AIA-Nashville Society Book Club
Join us for a free Parthenon Book Club meeting on Monday, May 4, at 6 PM. This event is free and open to the public, with RSVP required. All are welcome. RSVP required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parthenon-book-club-dinner-with-king-tut-tickets-1975611659656?aff=oddtdtcreator

*Due to HVAC renovation at the Parthenon, this event will take place at the Parks Permit Office at 2565 Park Plaza, Nashville, TN 37203.

THIS QUARTER’S BOOK SELECTION: We will be discussing Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean. Reserve your seat with a free RSVP. Looking to purchase the book? Head over to Parnassus Books and mention the Archaeological Institute of America-Nashville Society book club at the Parthenon for a 10% discount.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean
Description from Nashville Public Library:
From “one of America’s smartest and most charming writers” (NPR), an archaeological romp through the entire history of humankind–and through all five senses–from tropical Polynesian islands to forbidding arctic ice floes, and everywhere in between.

Whether it’s the mighty pyramids of Egypt or the majestic temples of Mexico, we have a good idea of what the past looked like. But what about our other senses: The tang of Roman fish sauce and the springy crust of Egyptian sourdough? The boom of medieval cannons and the clash of Viking swords? The frenzied plays of an Aztec ballgame…and the chilling reality that the losers might also lose their lives?

History often neglects the tastes, textures, sounds, and smells that were an intimate part of our ancestors’ lives, but a new generation of researchers is resurrecting those hidden details, pioneering an exciting new discipline called experimental archaeology. These are scientists gone rogue: They make human mummies. They investigate the unsolved murders of ancient bog bodies. They carve primitive spears and go hunting, then knap their own obsidian blades to skin the game. They build perilous boats and plunge out onto the open sea–all in the name of experiencing history as it was, with all its dangers, disappointments, and unexpected delights.

Beloved author Sam Kean joins these experimental archaeologists on their adventures across the globe, from the Andes to the South Seas. He fires medieval catapults, tries his hand at ancient surgery and tattooing, builds Roman-style roads–and, in novelistic interludes, spins gripping tales about the lives of our ancestors with vivid imagination and his signature meticulous research. Lively, offbeat, and filled with stunning revelations about our past, Dinner with King Tut sheds light on days long gone and the intrepid experts resurrecting them today, with startling, lifelike detail and more than a few laughs along the way.

2026 BOOK CLUB DATES: RSVP!
Monday, August 3, 2026 – Helen of Troy, 1993 by Maria Zoccola
Monday, November 2, 2026 – The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick