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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Bones Never Lie

How forensics Helps Solve History's Mysteries
by Elizabeth MacLeod

This is another nonfiction intended for children 10 years of age and older.  I'm just barely over that and I love science.  I taught high school biology and chemistry before retiring.  Being a forensic scientist would be a great job.  That's what this book is about - using forensics to solve history's mysteries.

Each chapter focuses on a famous person or group of people and how forensics was used to answer questions and solve mysteries.

The first chapter:  How Did and Entire Maya Royal Family Die?  Different forensic measures are discussed and how they were used to discover what happened to this important family.  Involved were studying and reading the bones, looking at the artifacts left with the bodies, studying the Mayan history, and limiting the suspects.

Chapter 2 - Was Emperor napoleon Bonaparte Poisoned? This chapter discusses what an autopsy is and how it helps solve crimes, the use of bugs that give clues about the blood and guts, knowledge of poisons and illness, etc.

Each chapter is immensely interesting.  If I was a 10 year, I know I would devour every  tale and want to grow up to be a forensic scientist.  My grandson is dead set on being an airplane pilot, but my 9-yr-old granddaughter is undermined.  Well, she's pretty set on win gold in swimming at the Olympics but after that she needs a job.

Other mysteries discussed & solved in this book are King Tut, Kan Maax, Louis XIII, Louis XIV, The Man in the Iron Mask,Louis XVI, Louis XVII, Grand Duchess Anastasia, King Rama VIII, King Rama IX.  (Did you notice that many Louis that had questionable deaths?)

I loved this book and highly recommend it for sparking an interest in a young child's brain.  What a good source for a report for history or science.

I received a free copy of Bones Never Lie from NetGalley for an honest review.  No other compensation was given.


1 comment:

jenclair said...

I've seen this on Net Galley, and now I'm more interested. Love science solving mysteries.