No Bone Unturned: Inside the World of a Top Forensic Scientist and His Work on America's Most Notorious Crimes and Disasters

by Jeff Benedict

Book Overview

"A fast and exciting read. . . . This survey of Owsley's career will appeal to both science and legal buffs." --Publishers Weekly

The story of the Smithsonian's brilliant forensic anthropologist and the 9,000-year-old skeleton that sparked his landmark lawsuit against the U.S. government

When he is not studying ancient skeletons, Doug Owsley is enlisted by the State Department and the FBI to identify remains. He has...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006095888X
• ISBN13: 9780060958886
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Sacred Truths

Cutting thru all the PC propaganda that surrounds archaeology in the US as it involves ancient people and cultures arriving on this continent,this work shows how emotion often gets in the way of truth, understanding and new knowledge. Granted everyone's own truth is their truth and sacred to them, none=the-less it in turn never trumps another's truth. Bottom line we all must respect others, their cultures, their memorials and remains. This must also not preclude honoring the human need for increased understanding of ancient peoples and ways as well as current ones. Free exchange of diverse are the base ideas of our freedom, and our growth.

Better than a novel

As in Little Pink House, Benedict's superb research and depiction of story participants as human beings, brings another book that cannot be put down. In this work, science, federal bureaucracy, and the courtroom are presented clearly while dumbing down nothing. A great read and better than a novel.

10 star Book- Best of the Best

I have read several books on the Kennewick man discovery and controversy and this is the absolute best for the average layman! Dates in the book are explained as all given in "real years" not in "radiocarbon years" and the book is such a page turner, so enthralling, that you can't put it down! Covers the life of Dr. Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institute, one of the men who sued the federal govt. to stop the burial of the Kennewick skeleton. The book covers Owsley's early life briefly, how he was interested in science and bones from an early age, and went on to excell in school and become one of the nations most trusted experts on bones and forensics, helping also to identify the blown up and burned body parts from the Branch Davidian fire in Waco, Texas, to other noble and beneficial works he has done for people, using his expertise in identifing human remains. If you have any interst in the Spirit Cave mummy, or the Kennewick man, or forensics, you will certainly enjoy this extraordinary book. I firmly believe it to be the best book I have yet read on the Kennewick man controversy. The revelations in the book will blow your mind!

Scientific Knowledge vs. Bureaucratic Posturing

In No Bone Unturned, Dr. Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institute is a scientific forensic anthropologist whose life is turned upside down during his search for the truth. A turf battle rages among bureaucratic agencies as he tries to uncover the origin of the Kennewick man. This real life saga reads like a fictional work and draws the reader into the turmoil and frustration Dr. Owsley and his colleagues suffered in trying to get permission to unravel the mystery of the Kennewick man. Jeff Benedict is a very good writer of non-fiction and I look forward to reading another of his books.

A Science Thriller

It's rare for a work of science journalism to read like a thriller, but that old cliche "I couldn't put it down" definitely applies to this book. Writer Jeff Benedict follows Smithsonian forensic osteologist Doug Owsley through some fascinating and at times bizarre investigations in Guatemala, Waco, Jamestown, and the Pentagon (9/11 aftermath). Most of the book, though, is concerned with Owsley's epic six-year legal battle to prevent the federal government from reburying a scientifically important 9,600 year-old-skeleton known as "Kennewick Man." Combining John Grishom and Indiana Jones, this book will appeal to anyone interested in forensic science, Native American politics, the paleoanthropology of ancient North America, or who just wants to read a rootin' good story.