Bones, Rocks and Stars: The Science of When Things Happened (original 2006; edition 2007)

Full of asides and analogies designed to help the reader understand the concepts being discussed, this was a brilliant introduction for the non-scientist; it was also intriguing enough to warrant further investigation of the topics discussed. Turney sets out to make these issues accessible to the general public, and succeeds. The whole book seems to work towards being a refutation of creationism. According to Turney, non-scientists are especially vulnerable to the claims made by defendants of this belief. Turney emphasises that this is all it should be allowed to be: a belief. The religious undertones are convincing, but I didn't need much convincing in the first place. For me, the accessible style used to convey a wonderful array of information and research make this a brilliant read and the bibliography gives a starting point to those would wish to pursue the subject further. ( )

This is about time, as scientists use it. Not the metaphysics, but how it is measured, and how we use it. Turney does radiocarbon dating, and his story of the Flores 'Hobbit' and his involvement in that story was the highlight of the book for me.

Very well written. I think I probably learned a lot without even noticing. ( )

This review was also published, in a slightly enhanced & more comfortable format, at my blog between drafts.

I found this smallish book to be very entertaining, but it left me wanting for more. Not more topics, mind: besides chemical dating methods, it delves into far more and vastly different methods than one would have expected. This includes exhaustive descriptions of historical dating methods and how we go about putting “time” into a working calendar. It is fascinating how many methods can be employed to try and pinpoint when and how the dinosaurs died out, “King Arthur” might have lived, why the Turin Shroud’s grand origins are just another medieval fiction, or what kinds of human species might have lived at which geological times. (Turney, by the way, was one of the experts involved in dating the “Hobbit,” the Homo floresiensi, a subject still far from being settled. But then again, which ever is.)

From there, I’d launch my three points of criticism. Given the scope of this book, and its topics’ import and interest, it is way too small indeed; I would have happily devoured 400+ pages instead of its meager 167. Then, with regard to chemical and other “hard” scientific dating methods, Turney walks on tiptoes to make it an easy yet educating read; I would have appreciated more “meat” on these methods (possibly after each chapter or in the form of an appendix), and more diagrams wouldn’t have hurt either.

Thirdly, what’s really missing is a final synopsis or tables as a reference section: summing up what dating methods are available right now; what works when and how and under what circumstances; their specific time windows of reliability (standard deviation and such); and maybe one or two important cases where they have been successfully applied.

Especially such a reference section would have been exceptionally useful when following news involving dating methods; not only to understand the respective scientific arguments, but also as a one-stop source for debunking the cocktail party myths such news invariably generate.

Interesting stuff, but a bit dense reading when he gets into the technical details. Some will like 'em, others will skip 'em and get back to the less-detailed solving of the mysteries.