Lucy's Bones, Sacred Stones and Einstein's Brain
The Remarkable Stories Behind the Great Objects and Artifacts of History, from Antiquity to the Modern Era
(amazon)Harvey Rachlin (View Bio)
Hardcover: Henry Holt & Co., 1996; Paperback: Henry Holt & Co., 2000.
"Surprisingly well-researched ...it reads like a collection of plot summaries for future Indiana Jones movies. Rachlin manages to give the book enough teeth to please both a history buff and a National Enquirer enthusiast." — The Los Angeles Reader
"In Rachlin's reliquary repose 50-plus objects, made famous through mysterious origins, like the Black Stone of the Kaabah in Mecca, or through being at the right place at the right time, like the Lee-Grant surrender tables.... But first, any casual interest in the Shroud of Turin, the Bayeux Tapestry, the Declaration of Independence, or (gulp) Napoleon's member of reproduction needs to be excited, so to speak, and that goal Rachlin achieves in his summaries, with heads stating 'What It Is,' 'What It Looks Like,' and 'Location.' Obviously history-lite, but harmless fun." — Booklist
"Entertaining and enlightening ...a pageant of human aspiration, achievement, obsession, and belief." — Publishers Weekly
"Detailed and authoritative." — Parade
"A fascinating trivia book ...sprightly and often witty ...soundly researched. " — Library Journal
