The Bones of a King: Richard III Rediscovered

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I enjoyed this book immensely, I read it in the Kindle version, picking it up and putting it down on flights to and from England, finishing it at home, and never got frustrated with the technical parts. Upon reflection or after I have a chance to study, analyze, or look it over again, I might score it a 5. The 4-star is a measure of my own limitations in British history and literature of the era. The chapters are divided helpfully, and the authors did a good job of reminding readers of details from earlier chapters, allowing us to discover how we can or should care about this discovery. It's not just about the dead past, however, or about royal-worship: this chronicle of the sequence of discoveries satisfies the same way detective fiction in books or tv does when done well, teaching observation, method, and justifiable interpretation along the way. The book makes it easy for readers to reflect on the caprice of fame/infamy and our own roles in "this mortal coil." I enjoyed the glimpses into the mini-dramas people got themselves into at Leicester by being at the center of an unfolding discovery, finding their own jobs and responsibilities enormously expanded. To prepare for a press conference of international interest, someone--responsible and thinking on her feet--realized table drapes needed to be ironed, so she did it....that sort of human-level thing. From a management perspective, this book understates but reveals how good, old fashioned teamwork can work. The bibliographic support for each chapter seems just enough and not off-putting, and I still find DNA sleuthing amazing in what can be sorted out. The writers did a good job of not losing this non-scientist. Years ago someone recommended to me Josephine Tey's excellent book, The Daughter of Time, about the fate of the boys in the tower. I recommend that book for a more narrative and literary approach, and this one for the right amount of gee-whiz science and logistics management of a contemporary, partly dumb-luck discovery that leaves us with a good feeling that some little bit more of Truth and Justice have come into the world.

This book describes in detail how the search for Richard's grave was orchestrated and conducted. It includes sections providing background information about who Richard was and the context within which he was killed and buried.I appreciated the effort made by the authors to clearly differentiate between known facts and speculation.There is a bit of what I perceived to be "defensive writing" in the section regarding DNA analysis as the level of detail provided seemed intended to defend the conclusions reached rather than simply describe for a general audience what DNA analysis consists of. On the other hand, the section describing the skeletal remains contained a bit less detail than I was expecting.There are some nice maps and line drawings, showing the location and layout of the Greyfriars Friary - none of which is new, providing context for the buildings within Leicester. There are some good but not extensive photographs of the grave site and the remains.I especially liked the "Further Reading" suggestions that follow each section of the book. The authors correctly anticipated that their work would inspire readers to want to know more. Sorting the bibliography in this way makes it easy to identify titles in a specific area of interest.In summary: This book is a good read, printed on excellent quality paper. It provides a good overview of how the "King Under the Car Park" was found, and why it matters that he was. It is not a book for people looking for detailed information concerning wound ballistics or osteoarchaeology.

Since I’ve already read two earlier books on the discovery of the remains of the last Plantagenet king of England, Richard III: The King under the Car Park and Digging for Richard III, I was skeptical that I would discover anything new in The Bones of a King. However, I was happy to be proven wrong. One of the focuses of this book is on explaining how “academic experts generate and assemble their primary data and how they form their interpretations.” The majority of the new information is provided as part of the explanation and in the interpretations. The chapters I found the most interesting are “The Bones Tell Their Tale”, “What Did Richard Look Like?” and “The Afterlife of Richard III and the City That Never Forgot”.This book has several color plates plus maps, genealogies and illustrations. The color plates are excellent and at least one, showing the skull emerging from the soil, I had never seen before. The authors also provided at the end of each chapter suggestions for further reading. If you are interested in the discovery of the remains of Richard III and what the bones have taught us about his life and death and life in medieval England, then I highly recommend this book.

The research into the identity of the "skeleton in the car park" is an amazing one. I found the comprehensive investigation of DNA together with Richard iii's genealogy quite absorbing.I did find the geography of the site difficult to follow and a few more pictures or drawings might have aided understanding, but that doesn't detract from what is a major piece of work.

This book gives a detailed account of the work leading up the the discovery of King Richard III 's body in a car park in Leicester, the subsequent work confirming his identification and the media disclosures. Written by the various team members involved in each aspect and presented in a readable manner with additional references for further study if required.

Just what I wanted.

An interesting account of the finding of Richard III

Great book,enjoyed it very much.