Earthly Remains: The History and Science of Preserved Human Bodies

The preserved remains of other human beings hold a special fascination for the living. Earthly Remains explores the history and science behind such phenomena the bodies of Abraham Lincoln, Lenin, Eva Peron and other famous politicians, embalmed and displayed for political ends; bog bodies, including the famous Lindow Man – how and why did they meet their fate?; mummies from ancient Egypt and even earlier examples from South America; frozen corpses, such as the 5,000-year-old Tyrolean Ice Man; bodies preserved in outline form, including those of Pompeii and Sutton Hoo; and cryonics, embalming and other modern preservation techniques.
Illustrated with the images of many of the cases discussed, Earthly Remains is a book that will appeal to everyone’s sense of mystery in the history and origins of our ancestors.