The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession and the Everlasting Dead [Paperback] Pringle, Heather

What do a 9,000-year-old Chilean fisherman, Lenin's embalmed corpse, and a Victorian gentleman's dinner party guest have in common? They're all mummies, and science journalist Heather Pringle has tracked them down. This is part travelogue, part scientific investigation, and entirely absorbing — a journey through the global obsession with preserving the dead. Pringle attends the World Congress on Mummy Studies (yes, that's real) and introduces us to the scientists, collectors, and occasionally unhinged enthusiasts who've dedicated their lives to studying preserved remains. From Egyptian tombs to Peruvian crypts to Soviet laboratories, she uncovers what mummies reveal about ancient cultures, modern science, and our own uncomfortable fascination with death. Equal parts macabre and surprisingly funny, this is for anyone who ever wondered what happens when archaeology meets obsession.