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Rating: 
Summary: The most exciting job in Anthropology!
Review: I have read quite a few books by or about anthropologists, but this is certainly the most moving and exciting! Once started, I couldn't put it down and was moved to tears at times. Mostly, I was envious of the fulfilling and important work Dr. Owsley performs and the energy he puts into it. The author certainly immortalizes Dr. Owsley beyond credible human stature in a few places, but overall seems to depict a very driven and admirable scientist. If you have any interest in anthropology at all, you should read this book. It is an interesting look into the life of one of the country's top anthropologists and reads like a thriller!
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Investigative journalist Jeff Benedict does a masterful job of detaling the story of Kennewick Man - a skeleton dating back 9600 years, causing anthropologists to re-think theories about human migration into the New World, and its court case, causing lawyers and scientists to re-think the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. A fascinating read, with facts, details and court room drama more reminiscent of fiction than the true story it is. Recommended reading.
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Summary: From cradle to grave, Benedict weaves an incredible story
Review: It was easy to get involved in the story with the author able to pull the reader in to the point of holding the book at arms length as body bags were unzipped. I yelled at the book in outrage as government attorneys tried to steal Kennewick man from the American people. From the dedication to the last entry in the index, Adams to Zulu, Author Benedict emerges as a hero of the people with his telling of a great story.
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Summary: A Science Thriller
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Science Thriller
Review: 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.
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Summary: Exciting view into the inner world of forensic anthropology
Review: Jeff Benedict depiction of the distinguished career of Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian, almost reads like a novel. This page-turner of a book increases in intensity from descriptions of Dr. Owsley's work in Guatemala and his involvement in identifying victims of Waco, to the legal battle started by Dr. Owsley, needed to force the federal government to allow study of a 9,000 years skeleton that could shed light on the history of the Americas.
Move over CSI, "No Bone Unturned" is more real, more enthralling, and more honest.
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Summary: In this story, Owsley makes his bones
Review: This book is about Dr. Douglas Owsley, a curator for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and America's foremost authority on skeletal remains. He has handled more than 10,000 human skeletons, and is by by far the most knowledgeable scientist in his field in America. This book deals first with his life and its origins, and secondly with his legal battles against the Clinton-Gore White House over custody of the remains of a 9200 year old skeleton found along the Columbia river in Washington state and now known as "kennewick Man." It was reported just the other day, February 4th - 2004, that an appeals court decided that scientists could now study the bones of "Kennewick Man." A three-judge panel agreed with a lower court that these human remains were not impacted by the federal grave-protection laws because there is no evidence connecting them to any existing indian tribe. The reasons for this legal battle are clearly political. The instrument of force used by the Clinton-Gore administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, initially agreed with the objections of American indian tribes in the area who protested that the bones were sacred tribal relics and thus subject to burial on tribal lands. In that capacity the Corps took them into custody. This book is focused largely on the now successful quest of a determined group of scientists to gain access to the bones that they might be studied, allowing all of us to more accurately understand our history as a nation. One might ponder why a goup of indians would have a problem with this? Jeff Benedict, an investigative journalist, does a wonderful job of uncovering this story, one which casts the Clinton administration in the craven and corrupt fashion by which it deserves to be remembered. It also depicts Owsley and seven other of America's leading scientists as brave and dogged men of principle, the kind who have historically championed the fights of a civil society against its dictatorial elites. One merely has to trace the origins of these laws, in this case alleging that American Indians were the first inhabitants of America givng them special claims, to the Democratic Party's creation of yet another example of their multiple victim groups to whom they, once installed, grant huge welfare money in return for large campaign contributions; a perpetual money machine of campaign corruption, a closed feedback loop thru they wish to perpetuate their existance, and which they wish to keep intact at all costs. One can only marvel at the audacity of Al Gore and his minions as they direct the Corp of Engineers, in defiance of congress, to drop tons of rocks on the burial site of Kennewick Man that they might inhibit futher study. This is indeed a terrific and well told story and men like Owsley and his crew deserve far more mention than they will ever get.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Two major issues in archaeology have come to the fore over the past decade, namely do the dead have rights, and who "owns" history? No Bone Unturned by Jeff Benedict is the second book on the topic of Kennewick Man and the legal and political battle over his remains that I've read these past few months. Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans by James C. Chatters gives the perspective of the first forensic anthropologist to study the remains and attempt to preserve them. No Bone Unturned, written by a journalist, discusses the involvement of the Smithsonian forensic archaeologist/anthropologist Douglas Owsley in the legal battle itself. While the former work gives the reader a good perspective on the significance of the material remains themselves and certainly illustrates the hazards of working in the field of archaeology today, the latter book puts the entire debate into more striking relief. The book reads like a novel, carrying the reader through Owsley's childhood fascination with bones and what they can tell us of the being when living to his college years and professional growth at the national museum. The researcher is made very human by the details of his childhood, friendships and family relationships. His ability as a researcher is hardly left in doubt. Tales of his work with the remains of the recently dead, such as those of the Waco disaster, those of two murdered journalists in South America, and those of the victims of the 9/11 disaster, make his personal bravery as well as his focus and perseverance abundantly apparent. Stories of his work with historical remains makes his ability to piece together the story of the past through the scant skeletal material left in burials reads like a mystery book. Jeff Benedict the author is himself an interesting character. An investigative journalist with five books to his credit, he holds a J.D., an M.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in History, and in 2002 was a candidate for U.S. Congress from Connecticut. His credentials make his political and legal assessment of the events and significance of the Kennewick debate more than idyll. Probably more important than what the bones can tell us of the history and settlement of the continent is what was nearly made precedent, namely the clandestine activities of several governmental agencies looking for an expedient way to deal with a trying situation, the pressure by government agencies on their own scientists, impinging upon their civil rights, and the arbitrary decisions made by political leaders and government agencies with respect to what constituted "acceptable data" upon which they might base their decisions. In short, "acceptable data" became whatever the agency decided it was and private individuals were expected to accept that as final. Scary.
Junior high students can probably understand the vocabulary and might enjoy the science, but probably only senior high and older will understand the implications of the judicial debate. An interesting and exciting book. Well written and easy to read. Very informative. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in history, archaeology, anthropology, forensic science, modern biography, political science or jurisprudence. TAKE NOTE, those writing papers, this would definitely make a good topic for a political science class.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Two major issues in archaeology have come to the fore over the past decade, namely do the dead have rights, and who "owns" history? No Bone Unturned by Jeff Benedict is the second book on the topic of Kennewick Man and the legal and political battle over his remains that I've read these past few months. Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans by James C. Chatters gives the perspective of the first forensic anthropologist to study the remains and attempt to preserve them. No Bone Unturned, written by a journalist, discusses the involvement of the Smithsonian forensic archaeologist/anthropologist Douglas Owsley in the legal battle itself. While the former work gives the reader a good perspective on the significance of the material remains themselves and certainly illustrates the hazards of working in the field of archaeology today, the latter book puts the entire debate into more striking relief. The book reads like a novel, carrying the reader through Owsley's childhood fascination with bones and what they can tell us of the being when living to his college years and professional growth at the national museum. The researcher is made very human by the details of his childhood, friendships and family relationships. His ability as a researcher is hardly left in doubt. Tales of his work with the remains of the recently dead, such as those of the Waco disaster, those of two murdered journalists in South America, and those of the victims of the 9/11 disaster, make his personal bravery as well as his focus and perseverance abundantly apparent. Stories of his work with historical remains makes his ability to piece together the story of the past through the scant skeletal material left in burials reads like a mystery book. Jeff Benedict the author is himself an interesting character. An investigative journalist with five books to his credit, he holds a J.D., an M.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in History, and in 2002 was a candidate for U.S. Congress from Connecticut. His credentials make his political and legal assessment of the events and significance of the Kennewick debate more than idyll. Probably more important than what the bones can tell us of the history and settlement of the continent is what was nearly made precedent, namely the clandestine activities of several governmental agencies looking for an expedient way to deal with a trying situation, the pressure by government agencies on their own scientists, impinging upon their civil rights, and the arbitrary decisions made by political leaders and government agencies with respect to what constituted "acceptable data" upon which they might base their decisions. In short, "acceptable data" became whatever the agency decided it was and private individuals were expected to accept that as final. Scary.
Junior high students can probably understand the vocabulary and might enjoy the science, but probably only senior high and older will understand the implications of the judicial debate. An interesting and exciting book. Well written and easy to read. Very informative. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in history, archaeology, anthropology, forensic science, modern biography, political science or jurisprudence. TAKE NOTE, those writing papers, this would definitely make a good topic for a political science class.
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