What constitutes historical truth is often subject to change.
Through ingenious detection, the accepted wisdom of one generation
may become the discredited legend of another -- or vice versa. In
this wide- ranging study of historical investigation, former
detective Joe Nickell allows the reader to look over his shoulder
as he demonstrates the use of varied techniques in solving some of
the world's most perplexing mysteries. All the major categories of
historical mystery are here -- ancient riddles, biographical
enigmas, hidden identity, "fakelore," questioned artifacts, suspect
documents, lost texts, obscured sources, and scientific challenges.
Each is then illustrated by a complete case from the author's own
files. Nickell's investigation of the giant Nazca drawings in Peru,
for example -- thought by some to provide proof of ancient
extraterrestrial visitations -- uses innovative techniques to
reveal a very different origin. Other cases concern the 1913
disappearance of writer and journalist Ambrose Bierce, the
authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, the truth about the identity
of John Demjanjuk ("Ivan the Terrible" to Polish death camp
victims), the fate of a lost colonial American text, the
authenticity of Abraham Lincoln's celebrated Bixby letter, and the
apparent real-life model for a mysterious character in a novel by
Nathaniel Hawthorne. In reaching his solutions, Nickell
demonstrates a wide variety of investigative techniques -- chemical
and instrumental analyses, physical experimentation, a
"psychological autopsy," forensic identification, archival
research, linguistic analysis, folklore study, and many others. His
highly readable book will intrigue the scholar and the history buff
no less than the mystery lover.
General
| Imprint: |
The University Press of Kentucky
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
July 2014 |
| First published: |
July 2014 |
| Authors: |
Joe Nickell
|
| Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 11mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback
|
| Pages: |
192 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-8131-5417-6 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
True stories >
Crime
Promotions
|
| LSN: |
0-8131-5417-0 |
| Barcode: |
9780813154176 |
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