Hey, hey, Marty - now you know you put words in my mouth there.
Just trying to help you clarify what you were saying.
I simply believe there is a fascinating/captivating story to be told based upon and following from Ric's brilliant work and I'm saying the story of people like you and other TIGHAR members working ingeniously and tirelessly to unravel the mystery and the story of the Niku effort/discoveries would indeed make a riveting book for the general non-technical reader.
" ... and then Fr. Moleski sat down for another four-hour session at the keyboard. With each keystroke, the conviction grew stronger until he was crying aloud, 'The gidgies! The gidgies! Who can decode the meaning of the gidgies?'
(Speaking of which, I would enjoy reading the diaries of your investigation into the mystery of the bones in Fiji.)
I've read and re-read them many times. The findings are in
"Bones II" and
"WPHC Archives" (just expanded last week--see the big table at the bottom of the page).
A "compelling narrative" they're not. It's a shaggy dog story. Roger and I eliminated some places from consideration but (so far as we can tell) didn't crack the case. Now, if you're the kind of person who likes decoding filing systems, then
"WPHC Archives" was written with you in mind.
And, the more I've thought about it, I believe you would be the one to write it.
I'm a believer, but I don't believe everything I hear.
I believe Ric is the master storyteller for TIGHAR; I'm not worthy to replace the cartridge in his printer.
Just imagine the service you would be doing for the whole effort if you wrote a technically/scientifically accurate work that presented the TIGHAR Niku hypothesis in a compelling "story telling" fashion. Wouldn't such a book be not unlike a two hour television special that, again, "told the story"? And, I wouldn't say one wouldn't have to stretch to tell the story of the odyssey of the evolution and pursuit of the Niku hypothesis as a "dramatic narrative". It simply already is a dramatic narrative.
There may actually be several books in TIGHAR's system from those who have paid their dues and shed their blood on Niku--especially if the court of public opinion becomes persuaded that TIGHAR has found Amelia's last resting place.
Who knows, maybe in a year or two I'll be in an airport or at a bus stop and see multiple copies of your book proudly displayed as the most popular book in the nation. Just think of the additional new TIGHAR members and additional funding that would come from such a "popular" book.
Strange things do happen: "The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong--but that's the way to bet." I'm betting on Ric and the other full-blooded TIGHARs myself. I see myself as sitting in the grandstands, watching them play the game.