Geographic Partners.
Synopsis
Covering a large swath of scientific fields, such as anatomy, psychology, forensics, and entomology,{{Cite book |last=Engelhaupt |first=Erika |title=Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science |date=2020 |publisher=National Geographic Partners, LLC |isbn=978-1-4262-2098-2 |location=Washington, DC}} Erika Engelhaupt examines “the gross, the bizarre, the taboo and morbidly fascinating elements of science.”{{Cite web |first= |date=May 3, 2021 |title=Review: Gory Details - Adventures from the Dark Side of Science by Erika Engelhaupt |url=https://www.carpelibrum.net/2021/04/review-gory-details-erika-engelhaupt.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240707154416/https://www.carpelibrum.net/2021/04/review-gory-details-erika-engelhaupt.html |archive-date=2024-07-07 |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Carpe Librum}}
The book is divided into six parts, titled:
- Morbid Curiosity
- That's Disgusting
- Breaking Taboos
- Creepy Crawlies
- Gross Anatomy
- Mysterious Minds
Each part contains 6-8 chapters. Each individual chapter can be enjoyed as a stand-alone selection. Complex topics are made more easily accessible through black-and-white illustrations{{Cite web |last=Triola |first=Cate |date=2021-01-01 |title=Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/gory-details-adventures-from-the-dark-side-of-science |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240713014619/https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/gory-details-adventures-from-the-dark-side-of-science |archive-date=2024-07-13 |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=Library Journal}} and a glow-in-the-dark cover (hardcover only).{{cite web |last1=Englehaupt |first1=Erika |title=Gory Details - Erika Englehaupt |url=https://erikaengelhaupt.com/gory-details/ |website=Gory Details - Erika Englehaupt |access-date=21 August 2024}}
Background
Gory Details began as a blog hosted initially by Science News and later moved to National Geographic.{{Cite web |last=Travis |first=Kate |date=2021-03-01 |title='Gory Details' dives into the morbid, the taboo — and our minds |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/gory-details-book-morbid-taboo-insects-mind-clowns |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240707160113/https://www.sciencenews.org/article/gory-details-book-morbid-taboo-insects-mind-clowns |archive-date=2024-07-07 |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Science News |language=en-US}} Engelhaupt was inspired to create the blog based on books that she had read and reviewed for Science News. She wanted to write about “weird and morbid science” and “address the things that people are afraid to talk about.” She first presented the idea as a column for the magazine and was rejected, but was then offered the opportunity to write it as a blog on the Science News website.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7xAmT1mQ7U |title=Making It Up with Erika Engelhaupt, author of Gory Details |date=2021-07-23 |last=Wilson |first=Carter |author-link=Carter Wilson |type=Podcast |access-date=2024-07-07 |via=YouTube}}
The book contains “updated and expanded versions of some blog posts, as well as plenty of new material.” It maintains the same concept of the blog, in that it does not merely identifies “things that are gross or scary” but it teaches “something fascinating about nature and how the world works.”
Reception
File:Erika Engelhaupt at book signing for Gory Details 2024 Raleigh.jpgLibrary Journal called Gory Details, "a must-read for curious minds, trivia fans, and crime drama enthusiasts."
Chris Scott of the Chattanooga Times Free Press describes Gory Details as “the sort of book that leads not only to greater understanding of the world, but to a desire to know more - the unifying trait of scientists and those who are merely curious about their surroundings.” He appreciates that each “chapter is full of facts and profiles of the scientists who have discovered them or used them to benefit humanity.”{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Chris |date=2021-04-17 |title=Book review: With 'Gory Details,' Erika Engelhaupt finds the joy of science in the gross stuff {{!}} Chattanooga Times Free Press |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2021/apr/17/book-review-gory-details-erikengelhaupt-finds/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240706203243/https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2021/apr/17/book-review-gory-details-erikengelhaupt-finds/ |archive-date=2024-07-06 |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Chattanooga Times Free Press |language=en}}
In an interview with Erika Engelhaupt, Carter Wilson of Making It Up podcast praised the author for how she “breaks it all down with humor” and how that approach “softens the whole thing”, so that “the more you learn about it, the less it comes off as gross anymore.”
Rebecca Bennett, writing for the Austin American-Statesman, finds Gory Details to be a combination of “fascinating fact, compelling descriptions and humor.” She describes Engelhaupt’s tone as casual and relatable, and the topics covered as “interesting and readable.”{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Rebecca |title=Review: An esoteric look into science: 'Gory Details' delights with weird, icky findings |url=https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/02/13/book-review-gory-details-delights-weird-icky-science-findings/4465003001/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240706202304/https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/02/13/book-review-gory-details-delights-weird-icky-science-findings/4465003001/ |archive-date=2024-07-06 |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Austin American-Statesman |language=en-US}}
Book Riot's Rachel Brittain included Gory Details on the list of "25 Must-Read Nonfiction Books"{{Cite web |last=Brittain |first=Rachel |date=2023-05-12 |title=25 Must-Read Morbid Nonfiction Books |url=https://bookriot.com/must-read-morbid-nonfiction/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240714003537/https://bookriot.com/must-read-morbid-nonfiction/ |archive-date=2024-07-14 |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Book Riot |language=en-US}} and associate editor Danika Ellis found Engelhaupt's work to be "filled to the brim with far out facts."{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ryBANJRHrs |title=New Release Tuesday: March 2, 2021 |date=2021-03-02 |last=Book Riot |access-date=2024-07-14 |via=YouTube}}
Author biography
File:Erika Engelhaupt at Triangle SkeptiCamp 2024.jpg
Erika Engelhaupt was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She got her curiosity for science from her father who was an electrochemist. She received a Master of Science degree in biology from Tulane University and an M.S. degree in environmental studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. While pursuing a PhD in Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, she determined that she “didn't really want to finish a whole PhD” but instead “really wanted to go straight into science writing and science journalism.”
Her work as a freelance science writer has appeared in “National Geographic, NPR, Scientific American, Popular Mechanics, Science News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Boulder Daily Camera.”{{Cite web |title=Erika Engelhaupt – Science Journalist & Editor |url=https://erikaengelhaupt.com/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240708204241/https://erikaengelhaupt.com/ |archive-date=2024-07-08 |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Erica Engelhaupt |language=en}} Between 2009 and 2014, Engelhaupt was an editor at Science News and later worked as an online science editor at National Geographic. At CSICon 2023, she gave a talk titled "Disgust: How an Overlooked Emotion Meddles With Our Minds" based on content covered in Gory Details.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-10 |title=CSICon 2023 Speakers & Guests {{!}} CSICon 2023: Register Today |url=https://csiconference.org/speakers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610144424/https://csiconference.org/speakers |url-status=dead |archive-date=2023-06-10 |access-date=2024-07-08 }} She splits her time between Knoxville, Tennessee and Washington, DC.