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

Why we're reading this: This is the Book of the Month for
October 2011
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October 2011

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Book Club 2011

September, 2011: The Blind Watchmaker
By David · 47 posts · 151 views

last updated Jun 21, 2018 05:08AM

April 2011 - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
By David · 32 posts · 163 views

last updated Feb 20, 2017 11:56PM

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What Members Thought

Aug 13, 2011 Julie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history-nonfiction, read-in-2011, true-crime, science

It took me a long time to read this book because I read one chapter at a time while reading fiction books too, but I loved it! It was very interesting. I recommend it to anyone interested in the history of forensics or Prohibition, or in true crime, or in science....(or all of these, like me). It is easy and fun to read....not dry at all.

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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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Apr 13, 2011 Eric Bingham rated it really liked it

This book was really enjoyable, and I think it was written in a way that it can be interesting to most people regardless of their background. It basically follows the life of two men as their work in the coroner's office leads them to find ways to test dead bodies for various poisons. A lot of the book occurs in the 1920's so prohibition is a big theme (especially with all the people being poisoned during that time by illegal alcohol.) It had a few dry spots, but for the most part, it was intere ...more

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Dec 29, 2013 Daphne rated it liked it

Listened to the audio version of this one. The narrator kept my attention and focus, and the author did a decent job describing what she set out to describe.

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