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Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone
“A provocative and entertaining magical mineral tour through the life and afterlife of bone.� —Wall Street Journal Our bones have many stories to tell, if you know how to listen. Bone is a marvel, an adaptable and resilient building material developed over more than four hundred million years of evolutionary history. It gives your body its shape and the ability to move. It grows and changes with you, an undeniable document of who you are and how you lived. Arguably, no other part of the human anatomy has such rich scientific and cultural significance, both brimming with life and a potent symbol of death. In this delightful natural and cultural history of bone, Brian Switek explains where our skeletons came from, what they do inside us, and what others can learn about us when these artifacts of mineral and protein are all we've left behind. Bone is as embedded in our culture as it is in our bodies. Our species has made instruments and jewelry from bone, treated the dead like collectors' items, put our faith in skull bumps as guides to human behavior, and arranged skeletons into macabre tributes to the afterlife. Switek makes a compelling case for getting better acquainted with our skeletons, in all their surprising roles. Bridging the worlds of paleontology, anthropology, medicine, and forensics, Skeleton Keys illuminates the complex life of bones inside our bodies and out.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2019
132 people are currently reading
2,870 people want to read
About the author
Brian Switek
4Ìýbooks131ÌýfollowersBrian Switek has loved fossils and natural history since he was knee-high to a Stegosaurus, and he's turned that passion into a writing career encompassing articles, blogs, and books for outlets ranging from National Geographic and Nature to Slate and the Wall Street Journal.
His first book, Written in Stone, was published in 2010, followed by My Beloved Brontosaurus (2013), the National Geographic special issue When Dinosaurs Ruled (2014), and the children's book Prehistoric Predators (2015). His next book, about the evolutionary stories wrapped up in our very bones, will be published by Riverhead in 2017.
Brian lives in Salt Lake City with a clowder of four cats, his faithful canine companion Jet, and his wife Tracey. When not tapping away at the desk, he can usually be found wandering the desert with museum crews looking for what's left of the non-avian dinosaurs.
His first book, Written in Stone, was published in 2010, followed by My Beloved Brontosaurus (2013), the National Geographic special issue When Dinosaurs Ruled (2014), and the children's book Prehistoric Predators (2015). His next book, about the evolutionary stories wrapped up in our very bones, will be published by Riverhead in 2017.
Brian lives in Salt Lake City with a clowder of four cats, his faithful canine companion Jet, and his wife Tracey. When not tapping away at the desk, he can usually be found wandering the desert with museum crews looking for what's left of the non-avian dinosaurs.
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March 14, 2019
I have to begin this review with a confession. I am an anthropologist and have worked at being one for almost 60 years. I was a consultant to the Office of the Medical Examiner for 25 years as a forensic anthropologist. However, my specialties were ecology and evolution of modern humans. I spent three summers in archaeology: one in Central Pennsylvania on a rock shelter and two summers in the Mexican Highlands working on pre-Aztec culture. I have published articles on genetics, cultural anthropology, demography and sociobiology. That said, I liked some aspects of this book and disliked others. I felt that Switek had an antipathy to anthropology and perhaps that also colored my attitude toward the book. Ergo, a mixed review of his book.
Switek’s book is divided into 11 sections, each dealing with some aspect of bones, usually human bones. The first section, the Introduction, describes how Switek fell in love with bones and some of his visits � pilgrimages perhaps � to museums and other places that displayed bones, especially “dinosaurs and saber-toothed tigers.�
The next section begins with a description of the eccentric Grover Krantz who published many thoughtful articles in biological anthropology but whose main claim to fame was his insistence on the reality of Bigfoot and having once been married to Albert Einstein’s illegitimate descendant. Krantz willed his bones and those of his beloved wolfhounds to the Smithsonian which put them on display as an echo to a photo � see Google (or other) Images for the display. This is followed by a description of our earliest known protovertebrate ancestor, Pikaia, from the Burgess Shale in British Columbia. Also, see Google Images for a visual.
The second section is devoted to furthering the story of our Immense Journey from Pikaia to cartilaginous creatures to those with bone formed in the cartilage on up to primates, our order in the Linnean scheme of things. By this time we are well-informed about bone � what it is, its constituents and how it is formed in our bodies. I like this approach and used it for years in my Introduction to Physical Anthropology class to place us in the scheme of life.
Next he takes us to the La Brea Tar Pit in Los Angeles and reminds us that a few bones of a Native American women were removed from there. He then berates anthropologists for our confusion in determining “osteological sex� on skeletons. Here is where I part ways with Switek. He states that it is “relatively easy to sex a skeleton.� Well, we get about 92-95% accuracy there, not 100% so it’s NOT relatively easy or automatic. In forensic anthropology we only impute biological SEX to a skeleton in analysis, not GENDER. We also distinguish biological “sex� from social role “gender.� From skeletal remains, gender can only be imputed from cultural items, usually clothing, associated with the body. Though not mentioned by Switek, even “sex� is not always clean-cut as either genetics or physiology can muddy the waters between the clean classifications of male and female and produce an individual intermediate in some way. We do not dispute that there are some warrior women and effeminate men and that gender roles are largely determined by culture after peeling away the obvious area of reproduction. To be a pedantic jerk, I would also say that there are many more ways to sex a skeleton than he mentions. He also beats up on the idea of “race,� without defining what he means by that. Re-labelling “race� as “ethnic group,� or some other such euphemism just dodges the question � does race exist. There are physical differences that are the product of adaptation to the physical and cultural environments in which our various ancestors lived but there should be no moral or ethical imputations made to these differences. And NO group of people are more “primitive� or “ape-like� than any other when all features are taken into account. Period. We should never forget that we are all higher apes.
Later sections discuss Don Johansson’s fossil “Lucy� and the revolution of standing up and walking on both hind limbs, now “legs.� Pathologies are taken up as well as the indecency of displaying them in museums (but is it any better to keep them in collections?). ossuaries are interesting places to visit, as one means of burying the dead. Neanderthals probably purposely buried the dead � and the imputations of that. The discovery, osteological analysis, identification and reburial of the evil (but rational for his time) Richard III, the last Plantagenet king. The wacko ideas of previous scientists who studied human bones (especially phrenologists and eugenicists). Finally, the disrespectful treatment of Native American dead and the controversy/debate between respecting American religious beliefs (which vary somewhat between tribes) and the desires of scientists to study them. Switek then concludes the book by describing a few problems especially in non-human paleontology.
All-in-all it is a good general book for those just getting interested in paleontology, especially those perplexed as to what to get the imaginative child or grandchild for birthday or whatever. I still disagree with him regarding some aspects of human biology, especially forensics about which he seems to have more opinions than knowledge. And the book is in desperate, desperate need of illustrations.
Switek’s book is divided into 11 sections, each dealing with some aspect of bones, usually human bones. The first section, the Introduction, describes how Switek fell in love with bones and some of his visits � pilgrimages perhaps � to museums and other places that displayed bones, especially “dinosaurs and saber-toothed tigers.�
The next section begins with a description of the eccentric Grover Krantz who published many thoughtful articles in biological anthropology but whose main claim to fame was his insistence on the reality of Bigfoot and having once been married to Albert Einstein’s illegitimate descendant. Krantz willed his bones and those of his beloved wolfhounds to the Smithsonian which put them on display as an echo to a photo � see Google (or other) Images for the display. This is followed by a description of our earliest known protovertebrate ancestor, Pikaia, from the Burgess Shale in British Columbia. Also, see Google Images for a visual.
The second section is devoted to furthering the story of our Immense Journey from Pikaia to cartilaginous creatures to those with bone formed in the cartilage on up to primates, our order in the Linnean scheme of things. By this time we are well-informed about bone � what it is, its constituents and how it is formed in our bodies. I like this approach and used it for years in my Introduction to Physical Anthropology class to place us in the scheme of life.
Next he takes us to the La Brea Tar Pit in Los Angeles and reminds us that a few bones of a Native American women were removed from there. He then berates anthropologists for our confusion in determining “osteological sex� on skeletons. Here is where I part ways with Switek. He states that it is “relatively easy to sex a skeleton.� Well, we get about 92-95% accuracy there, not 100% so it’s NOT relatively easy or automatic. In forensic anthropology we only impute biological SEX to a skeleton in analysis, not GENDER. We also distinguish biological “sex� from social role “gender.� From skeletal remains, gender can only be imputed from cultural items, usually clothing, associated with the body. Though not mentioned by Switek, even “sex� is not always clean-cut as either genetics or physiology can muddy the waters between the clean classifications of male and female and produce an individual intermediate in some way. We do not dispute that there are some warrior women and effeminate men and that gender roles are largely determined by culture after peeling away the obvious area of reproduction. To be a pedantic jerk, I would also say that there are many more ways to sex a skeleton than he mentions. He also beats up on the idea of “race,� without defining what he means by that. Re-labelling “race� as “ethnic group,� or some other such euphemism just dodges the question � does race exist. There are physical differences that are the product of adaptation to the physical and cultural environments in which our various ancestors lived but there should be no moral or ethical imputations made to these differences. And NO group of people are more “primitive� or “ape-like� than any other when all features are taken into account. Period. We should never forget that we are all higher apes.
Later sections discuss Don Johansson’s fossil “Lucy� and the revolution of standing up and walking on both hind limbs, now “legs.� Pathologies are taken up as well as the indecency of displaying them in museums (but is it any better to keep them in collections?). ossuaries are interesting places to visit, as one means of burying the dead. Neanderthals probably purposely buried the dead � and the imputations of that. The discovery, osteological analysis, identification and reburial of the evil (but rational for his time) Richard III, the last Plantagenet king. The wacko ideas of previous scientists who studied human bones (especially phrenologists and eugenicists). Finally, the disrespectful treatment of Native American dead and the controversy/debate between respecting American religious beliefs (which vary somewhat between tribes) and the desires of scientists to study them. Switek then concludes the book by describing a few problems especially in non-human paleontology.
All-in-all it is a good general book for those just getting interested in paleontology, especially those perplexed as to what to get the imaginative child or grandchild for birthday or whatever. I still disagree with him regarding some aspects of human biology, especially forensics about which he seems to have more opinions than knowledge. And the book is in desperate, desperate need of illustrations.
February 17, 2020
Make no bones about it: Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone is an excellent read. It's one of those non-fiction books that dissects a single topic from a variety of angles, making connections and digging up interesting facts that you can whip out at parties. That is, of course, assuming you attend parties with cool people who talk about things like bones. Author Riley Black (a trans woman: you'll find the book written under a pen name) has been fascinated with dinosaurs since she was young, and naturally prehistoric creatures are going to make a showing in any thorough account of bones. We learn where our bones came from, what they're made of, how they help us move (though they themselves are immobile), the mysteries they help us solve, and the controversies they raise.
The dead really do tell tales. So much of what we know about life in general, and prehistoric life in particular, comes from those hard pieces of creatures that, in the right conditions, can stick around for millions of years. Bones have over half a billion years of history, and Black details steps that led to our current human crop of roughly 206 bones (a number that number starts higher for each human, and can change based on a variety of conditions). Bones began as exterior armor that sank within the body. We meet Pikaia, a once-suspected ancestral chordate that was a minor player in the waters of 530 million years ago, but whose leaf-shaped, inch-and-a-half frame contained a body plan that has remained consistent for all chordate history. As Black says, "we have fish chassis." There were notochords, then a duplication accident that added hips to complement our pectoral fins, then cartilage, and eventually bodies that could incorporate calcium carbonate: ossifying firm-but-flexible tissues into the hard tissue we call bone. Some bones have disappeared for us (I'm looking at you, eye bones (aka sclerotic rings) and penis bones (40 human cases have been reported)) while others have been transformed, such as ancient hinged jaws that now comprise our inner ear assembly.
Alongside these developments, Black tells the oh-so-human stories of the people who have influenced the history of bones. Charles Walcott discovered the Burgess Shale that introduced us to Cambrian-era life forms, but not in the dramatic way his story has handed down. Edward Cope and Othniel Marsh waged a 15-year-long "bone war", advancing the field of fossil hunting by sheer force of competitive ego. Often these human failings can have more serious consequences, such as the mostly racist practice of phrenology, which has used bones to enforce stereotypes and accuse the innocent. Consider the questionable acquisition of specimens for skeletons sold online (often illegally obtained from India) or even the plastinated bodies featured in Body Worlds that were found to come from Chinese political prisoners. Another bone of contention: the practice of withholding native remains from tribes that demand them, such as in the case of "Kennewick Man", in the name of science.
There are many more stories and factoids within, from the reliquaries of saints and bones of the pathologically malformed to a chapter about the discovery of Richard III (it's astounding just how much his bones could clarify about his life and brutal end). Along the way you'll meet trilobytes, tiktaalik, synapsids, cynodonts, purgatorius, australopithecus, ardipithecus, and the La Brea woman (who has a story to tell about how reliably you can and cannot identify osteological sex). You'll learn that bone is 90% protein (collagen) and 10% mineral (hydroxyapatite), but that the mineral component accounts for 75% of bone weight. I'll resist sharing more... just read the book! I listened to this in audio format, first casually and a second time to take notes. My only quibble is that the narrator pronounces macabre muh-KAW-bruh rather than muh-COBB, which is a word you encounter frequently in a book about bones.
The dead really do tell tales. So much of what we know about life in general, and prehistoric life in particular, comes from those hard pieces of creatures that, in the right conditions, can stick around for millions of years. Bones have over half a billion years of history, and Black details steps that led to our current human crop of roughly 206 bones (a number that number starts higher for each human, and can change based on a variety of conditions). Bones began as exterior armor that sank within the body. We meet Pikaia, a once-suspected ancestral chordate that was a minor player in the waters of 530 million years ago, but whose leaf-shaped, inch-and-a-half frame contained a body plan that has remained consistent for all chordate history. As Black says, "we have fish chassis." There were notochords, then a duplication accident that added hips to complement our pectoral fins, then cartilage, and eventually bodies that could incorporate calcium carbonate: ossifying firm-but-flexible tissues into the hard tissue we call bone. Some bones have disappeared for us (I'm looking at you, eye bones (aka sclerotic rings) and penis bones (40 human cases have been reported)) while others have been transformed, such as ancient hinged jaws that now comprise our inner ear assembly.
Alongside these developments, Black tells the oh-so-human stories of the people who have influenced the history of bones. Charles Walcott discovered the Burgess Shale that introduced us to Cambrian-era life forms, but not in the dramatic way his story has handed down. Edward Cope and Othniel Marsh waged a 15-year-long "bone war", advancing the field of fossil hunting by sheer force of competitive ego. Often these human failings can have more serious consequences, such as the mostly racist practice of phrenology, which has used bones to enforce stereotypes and accuse the innocent. Consider the questionable acquisition of specimens for skeletons sold online (often illegally obtained from India) or even the plastinated bodies featured in Body Worlds that were found to come from Chinese political prisoners. Another bone of contention: the practice of withholding native remains from tribes that demand them, such as in the case of "Kennewick Man", in the name of science.
There are many more stories and factoids within, from the reliquaries of saints and bones of the pathologically malformed to a chapter about the discovery of Richard III (it's astounding just how much his bones could clarify about his life and brutal end). Along the way you'll meet trilobytes, tiktaalik, synapsids, cynodonts, purgatorius, australopithecus, ardipithecus, and the La Brea woman (who has a story to tell about how reliably you can and cannot identify osteological sex). You'll learn that bone is 90% protein (collagen) and 10% mineral (hydroxyapatite), but that the mineral component accounts for 75% of bone weight. I'll resist sharing more... just read the book! I listened to this in audio format, first casually and a second time to take notes. My only quibble is that the narrator pronounces macabre muh-KAW-bruh rather than muh-COBB, which is a word you encounter frequently in a book about bones.
August 31, 2024
Una lettura piacevole, ricca di spunti per approfondimenti futuri. Non quello che mi aspettavo, ma ho apprezzato la semplicità dell’autore nell’esposizione.
Più una raccolta di aneddoti e curiosità riguardo al mondo delle ossa che un vero e proprio saggio.
Più una raccolta di aneddoti e curiosità riguardo al mondo delle ossa che un vero e proprio saggio.
March 7, 2020
From a disease that turns your flesh into bone (turning you to stone, like a curse in a fairytale), to the controversy over the 9000-year-old Kennewick man skeleton found in Washington State, this book covers the wonders of bones, the fascinating frame of our bodies, all that's left behind when we die.
"Skeletons tell the story of our lives more potently than other body parts."
Without bone, we'd never have evolved beyond a weevil. Invertebrates and their exoskeletons simply can't attain the size that we vertebrates can: "Keeping all those guts in, rather than supporting them from the inside, becomes ever more difficult with increasing size [due to surface area]. A weevil the size of a Volkswagon bug would immediately burst at its seams and crumple into a heap."
It's all too easy to think of bones as objects--outside of their fleshy homes, they seem as if they are not alive and were never alive, but that's just not true. We think of our bones as unchanging, but they repair and mend themselves just the same as a cut on your finger does.
Fun fact: we don't have genital bones (many other mammals, including other primates, have penis and clitoral bones, but we have lost them). That said: there have been about 40 cases of penises turning to actual bone (causes ranging from kidney problems, to STIs, to trauma--including, in one case, a gunshot wound). Ouch.
"Skeletons tell the story of our lives more potently than other body parts."
Without bone, we'd never have evolved beyond a weevil. Invertebrates and their exoskeletons simply can't attain the size that we vertebrates can: "Keeping all those guts in, rather than supporting them from the inside, becomes ever more difficult with increasing size [due to surface area]. A weevil the size of a Volkswagon bug would immediately burst at its seams and crumple into a heap."
It's all too easy to think of bones as objects--outside of their fleshy homes, they seem as if they are not alive and were never alive, but that's just not true. We think of our bones as unchanging, but they repair and mend themselves just the same as a cut on your finger does.
Fun fact: we don't have genital bones (many other mammals, including other primates, have penis and clitoral bones, but we have lost them). That said: there have been about 40 cases of penises turning to actual bone (causes ranging from kidney problems, to STIs, to trauma--including, in one case, a gunshot wound). Ouch.
August 1, 2019
POSSIBLE SPOILERS**
This book isn't so much about the biology (or even paleontology) of bones or skeletons, but rather a rambling collection of stories about the odd things people have done with skeletons, with the occassional ancient skeletal remains discussed, accompanied by a mini-diatribe against anthropologists. All this is interspersed between Switek's personal anecdotes, feelings and pilgrimages to various museums. The writing style is chatty, overly verbose and tedious, with too much "fluff". Some of the items covered in this book were interesting, but there simply wasn't enough information on these topics in relation to all the fluffy filler.
The book starts off with Switeks love affair with bones - dinosaur bones to be precise. Then he moves on to the story of Grover Krantz, who wanted his skeleton put on display, with his dogs. This is followed by a look at the proto-vertebrate Pikaia and the following evolution of cartilagenous and "boney" animals, until the author reaches primates. There is a bit of information on bone formation in this section.
There is a chapter (more or less) devoted to the only (partial) human skeleton found in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, along with Switeks opinions on anthropological methods, which he doesn't seem to understand very well. "Lucy" and the evolution of the human skeleton is superficially covered in Chapter 4. One of the interesting things we do learn is that bears are able to halt bone loss and bone formation during hibernation, which is something of interest to astronauts that invariably loose bone mass when in space.
Switek discusses bone pathologies and what these tell us, mentions a few bone diseases, and tells us all about his issues with displaying human skeletons in museums. Switek also takes us on a trip to the St. Bride’s Church ossuary, and deals a bit with how Neanderthals disposed of their dead, not to mention all the other strange things humans have done with skeletons (e.g. skull drinking cups, shrunken heads, and Saint's arm bones). There is a chapter devoted to phrenology and other out-dated ideas about skulls and bones. Another chapter is devoted to the ethical issues between scientists wanting to study ancient American remains and the tribes who wish these remains reburied. The ongoing trade in human bones and remains is also mentioned.
King Richard III gets a whole chapter summarising how he was found and what his bones tell us. This is one of the better written chapters - if you ignore all the personal feelings about about the Shakespearean play that Switek included. The book concludes with more musings by Switek and a look at the difficulties in fossilisation.
The book has horrible references. There is a phrase in the reference section that corresponds to the text in the book somewhere, followed by the reference. This particular method of referencing makes is difficult to follow up references for more information. Switek also thinks articles from the tabloids make good references. It would have been a simple matter for him to pull up the original scientific article instead of depending on a hashed-up, simplified tabloid version. It's also quite obvious that Switek's knowledge on forensic anthropology is lacking, being more opinion that anything else. He should have at least read on text book on the subject if he was going to write a book about it. This book is also lacking in illustrations. A diagram or photograph of the particular skeleton or part thereof that the author is discussing would be more helpful than the numerous paragraphs trying to describe what it looks like.
In short, this book has loads of personal anecdotes (and opinions) with some interesting, random stories about bones. Nothing particularly substantial, some of the topics were only covered in a paragraph or two. If you want something fluffy and slightly macabre to read (and know nothing about bones), or if you need a gift for a young teenager who knows nothing about human bones, this might be of interest.
This book isn't so much about the biology (or even paleontology) of bones or skeletons, but rather a rambling collection of stories about the odd things people have done with skeletons, with the occassional ancient skeletal remains discussed, accompanied by a mini-diatribe against anthropologists. All this is interspersed between Switek's personal anecdotes, feelings and pilgrimages to various museums. The writing style is chatty, overly verbose and tedious, with too much "fluff". Some of the items covered in this book were interesting, but there simply wasn't enough information on these topics in relation to all the fluffy filler.
The book starts off with Switeks love affair with bones - dinosaur bones to be precise. Then he moves on to the story of Grover Krantz, who wanted his skeleton put on display, with his dogs. This is followed by a look at the proto-vertebrate Pikaia and the following evolution of cartilagenous and "boney" animals, until the author reaches primates. There is a bit of information on bone formation in this section.
There is a chapter (more or less) devoted to the only (partial) human skeleton found in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, along with Switeks opinions on anthropological methods, which he doesn't seem to understand very well. "Lucy" and the evolution of the human skeleton is superficially covered in Chapter 4. One of the interesting things we do learn is that bears are able to halt bone loss and bone formation during hibernation, which is something of interest to astronauts that invariably loose bone mass when in space.
Switek discusses bone pathologies and what these tell us, mentions a few bone diseases, and tells us all about his issues with displaying human skeletons in museums. Switek also takes us on a trip to the St. Bride’s Church ossuary, and deals a bit with how Neanderthals disposed of their dead, not to mention all the other strange things humans have done with skeletons (e.g. skull drinking cups, shrunken heads, and Saint's arm bones). There is a chapter devoted to phrenology and other out-dated ideas about skulls and bones. Another chapter is devoted to the ethical issues between scientists wanting to study ancient American remains and the tribes who wish these remains reburied. The ongoing trade in human bones and remains is also mentioned.
King Richard III gets a whole chapter summarising how he was found and what his bones tell us. This is one of the better written chapters - if you ignore all the personal feelings about about the Shakespearean play that Switek included. The book concludes with more musings by Switek and a look at the difficulties in fossilisation.
The book has horrible references. There is a phrase in the reference section that corresponds to the text in the book somewhere, followed by the reference. This particular method of referencing makes is difficult to follow up references for more information. Switek also thinks articles from the tabloids make good references. It would have been a simple matter for him to pull up the original scientific article instead of depending on a hashed-up, simplified tabloid version. It's also quite obvious that Switek's knowledge on forensic anthropology is lacking, being more opinion that anything else. He should have at least read on text book on the subject if he was going to write a book about it. This book is also lacking in illustrations. A diagram or photograph of the particular skeleton or part thereof that the author is discussing would be more helpful than the numerous paragraphs trying to describe what it looks like.
In short, this book has loads of personal anecdotes (and opinions) with some interesting, random stories about bones. Nothing particularly substantial, some of the topics were only covered in a paragraph or two. If you want something fluffy and slightly macabre to read (and know nothing about bones), or if you need a gift for a young teenager who knows nothing about human bones, this might be of interest.
September 24, 2020
Non del tutto convinta da questo libro. Me lo aspettavo molto più basato su biologia e patologie scheletriche, che sì vengono citate, ma non sono il succo del libro. Si parla , tra le altre cose, dell’evoluzione del sistema scheletrico, del ritrovamento di reperti, si fa polemica con gli antropologi, si affrontano questioni etiche, si accenna alla frenologia e al commercio di ossa umane, anche odierno, tramite il web. Molti argomenti, ma tutti affrontati di volata, visto che il libro non raggiunge le trecento pagine; sembra, più che un saggio, una raccolta di curiosità , aneddoti, dubbi morali e pareri personali dell’autore. L’ho trovato interessante, specie il capitolo dedicato allo scheletro di Riccardo III, alla sua ricerca e analisi, ma nel complesso mi aspettavo qualcosa di più approfondito.
Un altro punto a sfavore del libro, è la completa mancanza di fotografie: sono molti gli animali preistorici che vengono citati, i fossili, le collezioni di teschi, le chiese decorate con ossa, gli scheletri in esposizione nei musei. Ovviamente nasce la curiosità di vederli, e devi leggere con il cellulare vicino, per googlare le foto e scoprire com’era fatta una pikaya, osservare questo o quel reperto, o curiosare fra i crani del Mutter Museum.
Un altro punto a sfavore del libro, è la completa mancanza di fotografie: sono molti gli animali preistorici che vengono citati, i fossili, le collezioni di teschi, le chiese decorate con ossa, gli scheletri in esposizione nei musei. Ovviamente nasce la curiosità di vederli, e devi leggere con il cellulare vicino, per googlare le foto e scoprire com’era fatta una pikaya, osservare questo o quel reperto, o curiosare fra i crani del Mutter Museum.
May 24, 2020
Skeleton Keys was a pretty good book, but I feel like it didn't quite find its feet.
It was a mix of really solid chapters, a few dry ones, and some that were a bit... eh. Firstly, like one reviewer said, it really would have been enhanced had it included more pictures. There are a few very dull pictures that start the chapter that have little to do with it. For example, one of the author's strongest chapters (as a few reviewers have noted here) details how the bones of King Richard III were discovered along with his surprisingly grisly death. Great chapter, but you had to imagine much of the description. Even a drawing would have been good. Same with how bone is formed and the anatomical exploration elsewhere in the book.
Other images would have enhanced the chapters as mere curiosities- for instance the trade in bone, which is WEIRD and interesting. Other chapters only sort of garnered my attention. For instance, pathologies was okay, but he didn't do a deep dive into the biology of the diseases and I feel like there are many more interesting osteological diseases he just didn't include. Similarly the anthropology and its checkered history was kind of interesting, but could have been written in a more interesting manner (didn't they have charts?!) and sometimes I felt like he could've cast his net wider in terms of topics.
Other critiques are that the titles were silly and nondescript. The organization of the chapters leaped around topics sometimes. I feel like it would've actually not taken too much effort to make the book about 20% better. It was a good book and I did enjoy/learn from it though! :)
It was a mix of really solid chapters, a few dry ones, and some that were a bit... eh. Firstly, like one reviewer said, it really would have been enhanced had it included more pictures. There are a few very dull pictures that start the chapter that have little to do with it. For example, one of the author's strongest chapters (as a few reviewers have noted here) details how the bones of King Richard III were discovered along with his surprisingly grisly death. Great chapter, but you had to imagine much of the description. Even a drawing would have been good. Same with how bone is formed and the anatomical exploration elsewhere in the book.
Other images would have enhanced the chapters as mere curiosities- for instance the trade in bone, which is WEIRD and interesting. Other chapters only sort of garnered my attention. For instance, pathologies was okay, but he didn't do a deep dive into the biology of the diseases and I feel like there are many more interesting osteological diseases he just didn't include. Similarly the anthropology and its checkered history was kind of interesting, but could have been written in a more interesting manner (didn't they have charts?!) and sometimes I felt like he could've cast his net wider in terms of topics.
Other critiques are that the titles were silly and nondescript. The organization of the chapters leaped around topics sometimes. I feel like it would've actually not taken too much effort to make the book about 20% better. It was a good book and I did enjoy/learn from it though! :)
August 17, 2019
Loved this science book! It has a perfect balance between entertainment and well, science. There is many information and stories about bones from different kinds of perspectives, like biology, medical or paleontology. It was never boring and I learned many new things about bones. Easy to read and wonderful illustrations. Definitely recommended!
Thank you publisher for an ARC via NetGalley.
Thank you publisher for an ARC via NetGalley.
March 2, 2019
A fun overview of the history of the human skeleton and what it can tell us about our past. Switek’s background is in non-human paleontology so he comes at the subject with an interesting mix of experience and self-education. He covers some famous cases of identification (such as when the skeleton of Richard III was positively identified) as well as the ethics of treating the skeletons of people who once lived as curios and objects to keep in museums. I think Switek did an excellent job presenting all the information here with due respect for indigenous cultures and striped back the history of racist and misogynist ideology which has permeated study of human skeletons.
April 9, 2019
Easy to read, natural and evolutionary history of bones and skeletons! I particularly appreciated learning about the evolution of vertebrate skeletons, the shout out to La Brea tar pits, how bone cells build and destroy bones, and the attention to keeping the dead gender neutral. Highly reccomend.
October 15, 2021
I really enjoyed this, but it definitely skews a little towards the "personal anecdote / personal love for the topic" side of the nonfiction spectrum, as opposed to the drier information-only side. Which is fine with me - I love microhistories of all stripes, but I have a special affinity for those written by authors whose writing is suffused with their personal love of that particular weird niche topic. This is a good start if you're interested in bones ... but if you're looking for a truly scholarly book about bones from a biological, anthropological, or paleontological point of view, you may want to keep looking.
December 23, 2021
Fascinating!
February 3, 2023
Really interesting! It had me extending my arm to test the articulation of my elbow and sit up straight to feel the full curvature of my spine. A wonderful exploration into deep time and how our skeleton evolved from "armour to internal scaffold".
July 31, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed skeleton Keys. Brian Switek really knows his stuff and puts it over in an entertaining way with genuine science behind it all.
Switek takes us through the very beginning of bones in early creatures (and tiny, unprepossessing creatures they were, too) their evolution and the way they function in the body and a great deal more besides. I found it all fascinating and full of really interesting stuff including some very good little diversions into things like how the bones of Richard III were identified. Switek strikes an excellent balance, which popular science authors often fail to do, between proper science and a readable, entertaining book. He is a very good writer with genuine wit at times, which he never overdoes but which makes the whole thing an enjoyable read.
I thought this was an exemplary popular science book; readable, informative and entertaining. Very warmly recommended.
Switek takes us through the very beginning of bones in early creatures (and tiny, unprepossessing creatures they were, too) their evolution and the way they function in the body and a great deal more besides. I found it all fascinating and full of really interesting stuff including some very good little diversions into things like how the bones of Richard III were identified. Switek strikes an excellent balance, which popular science authors often fail to do, between proper science and a readable, entertaining book. He is a very good writer with genuine wit at times, which he never overdoes but which makes the whole thing an enjoyable read.
I thought this was an exemplary popular science book; readable, informative and entertaining. Very warmly recommended.
April 28, 2020
Did you know that dinosaurs had arthritis? Did you know that sometimes broken bones unable to knit will create a novel "joint" between the two parts? Did you know that not all humans have exactly 206 bones but rather some a few more and others a few less? This is a book about bones written by a popular science writer and amateur paleontologist. I was certain that I was going to enjoy it because I find the whole subject matter fascinating. He talks about the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California (which I have visited). He talks about WSU Professor of Anthropology Grover Krantz (who I once interviewed on my television programme) who argues for the existence of Bigfoot. He talks about coprolites, which are petrified poop (I own one). He talks about Don Johanson's discovery of 3.2 million year old Lucy (who I saw at the Pacific Science Center). He makes fun of phrenologists and eugenicists (and I think they're funny, too). He discusses the discovery of the likely skeleton of King Richard III in a parking lot in Leicester in 2012 (which I followed closely in the popular press). So why am I so put off by this book? It is not so much the science as the socio-politics that ruined the whole for me. The author returns again and again, in chapter after chapter, to decrying the complicity of anthropology in racism. The following arguments are adduced. Racism is evil. Sciences abetted racism historically. Anthropology is one of those sciences. Anthropology must therfor amend its ways and no longer serve as a tool of racism. All of this is agreed and needs to be said only once. The notion that repeating these confessions and arguments ad nauseum will somehow increase their impact on the unpersuaded is not well grounded in any science of rhetoric. The author is apparently unfamiliar with the concept of semantic satiation. He is similarly affected by the discovery of Kennewick Man which he describes as "grave robbing." One wonders what the people who found Kennewick Man's skull were supposed to do. In any event, his reportage of the whole incident (including the lawsuit which followed) is tinged by partisanship and spoilt by shrieking epithet. He faithfully reports, for example, how the opinions of those who disagree with him "turn his stomach." All of this polemic in the second half of a book which started out so interesting wrecked it for me.
July 31, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed The Secret Life Of Bones. Brian Switek really knows his stuff and puts it over in an entertaining way with genuine science behind it all.
Switek takes us through the very beginning of bones in early creatures (and tiny, unprepossessing creatures they were, too) their evolution and the way they function in the body and a great deal more besides. I found it all fascinating and full of really interesting stuff including some very good little diversions into things like how the bones of Richard III were identified. Switek strikes an excellent balance, which popular science authors often fail to do, between proper science and a readable, entertaining book. He is a very good writer with genuine wit at times, which he never overdoes but which makes the whole thing an enjoyable read.
I thought this was an exemplary popular science book; readable, informative and entertaining. Very warmly recommended.
(My thanks to Prelude Books for an ARC via NetGalley.)
Switek takes us through the very beginning of bones in early creatures (and tiny, unprepossessing creatures they were, too) their evolution and the way they function in the body and a great deal more besides. I found it all fascinating and full of really interesting stuff including some very good little diversions into things like how the bones of Richard III were identified. Switek strikes an excellent balance, which popular science authors often fail to do, between proper science and a readable, entertaining book. He is a very good writer with genuine wit at times, which he never overdoes but which makes the whole thing an enjoyable read.
I thought this was an exemplary popular science book; readable, informative and entertaining. Very warmly recommended.
(My thanks to Prelude Books for an ARC via NetGalley.)
April 23, 2019
3.5 stars rounded down. Not really what I expected but I liked it. I expected it to be a bit more medical. It held my focus and had many interesting parts which I learned quite a bit from. This book covers paleontology, anthropology, medicine, a bit of sociology. The one thing I do miss out on with audiobooks is seeing footnotes, bibliographies, and appendices so I’m not sure how well sourced the information is as it didn’t seem to be sourced throughout the book (meaning he didn’t say “I’m joe smith’s study of bones, he concluded...� but if he used direct quotes with a citation, it might’ve not made it into the audiobook.) With the amount of non-fiction audiobooks I’ve been listening to, I’ve found it’s more important to cite sources throughout the text so that listeners can hear where the facts are coming from so it doesn’t sound like plagiarism or just fiction the author has made up.
March 30, 2019
This is a smart, engaging, entertaining, and remarkable informative look at our skeleton. From the biological aspects of bone, to the role bone plays in our culture, Switek takes us on a tour of our skeleton that will keep you absorbed in the world of bones. Without questions, a book that will entertain and educate, while providing insights into your skeleton you may not have thought about before.
September 24, 2019
As someone with a degree in archaeology, it was pretty obvious that Switek has not had any sort of formal education in the field. This book could be informative if you're someone that doesn't know anything about the subject and wants to know a little bit about it, but Switek often puts his personal opinions over actual scientific reasoning. This review sums it up pretty well.
October 22, 2019
I liked some of the aspects and chapters of the book but the writing was either very dry in some places or too involved and personal in others and it really didn't make the book an easy read. I'd love to find out more about this topic from other authors though.
April 22, 2022
Didn't work for me. The information density is very low, yet the writing is discursive and dull. Viz. the pages and pages on sexing a skeleton, without really saying anything non-obvious or relevant.
> Identifying the sex of a skeleton is one thing. Attributing an entire complex of appearances and behaviors based on assumed gender is another. Sex, gender, and sexuality are all different concepts with various origins and cultural meanings. They are interlocked but not interchangeable, yet this is often forgotten when we look at old skeletons. Using labels like La Brea Woman automatically creates a range of expectations about a person we actually know very little about, and whom we cannot ask for their interpretation. We can’t know how they would have identified their gender or what the nature of their relationships with other people were, making it all too easy for the modern viewer to impress their own values and views onto another person. �
> Nor do I feel comfortable claiming bones can reveal someone’s biological sex. Our minds and how we perceive ourselves are part of our biology as certainly as our bones are, and to say someone is a man or woman based on skeletal anatomy alone erases what they would say about themselves. �
> Pronouns matter, and in the absence of positive evidence I’d prefer to use “they� and “them� for people whose gender identities we don’t know. But the stories of these people are intertwined with the modern researchers studying them, so relying on “they� and “them� can also cause confusion as to who I’m talking about. To that end I’ve attempted to eschew gendered popular labels like La Brea Woman—as I feel anthropology and archaeology should do in these cases—but have retained the use of “he� or “she� to talk about the osteological sex of a skeleton whose gender is unknown
> Identifying the sex of a skeleton is one thing. Attributing an entire complex of appearances and behaviors based on assumed gender is another. Sex, gender, and sexuality are all different concepts with various origins and cultural meanings. They are interlocked but not interchangeable, yet this is often forgotten when we look at old skeletons. Using labels like La Brea Woman automatically creates a range of expectations about a person we actually know very little about, and whom we cannot ask for their interpretation. We can’t know how they would have identified their gender or what the nature of their relationships with other people were, making it all too easy for the modern viewer to impress their own values and views onto another person. �
> Nor do I feel comfortable claiming bones can reveal someone’s biological sex. Our minds and how we perceive ourselves are part of our biology as certainly as our bones are, and to say someone is a man or woman based on skeletal anatomy alone erases what they would say about themselves. �
> Pronouns matter, and in the absence of positive evidence I’d prefer to use “they� and “them� for people whose gender identities we don’t know. But the stories of these people are intertwined with the modern researchers studying them, so relying on “they� and “them� can also cause confusion as to who I’m talking about. To that end I’ve attempted to eschew gendered popular labels like La Brea Woman—as I feel anthropology and archaeology should do in these cases—but have retained the use of “he� or “she� to talk about the osteological sex of a skeleton whose gender is unknown
May 24, 2021
This nonfiction book, while providing factual information on bones—their evolution, history, and contentious background—also definitely has a point of view. From pointing out the problems of the historical study of skulls (where anthropologists used skull measurements to try to identify and propogate racial ideas, this also came up in THE HISTORY OF WHITE PEOPLE and was so fascinating to read about) to even assigning gender to skeletons, I appreciated reading the author's commentary on the scientific histories of bone and how science itself has changed throughout the years. The evolutionary history was also fascinating to see how earlier species led to what humans evolved into today.
"From the broader view of the fossil record, there is nothing about you or me that is particularly unexpected or staggering. We're variations on a theme, a new combination of features that makes us stand out but also, more important, joins us to a history liner than any of us have a hope of truly and fully comprehending." (227)
A last note, since this was not a super dense book (which I liked as a reader because it felt very approachable and easy to read), I did sometimes wonder about some of the author's information, how much was she generalizing facts to suit the conclusions being made? what is her educational background? how much of the information is "dumbed down" or simplified for the sake of a general readership and if that simplification means any information is getting lost or intentionally left out for the sake of the overarching conclusions in the book? That I'm not sure of, but I did wonder as I was reading and I think it is an important thing to consider when reading a nonfiction book that is condensing a great deal of science into a 250 page book for the lay person consumer. Overall though I did enjoy this book.
"From the broader view of the fossil record, there is nothing about you or me that is particularly unexpected or staggering. We're variations on a theme, a new combination of features that makes us stand out but also, more important, joins us to a history liner than any of us have a hope of truly and fully comprehending." (227)
A last note, since this was not a super dense book (which I liked as a reader because it felt very approachable and easy to read), I did sometimes wonder about some of the author's information, how much was she generalizing facts to suit the conclusions being made? what is her educational background? how much of the information is "dumbed down" or simplified for the sake of a general readership and if that simplification means any information is getting lost or intentionally left out for the sake of the overarching conclusions in the book? That I'm not sure of, but I did wonder as I was reading and I think it is an important thing to consider when reading a nonfiction book that is condensing a great deal of science into a 250 page book for the lay person consumer. Overall though I did enjoy this book.
August 23, 2020
I really enjoyed this! The writing is superb and it's a great overview of the subject of bone, especially from an archaeological and anthropological perspective. I would have loved illustrations in this book, and I also would have loved to read a longer book. I was hoping for some more mechanical information on bones as an engineer. Many of the topics covered were things I already had a general knowledge about.
March 14, 2022
Points for the author's obvious passion for bones, but I was hoping for more anatomy. Too much anthropology for me.
March 22, 2024
Said less than I wanted to know, and took longer to say it.
June 4, 2021
A fascinating, informative tour through the life and afterlife of bones bridging the worlds of paleontology, anthropology, medicine, and forensics.
November 12, 2024
wish it had more illustrations but besides for that i enjoyed this
April 2, 2019
Happenstance. It's the running theme of our very existence. Brian Switek tells the story of the first instance of the v-shaped cartridge in the 508 million year old swimmer, Pakaia, through the millions of years of unpredictable variables and fateful intervention of happenstance.
The author tells the story in plain english with the comic anecdotal charm of that funny science teacher that we've all had somewhere in our schooling.
A quick, fun and interesting read.
The author tells the story in plain english with the comic anecdotal charm of that funny science teacher that we've all had somewhere in our schooling.
A quick, fun and interesting read.
December 30, 2019
An entertaining, engaging, accessibly written and informative exploration of bones � their history, their development, their significance in human culture, their quirks and oddities. An excellent work of popular science with a good balance between serious science and anecdote.
August 8, 2019
Originally published on my blog: .
The Secret Life of Bones is a new popular science treatise on all things bone and skeletal by natural history writer (and paleontologist) . Released 8th Aug 2019 by books, it's available in paperback format. It's unclear from the publishing info available online, but the eARC I received also has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The book itself is split into 10 chapters plus an erudite and entertaining introduction, each containing an anecdote and history around which framework the stories are woven. Covered in the book are (famous anthropologist and proponent of bigfoot as real), the undying rivalry between and , the discovery of English king buried under a car park lo, these 550 years since, and confidently identified through the magic of DNA analysis, along with several others.
This is a wildly entertaining book, scientifically accurate and layman accessible. I really enjoyed reading about some of the methods used by modern anthropologists and paleontologists along with the scientific background involved. This would make a really good read for fans of natural history.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Secret Life of Bones is a new popular science treatise on all things bone and skeletal by natural history writer (and paleontologist) . Released 8th Aug 2019 by books, it's available in paperback format. It's unclear from the publishing info available online, but the eARC I received also has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The book itself is split into 10 chapters plus an erudite and entertaining introduction, each containing an anecdote and history around which framework the stories are woven. Covered in the book are (famous anthropologist and proponent of bigfoot as real), the undying rivalry between and , the discovery of English king buried under a car park lo, these 550 years since, and confidently identified through the magic of DNA analysis, along with several others.
This is a wildly entertaining book, scientifically accurate and layman accessible. I really enjoyed reading about some of the methods used by modern anthropologists and paleontologists along with the scientific background involved. This would make a really good read for fans of natural history.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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