“Book Descriptions:All of the ovens have multiple retorts. They are of an older design. They are constructed of red brick and mortar, and lined with a refractory brick. Some are blowered, though none utilize direct combustion. None have afterburners, and all are coke-fired except for one facility no longer extant. It should be noted that unless specifically designed for a greater bone-to-flesh-to-heat ratio, the retort may not consume the material assigned to it. It should also be noted that the odor issuing from a tannery or ironworks has sometimes been compared to that of burning flesh.
Inspired by the life of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., subject of the Errol Morris documentary, Mr. Death, Layman's Report concerns an ordinary man who repairs office copiers, invents the lethal injection machine and corners the capital punishment market, becomes involved in the Holocaust denial movement—with dire consequences—and winds up exiled to obscurity, working on mysterious projects in a suburban garage. (Still, he manages to find a version of love.)
After Okinawa, after the Divine Wind, after Fat Man and Little Boy Fred Sr. delivered the mail. Instead of raining liquid fire and hand grenades down on Japs hiding in underground caves and tunnels, he started his day sorting and casing and bundling, then finished it delivering to some three hundred recipients out of a leather satchel that weighed almost as much as his field pack.
Eugene Marten is the author of Waste, In the Blind, and Firework. He resides in South Dakota.
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