Beethoven's Hair

Most nonfiction books can be summarized in a page or a paragraph--and some even a sentence or two. I had, however, never read a book that could be summarized in one word until I read "Beethoven's Hair".

Once you know the premise of the book, that a man bought a lock of Beethoven's hair at an auction and had it chemically analyzed to see what the great composer had in his body (and therefore what might have killed him) at his death; you can encapsulate the book in one word.

That word would be "lead".

So, Matt, stick to "Small is Beautiful" and "To Kill a Mockingbird"--I don't want "Beethoven's Hair" to have lead you astray.