Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9
Starting off with perhaps the most famous mummy of all, King Tut, this serious yet engaging study goes well beyond familiar territory. Woog discusses how powdered Egyptian mummies were used as medicine in Europe from the Middle Ages into the 19th century. Many bog mummies of Northern Europe show signs of having been murdered or ritually sacrificed. The author also reports that there are 8000 mummies on display (many of them posed) in Sicily. Ancient Caucasian mummies have been found in the remote northwest part of China. There were self-mummifying monks in old Japan. And the process of self-mummification is explained in gruesome detail. Many experts are quoted throughout the readable text. Engaging photographs, some grisly, complement the subject. One small drawback is that the abundant lavender-hued side boxes simply rehash what's in the text. This often grim, always interesting read is perfect for reports or general reading.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI