The story begins with an unsuspecting couple hiking a mountain pass they have hiked before, but they had a different experience the day the found an 'Iceman' in the Alps. That's when the reader discovers it's no regular deceased hiker, but a 5300-year-old mummy. The text explains the mystery and the process of solving that mystery. In fact, there are wonderful photos of the tools and other accompaniment found around the Iceman which also helped determine his age. The historian in me loved the hypothetical story created about how the Iceman may have lived, all the while inserting factual sidebars to understand how they could create such a story without knowing exactly what happened. Most importantly, the author explains why we should care about mummies and what we can learn from them.
There is an extensive 'Iceman' timeline in the back of the book along with a glossary. The book also has extensive sidebars throughout to aid the reader and may also cause the reader to want to investigate with additional texts on the subject, of which the author includes a suggested list on the last page. ( )