Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone by Riley Black (English) Paperback Book

Description: Skeleton Keys by Riley Black "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 weve 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. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Brian Switek is the pen name of Riley Black, a collection of 206-some-odd bones and associated soft tissues. She is also the author of the books My Beloved Brontosaurus and Written in Stone, as well as the Scientific American blog Laelaps. Her bylines have appeared in National Geographic, Smithsonian, Wired, Slate, The Wall Street Journal, Nature, and other publications. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Review "I sit here now crossing my extraordinary kneecaps... I can see them better thanks to Switeks keys." —Rose George, The New York Times Book Review "Smart, lively, and hugely informative, Skeleton Keys is the ideal guide to the bones around us and in us." —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction "A thoughtful, engaging meditation on the origins of the human skeleton, how it functions (or malfunctions) and how we come to terms with our essential but unsettling osseous framework." —Nature "Brian Switek writes with remarkable grace about the natural world. In Skeleton Keys, he looks inward, making us keenly aware of the marvels of the bones that give us the scaffolding we need to survive. Every chapter has some surprise, told in elegant tales, that you will repeat to your friends." —Carl Zimmer, author of She Has Her Mothers Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity "[Switek] compellingly evokes the sheer wonder and complexity of the supporting framework inside you—and the murky human responses it arouses." —Science "From touring the famed Mutter Museum and London ossuaries, to ferreting out what really happened to Richard III, Skeleton Keys is a lyrical love letter to the 206 or so bones in the human skeleton and the colorful figures who have studied them over the centuries."—Jennifer Ouellette, author of Me, Myself, and Why and The Calculus Diaries "Skeleton Keys is an absorbing tour through the world of bones and the bones of the world. Considering in turn dinosaurs, saints, kings, and our own possible future, it is an assured and revelatory book." —Maryn McKenna, author of Big Chicken and Superbug "A cheerful popular-science romp through the matter that makes up our skeleton.... leaves the beaten path to deliver a fun explanation of the history, function, and cultural meaning of bone." —Kirkus Reviews "Informative, contemplative, and even lyrical, Switeks work is popular-science writing at its best." —Booklist Review Quote "I sit here now crossing my extraordinary kneecaps... I can see them better thanks to Switeks keys." --Rose George, The New York Times Book Review "Smart, lively, and hugely informative, Skeleton Keys is the ideal guide to the bones around us and in us." --Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction "A thoughtful, engaging meditation on the origins of the human skeleton, how it functions (or malfunctions) and how we come to terms with our essential but unsettling osseous framework." -- Nature "Brian Switek writes with remarkable grace about the natural world. In Skeleton Keys , he looks inward, making us keenly aware of the marvels of the bones that give us the scaffolding we need to survive. Every chapter has some surprise, told in elegant tales, that you will repeat to your friends." --Carl Zimmer, author of She Has Her Mothers Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity "[Switek] compellingly evokes the sheer wonder and complexity of the supporting framework inside you--and the murky human responses it arouses." -- Science "From touring the famed Mutter Museum and London ossuaries, to ferreting out what really happened to Richard III, Skeleton Keys is a lyrical love letter to the 206 or so bones in the human skeleton and the colorful figures who have studied them over the centuries."--Jennifer Ouellette, author of Me, Myself, and Why and The Calculus Diaries " Skeleton Keys is an absorbing tour through the world of bones and the bones of the world. Considering in turn dinosaurs, saints, kings, and our own possible future, it is an assured and revelatory book." --Maryn McKenna, author of Big Chicken and Superbug "A cheerful popular-science romp through the matter that makes up our skeleton.... leaves the beaten path to deliver a fun explanation of the history, function, and cultural meaning of bone." -- Kirkus Reviews "Informative, contemplative, and even lyrical, Switeks work is popular-science writing at its best." -- Booklist Excerpt from Book Introduction CUT TO THE BONE When Geza Uirmeny decided to take his own life, he turned to a blade. Precisely what was tormenting the seventy yearold Eastern European shepherd is a secret kept by his remains. The tiny placard affixed beneath his toothless skull in a cabinet of wood and glass at downtown Philadelphias M Details ISBN0525539123 Pages 288 Language English Year 2020 ISBN-10 0525539123 ISBN-13 9780525539124 Format Paperback Author Riley Black Short Title Skeleton Keys Subtitle The Secret Life of Bone UK Release Date 1900-01-01 Country of Publication United States Illustrations Illustrations, unspecified AU Release Date 2020-03-03 NZ Release Date 2020-03-03 US Release Date 2020-03-03 Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Publication Date 2020-03-03 Imprint Riverhead Books,U.S. DEWEY 611.71 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:126922355;

Price: 58.72 AUD

Location: Melbourne

End Time: 2025-02-06T02:25:50.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 AUD