Imagine what it might be like to sit in the cockpit of the Wright brothers' airplane, to see light flashing brilliantly through the Hope Diamond, or to turn the pages of Anne Frank's heartbreaking diary. History has bequeathed to us a multitude of marvelous artifacts, and locked inside each one is a piece of the endless story of our civilization.

Raconteur Harvey Rachlin uses these intriguing objects to bring history alive. He spins compelling tales, telling us not only about the roles these objects played but also about the people who possessed them or were affected by them, and how the artifacts were handed down through the ages. He begins in antiquity, with the story of the Black Stone of the Ka'bah, the symbolic core of Islam, and moves through time, to the rifle that was used to shoot President Kennedy.

He reveals startling new details about familiar artifacts such as the bones of the hominid Lucy and George Washington's false teeth. He introduces us to obscure curiosities, like the Blood of Saint Januarius, which mysteriously liquefies on certain days of the year. And Rachlin explains how the everyday articles that Teddy Roosevelt carried in his pocket miraculously saved his life.

Learn where each object currently resides, including how London Bridge found its way to Arizona, or what ultimately happened to the bones of John Merrick, the "Elephant Man."