Written in Bone
From the author of All That Remains, a tour through the human skeleton and the secrets our bones reveal.
In her memoir, All That Remains, internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and human anatomist Dame Sue Black recounted her life lived eye to eye with the Grim Reaper, and in the course of it offered a primer on the basics of identifying human remains, plenty of insights into the fascinating processes of death, and a sober, compassionate understanding of its inescapable presence of in our existence, all leavened with her wicked sense of humor.
In her new book, Sue Black builds on the first, taking us on a guided tour of the human skeleton and explaining how each person's life history is revealed in their bones, what she calls "the last sentinels of our mortal life to bear witness to the way we lived it." Her narrative follows the skeleton from the top of the skull to the small bones in the foot. Each step of the journey includes an explanation of the biology-how the bone is formed in a person's development, how it changes as we age, the secrets it may hold-and is illustrated with anecdotes from the author's career helping solve crimes and identifying human remains, whether recent or historical. Written in Bone is full of entertaining stories that read like scenes from a true-life CSI drama, infused with the same humor and no-nonsense practicality about the realities of corpses and death.
"Revealing: about the human body, about the evil that men do, and—in brief, flinty asides—about herself."
"Black guides morbidly curious readers through baffling crime scenes, ancient crypts, and courtroom testimony to illuminate the body of evidence bones, even the smallest fragments, can offer to forensic investigators... Enjoyable."
