Members of TEXCONS may recall the information I circulated last year on my
book concerning the horrendous treatment of the world's most famous textile:


*The Rape of the Turin Shroud - how Christianity's most precious relic was
wrongly condemned, and violated.*

by William Meacham; paperback, 286 pages; Lulu Press; ISBN 1-4116-5769-1.


About 100 pages of this book are devoted to the "restoration" travesty.
Valuable data for scientific study was destroyed, opportunities for research
squandered, materials taken from the cloth without stringent controls, and
repairs dating from 1534 that constituted part of the Shroud's visual heritage
were removed. This operation (officially but incorrectly termed a
'restoration') was conducted in secret, without peer review, by a small circle
of advisers to the archbishop of Turin; the principal 'restorer' was Mechthild
Flury-Lemberg of Switzerland. The work has been roundly condemned by most
Shroud researchers as a conservation and scientific disaster.

The book also focuses on the carbon-dating of 1988, and another 100 pages are
devoted to the personalities, the struggles over protocol, how events
unfolded, and the scientific issues regarding the carbon dating of textiles in
general and the Turin Shroud in particular.

Details and comments about the book can be found at

http://freepages.religions.rootsweb.com/~wmeacham/newbook.htm

The Table of Contents, author bio and five-page Preface can be read online at
<www.lulu.com/content/144747> by clicking "Preview this book."

Due to new retail arrangements the book is no longer available from the
publisher at the discounted price of $16, but for any TEXCONS member who would
like to order a copy I can still provide it at that price, plus shipping.
Email me directly for details.

=====================================================================
William Meacham
Honorary Research Fellow
Centre of Asian Studies
University of Hong Kong