Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind
Sue Black
Our bones are the silent witnesses to the lives we lead. Our stories are marbled into their marrow. Drawing upon her years of research and a wealth of remarkable experience, the world-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black takes us on a journey of revelation. From skull to feet, via the face, spine, chest, arms, hands, pelvis and legs, she shows that each part of us has a tale to tell. What we eat, where we go, everything we do leaves a trace, a message that waits patiently for months, years, sometimes centuries, until a forensic anthropologist is called upon to decipher it. Some of this information is easily understood, some holds its secrets tight and needs scientific cajoling to be released. But by carefully piecing together the evidence, the facts of a life can be rebuilt. Limb by limb, case by case – some criminal, some historical, some unaccountably bizarre – Sue Black reconstructs with intimate sensitivity and compassion the hidden stories in what we leave behind.
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0**I was provided an audio ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**
Professor Dame Sue Black (whose plethora of other titles I dare not list) returns with her second non-textbook publication with Written in Bone. If I enjoyed All That Remains (and I did), I found that I enjoyed Written in Bone all the more.
Written in Bone recounts aspects of what forensic anthropologists and anatomists can learn in their assessment of human skeletal remains. The book is broken up into segments by area of the body focused upon. Not only does Black discuss facts of her field, she also reinforces those concepts by recounting various cases in which such knowledge was relevant.
This is the true treasure of this book. Not the knowledge conveyed, which I am sure is well and good and accurate, but such knowledge can be better learned through textbooks that Black likely co-authored. The joy is in sharing, for a brief time, in the lifetime experiences of such an accomplished scientist in various instances through her career. Consuming this book in audio format, which was narrated by Black herself, made the experience all the more special.
As a professional in the field of forensic science and criminalistics, I can only hope to have such an impact over the course of my career.
I would recommend this book to anyone in forensics, law enforcement, or to those who have general curiosity about forensic anthropology.
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