Select A Store
Select Store
My Store:
Select A Store
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
by Blum, Deborah
Availability:
$9.49
Used
-
Trade Paperback
-
9780143118824
Overview
Overview
Equal parts true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller, The Poisoner's Handbook is "a vicious, page-turning story that reads more like Raymond Chandler than Madame Curie"--The New York Observer 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 and the gatekeepers of justice. In 2014, PBS's AMERICAN EXPERIENCE released a film based on The Poisoner's Handbook.
- Format: TradePaperback
- Author: Blum, Deborah
- ISBN: 9780143118824
- Condition: Used
- Dimensions: 8.48 x 0.73
- Number Of Pages: 336
- Publication Year: 2011
Customer Reviews
Rating Snapshot
5 ★
100%
4 ★
0%
3 ★
0%
2 ★
0%
1 ★
0%
1 Ratings
0
0% Would Recommend
0 Recommendations
Review Images
Sort by:
-
Entertaining book that gives good forensic chemistry context to the prohibition era and public health
Sarah G. - 6 years 5 months agoOk, This is a book for nerds. If you like a mixture of chemistry, history, forensics, and social science, this could be the book for you. I have reread this book about 4 times and always find it fascinating how Blum puts the historical context around each chemical she's talking about. It also solves a bunch of little mysteries for me. For example, why does the gas at the pump say "unleaded". Now I know. Why is methanol (wood alcohol) more poisonous than ethanol (grain alcohol)? Now I know. If you already have a good chemistry or history background, this book might be easier to comprehend than otherwise. Even so, with some perseverance, you'll find enough to fascinate you.