From the Bookshelf of Science and Inquiry…

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

Deborah Blum

Start date: October 1, 2011

Finish date: October 31, 2011

Discussion: Book Club 2011

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October 2011
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Book Club 2011

September, 2011: The Blind Watchmaker
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last updated Jun 21, 2018 05:08AM

April 2011 - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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What Members Thought

Jan 24, 2018 JZ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2018, aubk, non-fiction, history, ebook, science, true-crime, medical

Everything I'd hoped, and more. Entertaining, historic, folkloric, and hysteric. I heard an interview with Terry Gross on NPR years ago, and have finally moved it to my 'Read' list. So glad I finally got to it. I'm now about to read 'Radium Girls,' which I'm even more excited since reading this very excellent introduction to the age of Radium health. I used to have one of those clocks. ...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Eileen Conner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history-american, non-fiction, medical, science

A wonderful read about the 1910s through the 1930's in the New York City Medical examiners office, and the development of techniques to find poisons in tissues of the dead. From arsenic, through cyanide, carbon monoxide, chloroform, methanol,ethanol, mercury, cyanide, radium and thallium the techniques used to confirm the presence or absence of these toxins were developed to assist in the investigation of suspicious deaths. Each of these poisons is related through stories of deaths investigated ...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Sandra rated it liked it

Shelves: history-biography, science

This book comprises a tribute to Charles Norris, the first chief medical examiner of NYC and his toxicologist Alexander Gettler, who are credited with establishing the discipline of forensic science. It focuses on the toxic substances that have figured prominently in the history of murder-by-poisoning as well as death by unwitting exposure to environmental hazards: chloroform, wood alcohol, cyanides, arsenic, mercury, carbon monoxide, radium, ethanol and thallium. It provides an entertaining gli This book comprises a tribute to Charles Norris, the first chief medical examiner of NYC and his toxicologist Alexander Gettler, who are credited with establishing the discipline of forensic science. It focuses on the toxic substances that have figured prominently in the history of murder-by-poisoning as well as death by unwitting exposure to environmental hazards: chloroform, wood alcohol, cyanides, arsenic, mercury, carbon monoxide, radium, ethanol and thallium. It provides an entertaining glimpse of the Prohibition era and its excesses as well as the evolution of the chemical methodology pertinent to the study of human remains. Famous murder trials of the era are used to demonstrate the growing role of forensics in criminal investigation.

Despite the fact that the topic has enough ghoulishness, gore , mystery and human drama to keep us all glued to our seats reading for hours, I couldn't help but wish that this book had been written by Mary Roach instead of Deborah Blum. It is well researched, it is honest, but somehow it fails to cash in on the potential to astound. I can appreciate the difficulties in organizing this material, the inevitable redundancies in telling a story that is both chronological and categorical, but something is truly lacking. Perhaps she tries too hard to avoid discussing legal issues and non-chemical aspects of investigative technique? Forensics is not just about establishing how the victim died, but how the accused is implicated in the death.

This book really could have benefitted from some photographs and other graphic material. A chart comparing the various toxins would have been nice. Norris and Gettler were something of public figures in their time, as were the murderers. It's hard to imagine there weren't newpaper photos or other archived materials that could have been tapped for illustrative purposes. I want to see what these people looked like. It's not enough for the author to describe the murderer's beauty, or describe a photograph of Norris and Gettler found on someone's desk???? Hello!!! ...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Charise rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Awesome book! I was thrilled by the weaving of history and science. I wish I could have met Gettler and Norris. I found myself cheering for their accomplishments and being annoyed at those who caused them frustrations.

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