The Shadow King

Jo Marchant

More than 3000 years ago King Tutankhamun's desiccated body was lovingly wrapped and sent into the future as an immortal god. After resting undisturbed for more than three millennia King Tut's mummy was suddenly awakened in 1922. Archaeologist Howard Carter had discovered the boy-king's tomb and the soon-to-be famous mummy's story--even more dramatic than King Tut's life--began.

The mummy's "afterlife" is a modern story not an ancient one. Award-winning science writer Jo Marchant traces the mummy's story from its first brutal autopsy in 1925 to the most recent arguments over its DNA. From the glamorous treasure hunts of the 1920s to today's high-tech scans in volatile modern Egypt Marchant introduces us to the brilliant and sometimes flawed people who have devoted their lives to revealing the mummy's secrets unravels the truth behind the hyped-up TV documentaries and explains what science can and can't tell us about King Tutankhamun.>