Lenin's Embalmers by Ilya Zbarsky and Samuel Hutchinson is one of the oddest mummy books ever published--and that makes it all the more fascinating. Part biography of Boris Zbarsky (one of the embalmers of Lenin's mummy), part autobiography of his son Ilya Zbarsky, and part political history of 20th Century  Soviet Union, the book is completely engaging. In spare prose, it tells the story of the laboratory created to preserve Vladimir Lenin's putrefying corpse and the work it has accomplished, often at great odds. Surprisingly, most of the scientists who worked there survived various purges over the years, perhaps because authorities were fearful that Lenin's corpse would rot.

The strength of the book is in the details--the condition of the corpse, the various methods (some unsuccessful) and chemicals used for preservation, the personal and political intrigue behind the scenes, and the facts about other communist mummies...including Stalin, Georgi Dimitrov (head of the Bulgarian Communist Party), Klement Gottwald (head of the Czech Communist Party), and Ho Chi Minh. Because the laboratory has fallen out of favor since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it must seek other bodies to mummify, and the book fills in some details of recent efforts to embalm the nouveau riche of Russia. 

The book is illustrated with photos, many of the mummies themselves. The photos are relatively small and not always the best quality; however, if you want to see what Stalin or Lenin's mummy looks like, the book does provide close-up views.  Highly recommended.