Written In Bone

Hidden stories in what we leave behind

Sue Black

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Doubleday
20 October 2020

Forensic science; Mathematics & Sciences; Popular science; Medical anthropology

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 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 - Dame Sue Black reconstructs with intimate sensitivity and compassion the hidden stories in what we leave behind.

By: Sue Black
Imprint: Doubleday
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 27mm
Weight: 450g
ISBN: 9780857526915
ISBN 10: 085752691X
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 20 October 2020
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Professor Dame Sue Black is one of the world's leading anatomists and forensic anthropologists. Until 2018 she was Director of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee. She is now Pro-Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement at Lancaster University. In 1999 she was the lead anthropologist for the British Forensic Team's work in the war crimes investigations in Kosovo. She was one of the first forensic scientists to travel to Thailand following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 to provide assistance in identifying the dead. Sue is a familiar face in the media where documentaries have been filmed about her work and she led the highly successful BBC 2 series - History Cold Case. Sue was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to forensic anthropology. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Sunday Times bestseller All That Remains.

Reviews for Written In Bone: Hidden stories in what we leave behind

Gripping from the start, Written in Bone is superb - fascinating in its detail of real life cases and written with a narrative that propels you forward to the next page. * Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes * A fascinating overview of the human skeleton from the forensic anthropologist's point of view, with case studies that are both pertinent and entertaining. * Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan, Bones series * For someone who deals in death every day, Sue Black has a rare ability to make blood and bones come alive. A marvellous writer. * Ruth Davidson SMP * A fascinating if grisly book. It should be read. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday * The corpse whisperer ... could Black's life be any more ready for a series producer to pitch to Netflix? ... and is it OK for her, or us, to enjoy this quite so much? -- Helen Rumbelow * The Times *