Interesting book about the human race and its inhabitance in North America. This would be a great resource for research and the study of bones, archeology and history.

This book is a really coll and graphic exploration of people who used to walk across North America, and the facial reconstruction that scientists can now do from skulls and bone samples to figure out what they might have looked like. The illustrations are incredible and the historical significance of why it's important to do this type of science is thoroughly explained through a lot of text. The sometimes dry technical terms used to describe the construction process takes away from the kind of gross appearance of the skulls and half-finished human faces being created and displayed. I love anatomy and this kind of book is the type I would share with a science class of older students for sure because I think it's fascinating and could spur really interesting discussions. ( )

Human remains have been found all over the United States, and have been dated back to prehistoric times. Archeologists, working with forensic anthropologies, try to determine the histories and lives of the individuals found. Reconstructing their faces helps give a feel for the people and the life they lived. ( )

James M. Deem investigates several different people or groups of people whose remains have been discovered long after their deaths. This book examines different cultures throughout American history by introducing readers to "forgotten" people - people who didn't make the history textbooks. From Native Americans to African Americans to poor folk to Chinese immigrants, the subject matter covers a wide variety. It's all tied together with the theme of researching and reintroducing these people(s) to the public. Deem describes how archaeologists study the remains to determine ancestry and cause of death and how sculptors recreate the faces of these people based on their skulls.

Deem's lively writing and frequent sidebars keep the text from getting too dry. Many color photos and archival photos are included. Back matter includes source notes, a bibliography, resources for further reading and an index.

Readalike: This would be an EXCELLENT readalike for Sally M. Walker's Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland or her Secrets of a Civil War Submarine. ( )

A fascinatingly informative, impressively designed introduction to anthropological facial reconstruction. ( )