The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science and Forensics

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The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science and Forensics

3.25 of 5 stars 3.25 · rating details · 24 ratings · 8 reviews

One of the most popular and widely known characters in all of fiction, Sherlock Holmes has an enduring appeal based largely on his uncanny ability to make the most remarkable deductions from the most mundane facts. The very first words that Sherlock Holmes ever says to Dr. Watson are, "How are you? You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive." Watson responds, "How on earth d...more

Hardcover, 208 pages

Published January 3rd 2013 by Oxford University Press, USA

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Oct 01, 2012 Tracey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: holmes, netgalley, mystery, non-fiction, companion-book

When I think of Holmes, I think of a scientific method of deduction. I think of a human version of a CSI lab before there were CSI labs, able to observe and interpret the smallest grains or threads of evidence and effortlessly build a case against the evil evildoer. I admit, I haven't read the canon lately, so I have to take the author's word for it when numbers are cited – the frequency of occasions when Holmes used a magnifying glass or a microscope, or dabbled in chemistry. Which I have no pr...more When I think of Holmes, I think of a scientific method of deduction. I think of a human version of a CSI lab before there were CSI labs, able to observe and interpret the smallest grains or threads of evidence and effortlessly build a case against the evil evildoer. I admit, I haven't read the canon lately, so I have to take the author's word for it when numbers are cited – the frequency of occasions when Holmes used a magnifying glass or a microscope, or dabbled in chemistry. Which I have no problem doing – it's obvious that Mr. O'Brien was thorough in his tallies. He's thorough in every aspect of the book. Which, in a way, is why it did not rate more than three stars.

Let me 'splain.

This book reminded me a little of one of the Shakespeare biographies I've encountered lately, which tries to bake a cake with about a half a cup of batter. They present the little information that exists from a different angle, and basically fill in the rest with art and artifice – like using a styrofoam layer for that cake. With The Scientific Sherlock Holmes, the angle is a good one: see, here is how science is involved in Sherlock Holmes's investigations. The practice, though, brings in the styrofoam. There are fifty-six short stories and four novels ("long stories") in the canon, and when all is said and done there isn't much more batter to work with here than for a Shakespeare bio.

The book is broken into sections relating to the different sciences, and each one augments the information derived from the Holmes canon with anecdotes from reality, and discussion of where Doyle obtained his information. The section on fingerprinting, for example, is a nice little history of the science, including its earliest appearance in fiction in Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson. The section on astronomy – dealing more with Moriarty than with Holmes – brings in an acquaintance of Doyle's who was the likely source for the references. The section on handwriting analysis goes into some detail about the Lindbergh kidnapping, among others, and that on footprints (which was a little disappointing; I didn't realize footprint evidence had been so thoroughly discredited) went, surprisingly, into the OJ Simpson trial.

Another way in which the little available material was puffed up to fill the 208 pages was simple repetition. Some of the same points were made (in nearly the same phrasing) two or more times. In a longer work reiteration can be helpful, but this was fairly brief (and illustrations, an appendix, bibliography, and index took up a fair amount of space). (The appendix is concerned with the totally off-topic but wildly weird and interesting "Doyle conspiracies" – I had no idea that he was blamed for everything from an archaeological hoax to, God bless us, the Jack the Ripper killings. There's a certain irony to the latter given that the most recent Holmes I've read was Dust and Shadow.)

The exploration of science in the Holmes stories was fun and interesting, but where it would have made for an excellent longish article, it simply was not enough to fill a book.

This was a Netgalley advance copy, read with thanks.
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May 13, 2013 Jean rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am interested in anything Sherlock Holmes so I was eager to read this book, but I was very disappointed. In the first half, the author is just compiling information on Holmes and other characters in his books, based on quotes from the books and on extensive notes. The books are shown as four-letter acronyms, like Scandal in Bohemia is SCAN, and works cited are included at the end of sentences, both of which are very distracting. The author has no style; he just writes simple declarative senten...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Brian Clegg rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’m a fan of Sherlock Holmes in every form from the original stories to the modern day TV version Sherlock, so it was with some enthusiasm that I came to The Scientific Sherlock Holmes. What I hoped for was something along the lines of one of the better ‘the science of’ type books – but in reality this is something quite different.

As the understated cover suggests, this feels like more of an academic book that a popular title. This comes through in a number of ways. James O’Brien is too interest...more I’m a fan of Sherlock Holmes in every form from the original stories to the modern day TV version Sherlock, so it was with some enthusiasm that I came to The Scientific Sherlock Holmes. What I hoped for was something along the lines of one of the better ‘the science of’ type books – but in reality this is something quite different.

As the understated cover suggests, this feels like more of an academic book that a popular title. This comes through in a number of ways. James O’Brien is too interested in cataloguing every instance of something, rather than giving an interesting narrative. He also uses an infuriating approach, apparently common in academic writing about the Holmes stories, of using a four letter code to represent each story. So after a first reference to, say, The Hound of the Baskervilles, it is thereafter designated as HOUN. Similarly, A Study in Scarlet is STUD and so on. Unless you are a devotee, this makes the text rather impenetrable. Another academic tendency that does the author no favours is to keep referring to the way someone has theorised something about the particular topic, then giving a reference – not a great way of putting an argument across.

There is some interesting material in here as to how Doyle got his ideas, and examining in detail the different aspects of Holmes’ use of scientific and forensic methods – sometimes quite groundbreaking – and the degree of his scientific knowledge. In this, O’Brien is generally quite defensive of Holmes, giving him the benefit of the doubt when others like Isaac Asimov have suggested he was actually not up to scratch. But overall the package does not give the reader enough to get their teeth into and is presented in such a dry fashion that it is hard to consider it any more than a passing interest.

If you are deep Holmes enthusiast, the kind of person who buys and studies all the surrounding literature, this will be a must-have addition to your collection. Otherwise, probably not for you.

Review first published on www.popularscience.co.uk and reproduced with permission(less)

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Dec 22, 2012 Amy Rogers rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science and Forensics by university professor James O’Brien is a systematic discussion of the science and mathematics used by that most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. O’Brien addresses both the real-life knowledge and ideas of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes’ creator, and the expertise of the character as shown by his actions or by the comments of Dr. Watson. The expertise and academic interests of both author and character change over ti...more The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science and Forensics by university professor James O’Brien is a systematic discussion of the science and mathematics used by that most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. O’Brien addresses both the real-life knowledge and ideas of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes’ creator, and the expertise of the character as shown by his actions or by the comments of Dr. Watson. The expertise and academic interests of both author and character change over time.

The Scientific Sherlock Holmes is more of a book about Sherlock Holmes than it is a book about science. Written in a readable but formal academic style, this book will appeal primarily to the hard-core Sherlock Holmes fan, a person who knows the story canon inside and out. Nevertheless, as a person who has read only a couple of Holmes tales in my life, I found the discussions of Holmes’ exploits fascinating and am now motivated to read more of them.

O’Brien divides the book first into sections focusing on main characters (Holmes, Watson, the archenemy Moriarty, Holmes’ brother, Watson’s wife, etc.). Then he gets to the heart of what this reader was looking for: the science of Sherlock Holmes. These chapters are organized by academic field, with sections devoted to forensics (fingerprints, footprints, handwriting analysis), chemistry (phosphorus and the Hound of the Baskervilles, amalgams and acids), use of microscopes and magnifying lenses, mathematics (Euclidean geometry, probability, mental math calculations), astronomy, and more. The author includes anecdotes from the Holmes stories and puts the science in the context of real-world cases in which such techniques were used. O’Brien also makes reference to essays written by Isaac Asimov criticizing Doyle’s/Holmes’ errors in chemistry; by and large, O’Brien is a big Holmes fan and apologist, looking for ways to explain how Holmes was right even when he appears to be wrong. (Reminded me of Star Trek fans who try to explain science fiction phenomena as fact.)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a medical school graduate and ahead of his time in some of these scientific techniques and ideas. For one thing, he makes Holmes a drug addict (cocaine and opium) and shows disapproval for this at a time when some believed these drugs to be beneficial. As Doyle aged he became less a student of science and more obsessed with spiritualism. This alteration in the author’s world-view is reflected in the stories, as later Holmes stories contain less science.

Summary: An enjoyable work of literary analysis focused on the science and math of Sherlock Holmes. Primary audience is Sherlock Holmes fans with an interest in science, but anyone acquainted with the Holmes series and an interest in forensics may find this an intriguing book to page through.
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Dec 05, 2012 Stephen Ormsby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I loved this book. It had everything that a nerd/geek like me would want to know about Sherlock Holmes. It goes into a lot of detail about his techniques, describing each against real cases were the logic has either supported or failed the case and which investigatory techniques have since been debunked. Amazing. You will not lack for information here, even though it is relatively short.

But the part of this book, I enjoyed even more was the character building elements Conan Doyle used to make th...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Birgit rated it 3 of 5 stars

With The Scientific Sherlock Holmes James O'Brien brought out a book for those who've been as spellbound by the fictional detective as I've ever been.
On first glance the book seems to focus on Sherlock's scientific tools of deduction, yet it also offers a substantial introduction to characters, influences, and stories themselves. On one hand I found this to be a good idea as it offers a more rounded picture, on the other hand the title is a bit misleading with its promise of a scientific emphasi...more

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May 09, 2013 Athena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science, essays

For all Sherlockians out there this is a great account of the scientific Sherlock Holmes

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May 15, 2013 Gail rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

an interesting look at Conan Doyle's use of science in the Sherlock Holme's stories and occasionally where he got it wrong.

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Apr 09, 2013 Candy24 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not very interesting. Little science.

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