The Mysteries of Beethoven's Hair [Paperback]

At the time of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death, it was a common practice to take a lock of hair from the deceased as a remembrance, a sacred remnant of the person who meant so much when alive. One such lock of Beethoven’s hair survived through the years and eventually became the joint property of two men who, in 1995, opened the sealed frame that encased the hair and began the process of unlocking the mysteries of Beethoven’s life, death, and possibly his genius.

Follow the trail of Beethoven’s hair as it was passed on from the boy who cut it to his son and down through the years, as it was safeguarded from Nazi Germany and eventually sold at auction in 1994. Through careful forensic testing, the hairs in the lock revealed the causes of Beethoven’s deafness and his many illnesses. This fascinating story is not only a study of the secrets that forensics can reveal, but a moving history of many people’s devotion to Beethoven’s music.

Husband and wife team Russell Martin and Lydia Nibley follow the success of Martin’s adult book, Beethoven’s Hair, with this retelling for younger readers.1. Beethoven: A Lock of Hair
2. The Detective Work Begins
3. Beethoven: A Young & Extraordinary Talent
4. The Better Medicine
5. Beethoven: This Wretched Life
6. The Boy Who Cut Beethoven’s Hair
7. Passed from Father to Son
8. Fleeing the Nazis
9. Hope for Escape
10. Hair for Sale
11. Beethoven: Ode to Joy
12. Two Americans with a Dream
13. From Denmark to Arizona
14. Beethoven: The Disgrace
15. Science Solves Old Mysteries
16. The Unknowable Secrets of History
17. Remaining Mysteries & Important Answers
18. Beethoven: The Comedy Is Finished
Afterword
Notes from the Authors
Photo Credits
Index ...an incredibly readable and absorbing selection that demonstrates the multidimensional nature of true scholarship. --School Library Journal lS,