Robert Jensen’s book Personal Effects is more about people than things. In this memoir the author reflects back on his career recovering bodies and objects in both military and civilian life. His career path is unique and I was fascinated as he told of his work adventures.

This book covers Jensen’s recovery efforts in a variety of situations including plane crashes, weather disasters, military battles, fires, and national disasters. I found the variety of plane crashes he went into depth on to be fascinating. The process of cataloging items, and finding family members to claim is discussed in depth and it really struck me how long it can take to complete.

Events that cause death are generally looked at from a general perspective with people asking questions like why or how did this happen? Jensen’s unique perspective into the minute details of each event as they relate to the people involved made me look at death from a different perspective.

Jensen says “We need to talk about death. Not obsessively, or morbidly, but sometimes - and with open eyes. It is something momentous that happens to us all.” And as much as that statement makes me uncomfortable, I agree.

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in return for my honest review. The book was fascinating, and I would recommend it to a friend.

I requested Personal Effects from NetGalley with some hesitation. I'm not particularly squeamish, but the idea of reading a book about recovering the dead was a little unsettling. It is difficult to read at times, but Robert Jensen writes about the disasters his company handles with honesty, logic, and empathy. I learned so much from this book, starting with the fact that Kenyon International Emergency Services exists. Mr. Jensen is owner and CEO of this 115-year-old disaster management company. I always assumed that only governments responded to disasters, but Kenyon is an incredibly well-organized leader in crisis management planning and response. They provide mortuary services in mass casualty situations, including recovery, identification, and return of personal belongings. They have expanded to provide direct support to families by counseling, telephone inquiry centers and crisis communications.

If you think of a disaster that you have heard about on the news, Jensen and his company have most likely responded to it. Mr. Jensen began his career in the Army and responded to the crash in Croatia that killed Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and others, and the Oklahoma City bombing.

"Oklahoma City taught me an early and important lesson about large-scale catastrophes: Don't expect wisdom at the moment of death. Don't expect anyone to know where they're going or even what they're doing."

Later his company was involved with the bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, the September 11 attacks, the Indian Ocean tsunami, the earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina, and the Covid-19 pandemic. This book is not just a recitation of disasters and how he responded, but rather a careful recounting of the delicate procedures that Jensen and Kenyon have learned and perfected in dealing with multiple governments, local rules and customs, while maintaining respect and dignity for the victims and families.

I think the author would be a fascinating person to meet, mainly because he deals with worst-case scenarios on a daily basis but he doesn't seem to be bitter, jaded, or pessimistic.

"Death doesn't create meaning; it does its best to undo meaning. Our work as the living is to build legacies and institutions that can hold fast in the face of death's assault."

I don't know of another book quite like this one, and while it could be organized slightly better and be less repetitive, it was a very educational, enlightening, and valuable read for me.

"One thing politicians, planners, and ordinary people need to remember is this: we don't control nearly as much as we think we do. Mass fatalities and crises expose that fact like nothing else. We have to learn to accept that fact in a way that we generally don't at the moment. But we also have more ability to respond than most of us realize. Don't fight the things you can't control. Focus on the things you can."

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

I want to start this out by stating that I ended up not finishing this book at about 40% (according to my Kindle). I typically do not comment on books that I don't finish, but this one felt like an important exception to make to possibly prepare other readers for the trauma heavy content of the book.

Now, I completely understand that by the very nature of what Robert Jensen does for a career that by picking up the book, you recognize that you are signing up to read about disasters. I love a good disaster story, but the repetitive nature of Jensen's writing and re-visiting of graphic descriptions made it impossible for me to finish the book. It's very clear than Jensen cares deeply for the work that he does and the families that he, and his company, assist through very traumatic experiences. However, it bordered on trauma porn for me because he would re=visit certain scenes (United Flight 94 comes to mind) and seems to focus more on the grisly, rather than the humanity behind the necessity that is his career.

I did find the behind the scenes and logistics really fascinating, but I couldn't get past the nightmare inducing events.

This was an interesting read! I found myself wanting more details about the author and his experience versus so many details in the events themselves. The logistics of each event and the scattered nature of the chapters quickly became overwhelming. I think this book could benefit from another round or two of editing but overall I really enjoyed the voice of the author abs the things he has learned during an unbelievable and extraordinary career!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Robert Jensen is unusual in the sense that he deals with disaster almost every day. There are many, many more people in the world who are in the situation where they will have responsibility in case of a disaster, but a disaster is extremely unlikely to occur. This latter type of people are the people who could benefit from reading and thinking about this book. If you read it but never need its wisdom, you have lived a fortunate life. If a moment arrives when you need the lessons within and you have not read it, it will be too late to start.

Several years ago, when the US diplomatic service showed even worse judgment than usual by allowing me to briefly join its ranks, I found myself in this (i.e., person of responsibility in case of the death of others) situation for a few years in a remote location. I could have used this book at that time. Instead, I formulated various plans and strategies in my head, all of which probably would have fallen apart upon contact with the reality of a disaster. As it turned out, during this period I had to deal with only one dead person (natural causes, more or less), which was traumatic enough – the details of the incident are still seared into my brain decades later.

In fact, I'd love to contact someone in the instructional arm of the US diplomatic service and recommend that they make people in training today read this book, but it's been a long time since I knew anyone there and I fear being treated like some sort of a crank.

That said, let me say that this book sometimes reads like promotional marketing for the author's business, probably because it is, in part, promotional marketing for the author's business. This is not meant as criticism. Most people are lucky enough never to be in a position of responsibility in a zone where a disaster has occurred. If you find yourself in one, it would not be your least productive thought to think: “Hmm, I wonder if I can hire someone with experience – didn't I read a book about that a while ago?”

However, this book indicates that, having had the above thought, the next step is likely to end in frustration, since Jensen's business is not a charitable organization and someone will object to having them on the payroll until it's essential to have them on the payroll. Jensen catalogs the damage, lawsuits, stress, and unnecessary extra work caused by the inexperienced trying to do disaster cleanup on the cheap to please bean counters back in the home office, at least until the bereaved families set up a howling which changes the priorities.

“If truth is the first victim of war, then efficient organization is the first casualty of any natural disaster,” writes Jansen (Kindle location 1467).

As a book (not marketing), the author's tendency to set himself up as one of the smartest, sensitive, and culturally aware people in the room is a drawback – people's mistakes often make better reading (and more memorable lessons) than their successes.

Sometimes, the book reads a little like the unedited transcript of somebody's dictation. (Example: “One of the worst hit companies was Cantor Fitzgerald, not a company we worked for though” (location 1305)). The book may have improved in this sense as it went along, or perhaps I just got used to the authorial voice and didn't find it as jarring.

There is some plain-spoken common sense: "Our cultural norms right now tell us to forget bad things, to move on. Dust yourself off and get back to normal life. If we don't honestly acknowledge our mistakes from the past, or bother to understand the lessons, not just noting that the events occurred, we will just repeat them" (location 3270).

Not only did I receive a free electronic advance copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley, but I also got an email inviting me to download it. It's always pleasant to be asked one's opinion.

Enjoyed reading this book. It is well written and gives the reader a behind the scenes look into disasters; what the loved ones go through and the people who help bring them closure.

Robert Jensen does an amazing job detailing how he helps people through the toughest times in their lives. He and his team go in after disasters, whether caused by man or mother nature and helps to identify the remains after these tragic events. He discusses how treating the dead with the utmost respect is the main priority for him. He is also the one called on many times to help the families who lost loved ones navigate the next steps. His compassion comes through on the page. He has helped after plane crashes, the Oklahoma City bombing, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and more. The work he and his team does is so important. He brings calm to the storm and helps families and loved ones to start the process of healing after losing a loved one in a major disaster. I absolutely recommend this book.

This book deals with a subject that few, I know I am one, have never thought of. The author goes running into mass casualty events. Who picks up after a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina or the Tsunami of 2004? The author and his company.
The book really details what happens after a plane crash, a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster. How does a loved one claim the personal effects of someone who died?

Overall, the book is a great look into the way remains of loved ones are identified and their personal effects returned to them.

My only critique is that the book should have been more streamlined. Go through all the plane crashed in order, then natural disasters, then terrorist attacks. Further, the author touches very briefly on how he is called into the disasters, but how do companies contract with him. How do governments contact him, basically HOW does he get paid, how many employees does he have.

A great insight into a subject that NO ONE wants to deal with, but we all face.

Robert Jensen's "Personal Effects" offers unique insight into what happens after a disaster. Jensen owns Kenyon, the world's largest disaster management company, but, as clinical as that title may sound, Jensen offers a frank, heartwarming and fact-based perspective from someone who has seen perhaps more horrific scenes than anyone else. In a rambling, conversational style that avoids tragedy porn while still painting a clear picture of what can happen to the human body in the wake of a high-speed crash, a tsunami, a killer hurricane.

"Personal Effects" is also a gentle but frank how-to to the leaders and corporations who have to deal with victims and survivors in the event of a disaster, should they be willing to take direction and consider the loss of humanity above the danger to their bottom line.

Jensen wraps up the book by addressing the ongoing global disaster of COVID-19. A resident of hurricane-prone Key West, he offers wise words of advice for anyone living in a flood, fire, or earthquake zone, or those who have or will have to face sudden loss in their lives. In Jensen's words, we must face and handle what we can control and leave the rest to unfold in time.

We are lucky that Jensen is committed to bringing up a new generation of disaster responders who will be prepared by his experience and, hopefully, inspired by his compassion.

All in all, "Personal Effects" is an important book in our unstable times (although Jensen points out that we've always been this unstable). This reader found "Personal Effects" calming, not needlessly sensational, and highly recommendable.

I received an advance copy of, Personal Effects, by Robert A. Jensen. Robert has a very interesting and sad job. Going to disaster ares, like Oklahoma city bombing among others, and does so much. Identifying the dead, and returning Personal Effects to the families in these devastating tragedies, is only some of his work.

This is fascinating, and I really enjoyed the stories contained in the book. But it needs an enormous amount of better organization, with less repetition, and a little bit more sensitivity in the delivery. Organizing it by topic or by a linear timeline--wherein the author could refer to past and future events more coherently--would help readers considerably.

Don't be intimidated by the subject matter. You will feel sadness because recovering bodies is, by its very nature, a devastating thing to do. However, Personal Effects brings you on the authors soul on the page, its so good. The more I read, the more I wanted to keep reading. It is fascinating work and humanizing the things found kept the authors work from becoming just another job, Please read Personal Effects. Its a page turner and I read it in one sitting :)

In the end (pun intended), this book is simply too bleak. It's hard revisiting horrors and mass murders of the part even through the eyes of one who was there. Not as relevatory as one suspect and, after awhile, too much to take.

Robert A. Jensen is a man you hopefully never have to meet, but if you do, there isn’t another person more suitable for his job. As Chairman of Kenyon International Emergency Services, Jensen has made a career out of responding to some of the worst disasters of the past twenty-five years – the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, the Haitian Earthquake of 2010, the fire in Grenfell Tower in 2017, the Thailand tsunami in 2004 and countless other plane crashes and terrorist attacks.

You would think that having to sort through the overwhelming amount of wreckage, personal effects and human remains would be bad enough, Robert is also tasked with meeting the families of those who have lost loved ones. There are others that are either afraid to be the bearer of bad news or will unintentionally mislead people in an effort to either soften the blow or offer up false hope, but Robert finds that being truthful and realistic is really the only course of action one can take. While Robert writes that this part of the job obviously isn’t something he enjoys, he knows that providing these families with as much information as possible will only allow them to begin their journey to processing their new reality.

Not only does Robert reminisce about his experiences in disasters both natural and man-made, he also discusses the advances in science over his career with regards to identifying human remains. He also shines a light on the political difficulties that come with repatriating those we’ve lost following a large-scale disaster. Robert’s work can be time sensitive and having to navigate the bureaucratic waters is frustrating to read about, especially the chapter focusing on Hurricane Katrina, an event that was not only a weather disaster, but also an organizational one.

The world we live in is not always an easy one and Robert has certainly seen the worst it has to offer. It is comforting to know that there is someone out there with empathy in his role. Robert could have easily grown numb or even jaded following disaster after disaster, but he never fails to put himself in the shoes of those who have suffered tremendous loss. PERSONAL EFFECTS is one of the most engaging and hopeful memoirs I have read in quite some time. It proves there are still good people out there in an age where every event is so divisive and politicized that we often forget our own humanity and capacity for good.

A rare glimpse into a world you never knew existed, that of Kenyon International Emergency Services and the unique role of Robert A Jensen in providing families and countries with answers about what happened to their loved ones and citizens after disasters both natural and intentional but always catastrophic.

(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange of a honest review.)

Fascinating and affecting. A recommended purchase for nonfiction collections where memoirs and forensic titles are popular.

This was a great book about a subject nobody thinks about. Fortunately, learning about this subject can do anyone a world of good.

This book discusses the work that goes into the aftermath of large-scale disaster events, from recovering remains to reuniting personal effects with a deceased's loved ones, and the various events the author has been witness to over the years.

Fair warning: there are discussions of traumatic events such as bombings, plane crashes, and the burning of flesh. It's not graphic, but some readers, especially if they have been affected by PTSD or a mass trauma event may feel uncomfortable.

It's a riveting work, one that makes a reader want to continue on "just one more page", then another page, then another... until you realize you've hit the end.

The discussions are more focused on the humanizing aspect of the work: how families react after a mass trauma such as a plane crash, the need for coordinating with various governments/agencies/people, and the logistics behind pulling off such large-scale missions.

There are a few moments in the book where the author, an American, does lapse into British terms/slang, but they are brief and occur more past the halfway point in the work. It doesn't necessarily interrupt the overall flow of the narrative, but it does make the reader pause briefly. Since the author's company has locations in the US and the UK, the author may not have even realized he used them so.

Recommended for those who enjoy the works of Caitlin Doughty and Bryan Stevenson.

I'm giving this book 3.5 (if possible) stars. There is definitely an audience for this book but I didn't enjoy the and-then, and-then quality of the writing. I also didn't get much from the author's description of his personal life. I'm writing off my reaction to a difference in taste rather than an indication of the relative merits of this book.

Note: If GR gave half-stars, I'd give this 3.5.

"Personal Effects" is the career memoir of Robert Jensen, head of the world's largest private disaster management company. Kenyon, his company, steps in when the unthinkable has happened: they retrieve human remains and effects, work to sort out their ownership, work with families to return them to next of kin in a way that respects the family's wishes and the deceased's individual beliefs.

While Jensen's work is by nature grim, the book's interest is not in gore. As the author moves from one international tragedy to another, he describes the logistical challenges that made this work necessary and the important communication role he and his colleagues serve. Over and again, he emphasizes the human reason for the specific choices they make, the tremendous respect and care that dictates the level of hyper-organization with which they approach their work.

For those looking for morbid details, for the record--you won't find that here. While the author acknowledges situations in which the deceased's remains have been fragmented (an airplane crash, for example), he doesn't provide or dwell on these details. He notes facts of body condition as needed, but does so as tastefully as possible.

What's iffier: This isn't a critique but simply a matter of personal desire--I wish the author had spent more time on the different disasters and the responses to them. I grasp why the author didn't (his story is more about his entire career, speaking to the unique challenges and lessons of each disaster; wading into every detail wouldn't have served that overarching goal). That said, I would have liked more info on each of these, just for my personal curiosity.

Note: This review is based on an ARC from Netgalley.