DINNER WITH KING TUT

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Disappearing Spoon, a romp through ancient history - and the daily triumphs and heartbreaks of early humankind- through the footsteps of experimental archaeologists, from the tombs of Egypt to the bogs of Viking Europe.

From the mighty pyramids of Egypt to the bog bodies of Viking Europe and the temples of the Aztec, we have a good vision of what the past looked like. But what about our other senses: the texture of Ancient Egyptian bread? The brewing of Viking beer? The breathless plays of an Aztec ballgame?

History is a sensory-poor field, but a new generation of archaeologists is resurrecting the intimate details of our ancestors' lives, pioneering a new discipline called experimental archaeology. These are scientists gone rogue: they extract yeast from fossil bread scraps and resurrect ancient sourdough. They carve ancient spears and go hunting, then knap their own obsidian blades to skin the game. They build perilous boats and plunge out onto the open seaall in the name of experiencing history as it was, when it was simply another day in the life.

Beloved author Sam Kean joins the ranks of these experimental archeologists as they resurrect the lives of our ancestors, following in their footsteps at ancient dig sites across the world and chronicling their discoveries. He tries his hand at firing old weapons, tests ancient medicinal salves, builds Roman-style roadsand, in novelistic interludes, spins tales of days in the lives of people long gone with wild imagination and his signature meticulous research. Lively, offbeat, and filled with stunning discoveries of Ancient Rome, Polynesia, and beyond, Dinner with King Tut sheds light on days long past and the intrepid experts resurrecting them, with startling, lifelike detail.

Sam Kean is the New York Times bestselling author of The Bastard Brigade, Caesar's Last Breath (the Guardian's Science Book of the Year), The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, The Violinist's Thumb, and The Disappearing Spoon. He is also a two-time finalist for the PEN / E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. His work has appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications, and he has been featured on NPR's Radiolab, All Things Considered, Science Friday, and Fresh Air. His podcast, The Disappearing Spoon, debuted at #1 on the iTunes science charts. Kean lives in Washington DC. Kean's books, which include The Disappearing Spoon and The Icepick Surgeon, have sold over 750,000 copies across formats.