The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence That the World's Most Sacred Relic Is Real (Paperback)

Ian Wilson's well-written and intelligent book gives a balanced view of evidence for and against the Shroud of Turin's authenticity (including new finds such as the presence of human blood and DNA on the Shroud), and along the way, provides a fascinating discussion of subjects ranging from capital punishment in first-century Palestine to the chemistry of radiocarbon dating. For Wilson, the Shroud's ultimate significance resides in the very fact of Christians' fascination with it. The Shroud represents the possibility that the Resurrection actually happened; if there's any chance the Shroud is authentic, and if that chance excites you, then historical facts are a crucial aspect of your faith. Given that, the Shroud of Turin becomes much more than a curiosity for cranks and crazies. It's a valuable incitement to introspection for all believers. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Shroud of Turin is perhaps the most controversial and awe-inspiring religious relic of our time. In 1988, a team of scientists announced that the Shroud was in fact a medieval forgery and not the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. Now, on the basis of new evidence, Wilson (The Turin Shroud and Jesus: The Evidence) re-opens the case. In part one of the book, Wilson uses the tools of image resonance and photography to contend that visual observation reveals the image of an apparently crucified body and its burial. In part two, Wilson argues that, while the Shroud visually satisfies the criteria that might be expected of the burial of a first-century Jew crucified as Jesus was, forensic evidence presented by the Shroud reveals its use as the burial cloth of a crucified man. In part three, Wilson traces an object that sounds and looks almost uncannily like the Shroud itself back to Jesus' time. Finally, Wilson concludes by pointing to tests that have proven that the Shroud's coating contains human blood and human DNA. In the engaging fashion of a detective spinning a mystery yarn, Wilson provides readers with plenty of data that proves, for Wilson, the Shroud's authenticity.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The skeptics are still unable to bury the Shroud of Turin, not because of popular credulity but because serious researchers are producing evidence very difficult to explain by the medieval hoax theory. Wilson (Shakespeare: The Evidence, LJ 12/94) eschews the label expert, but he has been using his skills as a historian to gather and evaluate evidence since 1955. His purpose is to scrutinize impartially "every genuinely worthy hypothesis" for and against authenticity, and he succeeds admirably. Wilson vigorously defends the integrity and competence of the scientists and the quality of their carbon-14 labs, but he is also able to present new evidence of microscopic organic contamination in the Shroud that would easily cause a 1000-year error in their results. Among the many other issues discussed is a fascinating exposition of an experiment showing how a camera obscura could have been set up to produce a negative photographic image?and how such a project was unlikely. More complete and less personal than Gilbert Lavoie's Unlocking the Secrets of the Shroud (LJ 3/1/98). Highly recommended.?Eugene O. Bowser, Univ. of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

New evidence about the Shroud of Turin? Didn't carbon-14 dating in 1988 conclusively reveal that the shroud was a forgery from the fourteenth century? Well, yes, but like many questions that seemingly have been answered (Who killed Martin Luther King?), there is always someone who knows better--or more. Wilson, a longtime campaigner for the authenticity of the shroud, appears to fit in this category, but readers who approach his book with an open mind will find that he really does ask some penetrating questions. Some of them are hardly new: How could a medieval forger have created such a precise photographic image? Can the shroud be traced back past the fourteenth century? Although Wilson offers thoughtful speculation on these topics, he makes his strongest points with physical evidence. Pointing out that a newly discovered "bioplastic" coating, which is made up of living organisms and has been found on other ancient artifacts, is also present on the shroud, he shows why carbon dating could be off by as much as a thousand years in this case. Despite his belief in the shroud, Wilson is always respectful of those who oppose him, and to his credit, he demolishes conspiracy theories arguing that the 1988 carbon dating was performed on doctored samples. Demand for this title will jump significantly when the Shroud of Turin goes on display later this year. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

A stubborn but unconvincing apologia for the authors persistent belief that the Shroud of Turin is the actual burial shroud of Jesus. Wilson has penned two other defenses of the shroud (The Turin Shroud, 1978, and The Evidence of the Shroud, 1986), but both of those books were published before 1988, when scientists determined through radiocarbon dating that the shroud was made from 14th-century linen and so could not be Jesus burial clothing. After a decade of reformulating his theory, Wilson is back, as vociferous as ever. This book is testimony not so much to the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin but to the veracity of Leon Festingers theory of cognitive dissonance: When presented with evidence that their beliefs are impossible or their predictions unrealizable, individuals will cling to their long-cherished convictions that much more tenaciously rather than relinquish them. Wilson just refuses to let this issue die, attempting instead to cast doubt on the scientific procedures that first declared the shroud to be spurious. Any imagination utilized in this book is reserved for the subject matter, not the writing style. Most chapters have rhetorical questions as titles: Cunning Paintingor Genuine Gravecloth? (Genuine.) Or: Carbon Dating, Right or Wrong? (Dead wrong.) Wilson is particularly interested in the imprint of Jesus on the shroud, which he claims is a 2000-year old photograph of him as he lay in death. Despite his own intense certitude, Wilson tries to be evenhanded, never openly excoriating those who hold other views. In the last chapter, he invites readers to examine their own hearts on the matter, and raises a far more interesting question than that of the shrouds authenticity: Why should we care? The book is unlikely to persuade the skeptics Wilson is clearly trying to reach, but never fear; he will almost certainly write more on the subject. (illustrations) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Perhaps the best known and most open minded of the Shroud apologists." -- Time

The Shroud of Turin remains one of the enduring mysteries of our age. No convincing explanation has yet been given for the "negative" image of a crucified man transferred to a length of cloth and preserved in Turin for the last four centuries. Although radiocarbon dating of the fabric in 1998 indicated it to be medieval, synchronous with the Shroud's first recorded appearance in the 1350s, there is still no satisfactory explanation for the image itself.

Wilson's landmark, bestselling book on this subject, The Shroud of Turin, was published in 1978. In the intervening years, much additional research has been done on the Shroud, and the dating process itself has been scrutinized, Wilson's enthralling text, with its objective but persuasive answers, tells us as much is currently possible to know. It also make it possible for us to believe.

Ian Wilson was born in London in 1941 and educated at Emanuel School, Wandsworth, and Magdalene College, Oxford, where he graduated in History in 1963. His previous books include The Turin Shroud, which became a worldwide bestseller when published in 1978 and Jesus: The Evidence (1984), a companion to the major three-part TV series of the same name and another bestseller. The Bloodand the Shroud was published in 1998. His biography of Shakespeare, Shakespeare: The Evidence was published in 1993 and The Bible is History in 1999. All --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.