The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

by Blum, Deborah

• ISBN13: 9780143118824
• ISBN10: 014311882X
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781101524893
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-01-25
• Publisher: Penguin Group USA
• More Book Details

Summary

A beguiling concoction-equal parts true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller.

A fascinating Jazz Age tale of chemistry and detection, poison and murder, The Poisoner's Handbook is a page-turning account of a forgotten era. In early twentieth-century New York, poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Science had no place in the Tammany Hall-controlled coroner's office, and corruption ran rampant. However, with the appointment of chief medical examiner Charles Norris in 1918, the poison game changed forever. Together with toxicologist Alexander Gettler, the duo set the justice system on fire with their trailblazing scientific detective work, triumphing over seemingly unbeatable odds to become the pioneers of forensic chemistry.

Pulitzer Prize winner Deborah Blum s fascinating study of the birth of forensic medicine is a finalist for the Audie Award in nonfiction, and narrator Coleen Marlo is one excellent reason. Marlo s voice is pleasant; her delivery, cool and compelling.

Blum introduces Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler, the dedicated men who developed techniques for tracing poisons in human tissue. She chronicles specific poisons and specific cases from nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century poisonings, including chloroform, arsenic, and cyanide experiments; hard-to-listen-to graphic descriptions of grisly animal testing; and accounts of serial poisoners. She constructs a convincing indictment against societal ignorance, corporate corruption, and political cronyism. Blum s spirited prose and well-researched science and Marlo s intelligent performance make this nonfiction production seem like a series of powerful short stories.

Author Biography

Deborah Blum is director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, and editor of Undark magazine, (undark.org). In 1992, she won the Pulitzer Prize for a series on primate research, which she turned into a book, The Monkey Wars. Her other books include The Poisoner's Handbook, Ghost Hunters, Love at Goon Park, and Sex on the Brain. She has written for publications including The New York Times, Wired, Time, Discover, Mother Jones, The Guardian and The Boston Globe. Blum is a past president of the National Association of Science Writers, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a lifetime associate of the National Academy of Sciences.

Table of Contents

Prologue: The Poison Game	p. 1
Chloroform (CHCl3)	p. 5
Wood Alcohol (CH3OH)	p. 26
Cyanides (HCN, KCN, NaCN)	p. 50
Arsenic (As)	p. 75
Mercury (Hg)	p. 103
Carbon Monoxide (CO), Part I	p. 128
Methyl Alcohol (CH3OH)	p. 152
Radium (Ra)	p. 176
Ethyl Alcohol (C2H5OH)	p. 196
Carbon Monoxide (CO), Part II	p. 224
Thallium (TI)	p. 245
Epilogue: The Surest Poison	p. 275
Author's Note	p. 279
Gratitudes	p. 281
A Guide to the Handbook	p. 285
Notes	p. 289
Index	p. 307
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.