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No Bone Unturned: The Adventures of a Top Smithsonian Forensic Scientist and the Legal Battle for America's Oldest Skeletons
When he's not at a notorious disaster, Doug Owsley is entering tombs and crypts, unwrapping mummies, or climbing into caves to unlock the secrets of bones.
In No Bone Unturned, investigative journalist Jeff Benedict not only unveils a compelling portrait of the man behind America's most notorious cases but also gives us a fascinating look inside the world of forensic science as seen through the eyes of a leading specialist.
Doug Owsley's extraordinary talent has put his phone number on speed dial for federal agencies, from the FBI to the CIA and the State Department. When the Branch Davidian compound in Waco caught fire, when a terrorist-flown plane crashed into the Pentagon, and when mass graves were uncovered in Croatia, the authorities called Owsley. Through cutting-edge science, instinctive artistry, and dogged tenacity, Owsley painstakingly rebuilds the skeleton, and helps identify it and determine the cause of death.
A curator for the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, Doug Owsley has handled over ten thousand human skeletons, more than anyone else in America. He has worked with America's historic skeletons, from, colonial Jamestown burials to Plains Indians to Civil War soldiers to skeletons tens of thousands of years old.
That includes the Kennewick Man, a 9,600-year-old human skeleton found in shallow water along the banks of Washington State's Columbia River. It was a skeleton that would turn Owsley's life upside down.
Days before Owsley was scheduled to begin studying the skeleton, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seized it and announced they would repatriate Kennewick Man, burying his bones on the land of the Native American tribes who claimed him. Along with seven of America's leading scientists, Owsley sued the U.S. government over custody. At stake was a wide body of knowledge about our past and our history that would be lost forever if the bones were reburied. For six years, Owsley fought a legal and political battle that put everything at risk, jeopardizing his career and his reputation.
In No Bone Unturned, investigative journalist Jeff Benedict not only unveils a compelling portrait of the man behind America's most notorious cases but also gives us a fascinating look inside the world of forensic science as seen through the eyes of a leading specialist.
Doug Owsley's extraordinary talent has put his phone number on speed dial for federal agencies, from the FBI to the CIA and the State Department. When the Branch Davidian compound in Waco caught fire, when a terrorist-flown plane crashed into the Pentagon, and when mass graves were uncovered in Croatia, the authorities called Owsley. Through cutting-edge science, instinctive artistry, and dogged tenacity, Owsley painstakingly rebuilds the skeleton, and helps identify it and determine the cause of death.
A curator for the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, Doug Owsley has handled over ten thousand human skeletons, more than anyone else in America. He has worked with America's historic skeletons, from, colonial Jamestown burials to Plains Indians to Civil War soldiers to skeletons tens of thousands of years old.
That includes the Kennewick Man, a 9,600-year-old human skeleton found in shallow water along the banks of Washington State's Columbia River. It was a skeleton that would turn Owsley's life upside down.
Days before Owsley was scheduled to begin studying the skeleton, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seized it and announced they would repatriate Kennewick Man, burying his bones on the land of the Native American tribes who claimed him. Along with seven of America's leading scientists, Owsley sued the U.S. government over custody. At stake was a wide body of knowledge about our past and our history that would be lost forever if the bones were reburied. For six years, Owsley fought a legal and political battle that put everything at risk, jeopardizing his career and his reputation.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published December 4, 2007
60 people are currently reading
1287 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Benedict
20 books175 followersJeff Benedict conducted the first national study on sexual assault and athletes. He has published three books on athletes and crime, including a blistering exposé on the NFL, Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL, and Public Heroes, Private Felons: Athletes and Crimes Against Women. He is a lawyer and an investigative journalist who has written five books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
October 3, 2008
This book is about a topic that is controversial in so many aspects. Kennewick Man.
If you don't know who Kennewick Man is, here's some basic background information that you could probably find just by googling him:
Kennewick Man turned up on the banks of the Columbia River on July 28, 1996. The police gave him to the county coroner, Floyd Johnson, who promptly had James Chatters, a specialist in human remains. James Chatters took one look at the skeleton and noted that it had a distinctly european look to it. However, dating was indeterminable, so he had a bit of the skeleton sent off for radio-carbon dating. The information that came back read that the skeleton was 9,800 years old.
This alone, and the fact that it was found on ancestral land for the tribe, caused the Umatilla and a few other local area tribes to claim that the skeleton was theirs and that it should be repatriated immediately. The battle between scientists who believe that the skeleton is too old to be claimed by an individual tribe, and who would like to study it more closely in order to figure out where the indigenous people of the americas came from and between the native american tribes who believe their belief system is being challenged, has lead Kennewick Man to be one of the most famous and ancient findings in the history of the United States.
As far as this specific text goes, it follows one physical anthropologist, Doug Owsley through his life right before, and during the trial period. It also gives some background and childhood history on Owsley. While this makes the book incredibly fascinating, it also makes it so that when you hear about what the indian tribes are trying to do, and what the Army Corps of Engineers does in response to the entire thing, highly irritating. It is well written, and that makes you feel it so much more.
I highly recommend it. I also highly recommend this book to people who have never studied any anthropology before and want to learn about it with real world case studies.
If you don't know who Kennewick Man is, here's some basic background information that you could probably find just by googling him:
Kennewick Man turned up on the banks of the Columbia River on July 28, 1996. The police gave him to the county coroner, Floyd Johnson, who promptly had James Chatters, a specialist in human remains. James Chatters took one look at the skeleton and noted that it had a distinctly european look to it. However, dating was indeterminable, so he had a bit of the skeleton sent off for radio-carbon dating. The information that came back read that the skeleton was 9,800 years old.
This alone, and the fact that it was found on ancestral land for the tribe, caused the Umatilla and a few other local area tribes to claim that the skeleton was theirs and that it should be repatriated immediately. The battle between scientists who believe that the skeleton is too old to be claimed by an individual tribe, and who would like to study it more closely in order to figure out where the indigenous people of the americas came from and between the native american tribes who believe their belief system is being challenged, has lead Kennewick Man to be one of the most famous and ancient findings in the history of the United States.
As far as this specific text goes, it follows one physical anthropologist, Doug Owsley through his life right before, and during the trial period. It also gives some background and childhood history on Owsley. While this makes the book incredibly fascinating, it also makes it so that when you hear about what the indian tribes are trying to do, and what the Army Corps of Engineers does in response to the entire thing, highly irritating. It is well written, and that makes you feel it so much more.
I highly recommend it. I also highly recommend this book to people who have never studied any anthropology before and want to learn about it with real world case studies.
May 10, 2013
MY God, this was bad.
I bought the book believing that, following the subtitle " ... the legal battle for America´s Oldest Skeletons", it was to tell me something about the Kennewick Man case, without having to read hundreds of scientific articles about it.
In some sense, this was true, but the main story of the book is unfortunately a eulogy for Doug Owsley, forensic at the Smithonsian Institute and one of the participants in the Kennewick trial. After reading the book, I am familiar with Dougs family history, his medical history, and his personal attitudes towards gardening and mowing. I know about his courting his future wife and her attitude towards Dougs excessive work load at the laboratory. I know that the participants of the trial who were in favor of Doug, are good, sensible people, while the other party consisted of biased arrogant people. This is in no way a neutral description of the process but a biased description which rather resembles an explanation of why these good american citizens defended the liberty of science.
I think I never read such a book before and I will certainly NOT read anything like this again.
I bought the book believing that, following the subtitle " ... the legal battle for America´s Oldest Skeletons", it was to tell me something about the Kennewick Man case, without having to read hundreds of scientific articles about it.
In some sense, this was true, but the main story of the book is unfortunately a eulogy for Doug Owsley, forensic at the Smithonsian Institute and one of the participants in the Kennewick trial. After reading the book, I am familiar with Dougs family history, his medical history, and his personal attitudes towards gardening and mowing. I know about his courting his future wife and her attitude towards Dougs excessive work load at the laboratory. I know that the participants of the trial who were in favor of Doug, are good, sensible people, while the other party consisted of biased arrogant people. This is in no way a neutral description of the process but a biased description which rather resembles an explanation of why these good american citizens defended the liberty of science.
I think I never read such a book before and I will certainly NOT read anything like this again.
November 26, 2019
I'm married to a bioarchaeologist, so while I'm useless with bones myself, I know that you can learn a lot about them. No Bone Unturned is a biography of Doug Owsley, Head of Physical Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institute. This book tells the story of his career, repatriating the remains of Americans murdered in Guatemala, identifying the victims of mass crime scenes like the Waco Massacre and 9/11, correcting the historical record at Jamestown, and in the centerpiece of the book, going up against the government to study Kennewick Man, a 9000 year old skeleton unearthed on the banks of the Colombia River.
This book is a lot of fun to read, but it uncritically presents Owsley as a scientific hero in the face of obstructionism from the Army Corps of Engineers and the superstitions of the Colville tribes. And reality is much more complicated. Kennewick Man is a unique scientific treasure, but he's also a person. At the time, Owsley believed based on skull morphology that Kennewick Man and the similarly aged Spirit Cave Mummy did not resemble contemporary Native Americans. This was evidence that human migration to the Americas did not solely occur over the Bearing Land Bridge.
Except of course, skull morphology isn't scientific. Subsequent DNA tests showed that Kennewick Man and the Spirit Cave Mummy are closely related to current Native American populations. The long lawsuit may have enabled scientific study of the bones, but Owsley's adversarial tactics feel like a strategic loss. Tribes have to be partners in American archaeological work, and despite protestations that Owsley's career has been full of respect for them, I didn't see it here. That, plus changes in scientific knowledge in the 17 year since, make this a book that has not aged well.
This book is a lot of fun to read, but it uncritically presents Owsley as a scientific hero in the face of obstructionism from the Army Corps of Engineers and the superstitions of the Colville tribes. And reality is much more complicated. Kennewick Man is a unique scientific treasure, but he's also a person. At the time, Owsley believed based on skull morphology that Kennewick Man and the similarly aged Spirit Cave Mummy did not resemble contemporary Native Americans. This was evidence that human migration to the Americas did not solely occur over the Bearing Land Bridge.
Except of course, skull morphology isn't scientific. Subsequent DNA tests showed that Kennewick Man and the Spirit Cave Mummy are closely related to current Native American populations. The long lawsuit may have enabled scientific study of the bones, but Owsley's adversarial tactics feel like a strategic loss. Tribes have to be partners in American archaeological work, and despite protestations that Owsley's career has been full of respect for them, I didn't see it here. That, plus changes in scientific knowledge in the 17 year since, make this a book that has not aged well.
January 13, 2026
Super interesting read about Dr. Owsley. The first third is akin to a biography and some of the cases he's worked on, while the last 2 thirds mainly covers Kennewick. I found it easy to read and fascinating, but the random 1-2 page chapters threw me off. It's also important to note that there's an obvious bias against repatriation, but I think it stems more from ignorance than contempt.
October 10, 2019
“I work in different kinds of worlds” - Doug Owsley.
An absolutely engaging biography of the renowned Smithsonian forensic anthropologist Doug Owsley. Doug has been involved in identifying and working with bones involved in the 2001 terror attacks, Branch Davidians, Croatian mass graves, American Indians, Civil War soldiers, colonial Jamestown and a multitude of other high profile investigations. However he is most well known for suing the federal government and winning in the case for the Kennewick man’s bones, a 9,600 year old skeleton that could rewrite America’s prehistoric past.
This man has led an amazing life and the author hooks you from the first page.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in anthropology, courtroom dramas, scientific discoveries or just looking for a fascinating can’t-put-it-down read.
An absolutely engaging biography of the renowned Smithsonian forensic anthropologist Doug Owsley. Doug has been involved in identifying and working with bones involved in the 2001 terror attacks, Branch Davidians, Croatian mass graves, American Indians, Civil War soldiers, colonial Jamestown and a multitude of other high profile investigations. However he is most well known for suing the federal government and winning in the case for the Kennewick man’s bones, a 9,600 year old skeleton that could rewrite America’s prehistoric past.
This man has led an amazing life and the author hooks you from the first page.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in anthropology, courtroom dramas, scientific discoveries or just looking for a fascinating can’t-put-it-down read.
December 6, 2018
I first read this close on a decade ago, and loved it. I'd never read a book on forensics or anthropology before, and it opened up an interest that has yet to wane.
It doesn't hold up so well now. The descriptions of the tribal representatives of coalition of Columbia Basin tribes fighting for repatriations are, quite frankly, racist. They're othering, they're very full of references to the 'big money' tribes have compared to the poor, poor scientists, and they're patronising and dismissive of a group of Native peoples who have a very valid viewpoint to be considered. Benedict's writing of them is a caricature of the dumb but cunning savage, colonialism at its absolute, pat-on-the-head worst.
It's conflicting, though, because, from a perspective of science being free to do its job without the government meddling (or breaking the law entirely), I think it was absolutely the right ruling.
However, as aDNA tells us, THE NATIVE PEOPLES WERE RIGHT, and Kennewick Man has been repatriated. The Spirit Cave Mummy, also mentioned in the book as a skeleton with 'non-Native skull morphology', has also been repatriated. aDNA means that these kinds of cases have a chance of being settled much more reliably than by skull morphology, which has proven unreliable, and was the technique used by Owsley and Chatters. But would scientists have the freedom to test ancient remains' aDNA without the ruling in Kennewick Man being made the way it was?
Really, I don't know.
But what I do know, is that the coalition of Columbia Basin tribes who wanted to bury their ancestor in as speedy a way as possible, who were horrified at the handling of the remains, including their being stored at a scientist's home for months, had to wait over twenty years to lay their Ancient One to rest, and that just seems plain wrong to me.
Here's to doing it better in the future, and to respecting oral traditions a little more when the people tell you they've been there all along, rather than ignoring them completely to chase a theory.
It doesn't hold up so well now. The descriptions of the tribal representatives of coalition of Columbia Basin tribes fighting for repatriations are, quite frankly, racist. They're othering, they're very full of references to the 'big money' tribes have compared to the poor, poor scientists, and they're patronising and dismissive of a group of Native peoples who have a very valid viewpoint to be considered. Benedict's writing of them is a caricature of the dumb but cunning savage, colonialism at its absolute, pat-on-the-head worst.
It's conflicting, though, because, from a perspective of science being free to do its job without the government meddling (or breaking the law entirely), I think it was absolutely the right ruling.
However, as aDNA tells us, THE NATIVE PEOPLES WERE RIGHT, and Kennewick Man has been repatriated. The Spirit Cave Mummy, also mentioned in the book as a skeleton with 'non-Native skull morphology', has also been repatriated. aDNA means that these kinds of cases have a chance of being settled much more reliably than by skull morphology, which has proven unreliable, and was the technique used by Owsley and Chatters. But would scientists have the freedom to test ancient remains' aDNA without the ruling in Kennewick Man being made the way it was?
Really, I don't know.
But what I do know, is that the coalition of Columbia Basin tribes who wanted to bury their ancestor in as speedy a way as possible, who were horrified at the handling of the remains, including their being stored at a scientist's home for months, had to wait over twenty years to lay their Ancient One to rest, and that just seems plain wrong to me.
Here's to doing it better in the future, and to respecting oral traditions a little more when the people tell you they've been there all along, rather than ignoring them completely to chase a theory.
November 11, 2012
I enjoy both books and shows about forensics. I love that small details mean something specific and using multiple details can winnow out potential scenarios into fewer more probable ones. Disproven theories discarded - but potentially reviewed if new evidence points to them again. :) This particular book is more about the cultural issues around forensic anthropology and the Kennewick Man case in particular rather than the methods. I suspected this would be the case since the book was shelved with others about Washington state rather than true crime or medical examinations. The book is excellent. It was very fast-paced and I read it in one sitting (about 3 hours start to finish).
The book also covers Doug Owsley's (the main forensic anthropologist featured) examination and identification of the bodies removed from the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX and other cases he was involved with. I know that it isn't work that I could do day to day. The same way that I'm pretty sure I couldn't be an ER nurse or an EMT. However, the author, Jeff Benedict, portrays Owsley's dogged determination to go on, to do everything possible - as scientifically as possible - with humanity. It's not that he's unaffected by the remains he's called to identify - it's that he's helping people: victims' families, law enforcement officials, ambassadors, and post-Communist peace in Europe. He's helping people with the skills he's got and pulling through the difficult times is part of that. I also like that the author acknowledges Owsley's assistants by name. They probably do a LOT of work to keep up with Owsley & to keep him up with requests, and other duties that he's got at the Smithsonian.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book to readers with interests in forensic anthropology and/or Native American rights in modern-day United States (not saying that this necessarily portrays all sides of that particular issue, but I think it's a valuable POV to hear about).
The book also covers Doug Owsley's (the main forensic anthropologist featured) examination and identification of the bodies removed from the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX and other cases he was involved with. I know that it isn't work that I could do day to day. The same way that I'm pretty sure I couldn't be an ER nurse or an EMT. However, the author, Jeff Benedict, portrays Owsley's dogged determination to go on, to do everything possible - as scientifically as possible - with humanity. It's not that he's unaffected by the remains he's called to identify - it's that he's helping people: victims' families, law enforcement officials, ambassadors, and post-Communist peace in Europe. He's helping people with the skills he's got and pulling through the difficult times is part of that. I also like that the author acknowledges Owsley's assistants by name. They probably do a LOT of work to keep up with Owsley & to keep him up with requests, and other duties that he's got at the Smithsonian.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book to readers with interests in forensic anthropology and/or Native American rights in modern-day United States (not saying that this necessarily portrays all sides of that particular issue, but I think it's a valuable POV to hear about).
January 6, 2011
The subtitle of this book is a bit misleading...it is partially a biography of a Smithsonian archaeologist and human bone specialist, Doug Owsley, with short chapters on some of his work at Waco and in Guatemala, and partially an account of the lawsuit he & several other anthropologists were involved in over the right to study Kennewick Man, a 9600 y.o. skeleton found eroding out of the Columbia River in Washington state.
In 1990, a law called NAGPRA (Native American Grave Protection & Repatriation Act) was passed, allowing Indian tribes in the US to claim human remains & other sacred objects that are related to their tribe for religious ceremonies, reburial, etc. The problem with Kennewick Man is that it is so old that it cannot be directly linked to any living tribes - especially without studying it, which a coalition of tribes from that part of WA did not want to allow.
The press has framed this mainly as a battle between Indian traditionalists and scientists, but the book shows some interesting insights into different govt. departments and political reasons for the battle. My only complaint is that Owsley is portrayed in such a fawning manner...the author just went a little overboard in the hero worship department. Not that Owsley doesn't deserve it, from everything I've heard, but it detracted from the book.
Although Owsley did win the case in 2002, and they got to study the skeleton, the whole question of "who owns the past" is still being debated.
In 1990, a law called NAGPRA (Native American Grave Protection & Repatriation Act) was passed, allowing Indian tribes in the US to claim human remains & other sacred objects that are related to their tribe for religious ceremonies, reburial, etc. The problem with Kennewick Man is that it is so old that it cannot be directly linked to any living tribes - especially without studying it, which a coalition of tribes from that part of WA did not want to allow.
The press has framed this mainly as a battle between Indian traditionalists and scientists, but the book shows some interesting insights into different govt. departments and political reasons for the battle. My only complaint is that Owsley is portrayed in such a fawning manner...the author just went a little overboard in the hero worship department. Not that Owsley doesn't deserve it, from everything I've heard, but it detracted from the book.
Although Owsley did win the case in 2002, and they got to study the skeleton, the whole question of "who owns the past" is still being debated.
June 25, 2013
I LOVED this book. I remember when the Kennewick man was first found and I remember my frustration when I heard how the government was dicking the scientists around with regards to studying him. A 9,800 year old nearly complete skeleton was, in my mind, far to rare and valuable NOT to study! while the author was clearly working with Doug Owsley (the real life Smithsonian forensic anthropologist that it seems Temperance 'Bones' Brennan was based on in both the Kathy Reiches novels and the TV show) he laid out their case so clearly and used so many scholarly works to write the book that bias cannot be held against him.
99 times out of 100 I am on the side of any Native American tribe in its dealings with the US government. This is the rare case that is the exception. The Tribes were 100% wrong, in my opinion. Thank goodness that the judge agreed and our understanding of ancient humans in North America and the migration patterns they followed.
99 times out of 100 I am on the side of any Native American tribe in its dealings with the US government. This is the rare case that is the exception. The Tribes were 100% wrong, in my opinion. Thank goodness that the judge agreed and our understanding of ancient humans in North America and the migration patterns they followed.
December 6, 2011
A story that could easily have come out dry given the strong focus on legal issues surrounding Kennewick Man, but Benedict pitches the inter-agency fracas at a level that's compelling and well-paced for his non-attorney audience. Definitely raises some interesting issues that need to be more fully addressed in the ongoing effort to balance the rights of Native Americans to protect their ancestors and heritage with the value of scientific research into the broader origin story of humanity.
September 8, 2016
Even though I m intrigued with forensics, I wondered if my unscientific mind could follow this book. What a pleasant surprise. Well written, held my attention, interesting facts made for a great read. One downside was too much info about trial. I just skipped over that but was still able to follow everything. Great job on research and writing !!!!
June 8, 2017
Insanely intriguing book. Owsley is a true hero here. I had no idea about the legal battle behind the Kennewick Man skeleton, and I'm flabbergasted to have read what transpired. I'm both pissed off and in awe. Amazing book.
March 27, 2012
Although the narrative felt choppy at points, the story more than makes up for it. The intersections of politics, science, and justice make for a fascinating read.
May 17, 2021
Most boring voice EVER. How can you make such an interesting person's life sound so boring ?
January 26, 2020
Fascinating, fascinating book. I'm jealous of his job! Working for the Smithsonian must be so incredible. This book really fit in nicely with all the books I'm reading about pathology and anthropology. I find it very interesting to listen to Benedict talk about working in determining where bones found in the US need to go, to what people, and how these bones can improve our knowledge of past history...provided the stupid government doesn't get involved first! Benedict certainly has a lot more patience in dealing with people that do not know or even try to understand the science...government entities tend to do the most stupid things possible, even going to far as to bury information if it serves their purposes. I'm a little ticked at Native American Indians in this book, because they claim bones that are not theirs...why I have no idea. Makes me want to check any nation trying to retrieve bones or art just because it came from there, and make sure they are telling the truth and not just trying to score points.
Benedict also aids in disaster situations to return bones to families so that they have some closure. I admire that, and also all the scientific training he has. I hope sincerely he is busy teaching the up and coming generation, what he knows so they can continue to put people back together and increase our knowledge of the human race.
Benedict also aids in disaster situations to return bones to families so that they have some closure. I admire that, and also all the scientific training he has. I hope sincerely he is busy teaching the up and coming generation, what he knows so they can continue to put people back together and increase our knowledge of the human race.
June 23, 2018
Doug Owsley was a curator for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. He had studied thousands of human skeletons, including those at the Branch Davidian compound at Waco Texas, many ancient skeletons found around the US, and many of the victims of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. However, a 9,000 year old mummified skeleton found in Washington state threatened his career and his scientific field. The book is dominated by the long-running court case that ensued, which pitted a group of scientists, including Owsley, against the US Government, during which the scientists fought for their right to study ancient human remains. The court case embodies the tension between science and politics, which science often loses due to a lack of assertiveness from scientists. This is something that is reflected in modern politics, where the rise of conservatism and “fake news” has sought to subvert the role of science.
For a non-fiction book, I found this riveting reading. I gave it 4 stars out of 5.
For a non-fiction book, I found this riveting reading. I gave it 4 stars out of 5.
September 27, 2021
I read this in 2021, 18 years after it was published. It was still an interesting read even if I knew the outcome of the Kennewick Man case as well as the scientific studies about him post-book. It was interesting to get a sort of behind-the-scenes look.
My only real criticisms were how this book painted the whole 'us vs them'. I had hoped it would remain neutral despite being mostly written from the perspectives of the scientists. I'm talking about the useless descriptions of the defendants' attire and how it tried to show what a good, humble, American man Owsley is.
I think people will enjoy this if they consider it to be like those movies about big court cases. The various characters are introduced, some with background stories, some get their own little side stories, the big dramatic trial with passionate lawyers, and then the triumphant end with a car driving into the sunset or some such romantic end. It's not meant to be an academic piece. It's entertainment and it did exactly that.
My only real criticisms were how this book painted the whole 'us vs them'. I had hoped it would remain neutral despite being mostly written from the perspectives of the scientists. I'm talking about the useless descriptions of the defendants' attire and how it tried to show what a good, humble, American man Owsley is.
I think people will enjoy this if they consider it to be like those movies about big court cases. The various characters are introduced, some with background stories, some get their own little side stories, the big dramatic trial with passionate lawyers, and then the triumphant end with a car driving into the sunset or some such romantic end. It's not meant to be an academic piece. It's entertainment and it did exactly that.
March 9, 2024
I will begin this review by acknowledging that time passage has led to findings that the fight that is at the heart of this book was in truth incorrect on the part of the scientists and for some that may effect their enjoyment of the book.
For me, however, this was still a great read and I still believe the finding of the court and the position of the scholars was the correct viewpoint. When the magnitude of entire scientific theories are on the line, study must trump customs. The wishes of a small group of people can always be granted after the universal knowledge has been gained, but it is imperative that study is allowed.
Putting aside whichever side one falls on this issue, this book takes a complex, potentially dry subject and turns it into an easy, approachable, entertaining read.
This is exactly the kind of non-fiction book I love. The author puts us the reader into the story of the subject rather than a recitation of facts and doesn't sacrifice entertainment the altar of information.
A really good non-fiction book/author gives the reader both and that's what No Bone Unturned does.
For me, however, this was still a great read and I still believe the finding of the court and the position of the scholars was the correct viewpoint. When the magnitude of entire scientific theories are on the line, study must trump customs. The wishes of a small group of people can always be granted after the universal knowledge has been gained, but it is imperative that study is allowed.
Putting aside whichever side one falls on this issue, this book takes a complex, potentially dry subject and turns it into an easy, approachable, entertaining read.
This is exactly the kind of non-fiction book I love. The author puts us the reader into the story of the subject rather than a recitation of facts and doesn't sacrifice entertainment the altar of information.
A really good non-fiction book/author gives the reader both and that's what No Bone Unturned does.
November 5, 2018
Fascinating information about possibly the most renowned forensic archaeologist (or is it anthropologist) in the history of this country or not the world.
Doug Owsley worked on identifying bodies in Waco, Texas, the aftermath of the 9/11 Pentagon attack, and countless others. He also specialized in the ancient remains of Native Americans which led to the central story of this text. When bones from a 9,000 year old skeleton are discovered on government land, Owsley is called in and determines that these remains are not, in fact, "culturally related" to any current Native American groups and wages a legal battle to stop them from being repatriated to these tribes thereby precluding any information that could be gathered from in-depth study.
All these stories are skillfully woven into a very readable narrative that is fascinating, and somehow, actually suspenseful.
Good job.
Doug Owsley worked on identifying bodies in Waco, Texas, the aftermath of the 9/11 Pentagon attack, and countless others. He also specialized in the ancient remains of Native Americans which led to the central story of this text. When bones from a 9,000 year old skeleton are discovered on government land, Owsley is called in and determines that these remains are not, in fact, "culturally related" to any current Native American groups and wages a legal battle to stop them from being repatriated to these tribes thereby precluding any information that could be gathered from in-depth study.
All these stories are skillfully woven into a very readable narrative that is fascinating, and somehow, actually suspenseful.
Good job.
March 11, 2018
Well, I wrote a review and then it didn't go through and got deleted.
Anyway, I loved this book. I got extremely wrapped up in the tension of the case, I don't know how the people that lived it could function. It was extremely hard to stop reading at any given point. And honestly, I wish it was longer... I could have even read the mundane day to day stuff for Doug's job at the Smithsonian and have been happy with that too.
No matter what's happened between this book being written and now, so much of this reminded me how much I dislike religion. Don't care which one or whose it is.
Anyway, I loved this book. I got extremely wrapped up in the tension of the case, I don't know how the people that lived it could function. It was extremely hard to stop reading at any given point. And honestly, I wish it was longer... I could have even read the mundane day to day stuff for Doug's job at the Smithsonian and have been happy with that too.
No matter what's happened between this book being written and now, so much of this reminded me how much I dislike religion. Don't care which one or whose it is.
August 18, 2020
This is a really wonderful book and with great insights into the politics of science, and the judicial branch. Much of the book was riveting, and I really enjoyed the sequence of unrelated short stories which built up to the main narrative. I didn't like later interruptions in the narrative which, for me, broke the suspense of the main plot. So I think it could have been organized a bit differently. Overall, though it is a wonderful story and I have recommended it to many nonfiction reading buddies.
April 8, 2020
It was an ok good, but definitely not as great as it could have been. A few cases happen at the same time chronologically and are presented as such, which can get frustrating when the book jumps between cases from one section to another. The bulk of the book, however, focuses on the legal battle for Kennewick man's remains. While it is an interesting story, it does mean that the book moves away from Dr. Owsley's actual work.
February 21, 2022
One of many on my "to read" pile of books. I thought this could be interesting, like Bones TV show. Fascinating, riveting, could NOT put it down. True life experiences of a top level anthropologist who has worked human remains from ancient to modern crime scenes all around the world including Waco and Pentagon. A true passion to study and match skeletons to their proper families and tribes. I highly recommend.
June 15, 2017
This book is really good. It had my biting my fingernails. You forget that it is a non-fiction book. The author brings out this man's passion for what he does and his skill at doing it so very well. I highly recommend it. Dr. Owlsley worked on so many important investigations into very public tragedies because of his skill. Enjoy!
February 27, 2019
As a graduate student in anthropology, it was fun to read the story behind all of this and get the inside view of the legal battle. However, there were many scientific details that I came across that weren't really accurate. The author should have gotten an expert in the field to review the anthropological/medical content prior to publication.
November 13, 2019
I was really interested in the cases that Doug Owlsley worked on than on the minutiae of the law system. The first few chapters were absolutely fascinating. Once it got to the legal stuff on Kennewick Man, it was still interesting and fun to read but focused a bit to much on every little detail of the court and legal process.
May 7, 2019
This story was great. You wouldn't normally think of an anthropologist as a super hero but this book will change your mind. It's so exciting and full of intrigue. The best part is how they have the science to back it up as well. It's exciting and informal.
August 21, 2017
Very interesting read. I would absolutely recommend this.
September 13, 2017
Two books in one. Very well researched and superbly written.
September 13, 2018
Very good book. Written like a thriller with lots of science sprinkled in.
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