The grisly but imperial mummified head of Rameses the Great stares from the page, communicating with another time. As science reveals more and more about ancient Egyptians, it also, by comparison, tells us more about our own bodies, especially our diseases. Detailed study of ancient remains is the basis for Conversations with Mummies. Written by a nonspecialist, Rick Archbold, with Rosalie David, Keeper of Egyptology at the Manchester Museum, this approachable book takes as its underlying theme the story of the work of the Manchester Mummy Project, a world leader in the medical analysis of mummies. In addition, it introduces the history of Egyptology and provides background information about ancient Egypt. Descriptions of mummy autopsies and a modern mummification reconstruction grab the imagination, as do several daily life stories of individual Egyptians gleaned from their mummies. Attractive and absorbing, the book can also be thought-provoking. Rosalie David feels an almost personal relationship with the mummies she Studies, and the book emphasizes how mummies are now valued as records of individual lives. As Archibald writes, "Egyptian paleopathology, mummy science, is about life: life in ancient times and life today." --Karen Tiley, Amazon.co.uk