The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
Author:
Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science & Math, Medicine, Medical Books
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science & Math, Medicine, Medical Books
Book Type: Hardcover
Yvonne H. (centralcaligrrrl) reviewed on + 12 more book reviews
As a fan of historical nonfiction crime thrillers, I couldnt wait to read Pulitzer Prize winner Deborah Blums new book, The Poisoners Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Broken down into chapters named after different poisons, each containing several true mysteries, it has many captivating accounts from a very intriguing time and place in our countrys history.
Packed with Progressive Era facts and findings, The Poisoner's Handbook was almost as much about Prohibition, the Great Depression and political wrangling as it was about forensic medicine. The book did, in fact, explore Alexander Gettler and his ground-breaking toxicology experiments more than Charles Norris administrative skills, which is contrary to what the blurb led me to believe. Thats not necessarily a bad thing, as Mr. Gettlers work was definitely more fascinating and hands-on. As someone who knows next to nothing about chemistry, I found this book to be incredibly comprehensive and well researched, with extensive endnotes.
What I didnt care for was how the narrative bounced back and forth, from case to case and poison to poison. It made it difficult to keep all the information straight. For example: Ms. Blum would be writing about a methyl alcohol poisoning case one minute, then shed switch to a chloroform case for several pages (or more), then switch back to the previous methyl alcohol poisoning. This happens several times and although she usually does a good job of tying the cases together to make her point, it gets tedious trying to remember all the details within the book. Also, as this was a work of nonfiction, a few photographs taken by the newspapers at the time or borrowed from the family's estates would have been nice to include.
Overall, I thought The Poisoner's Handbook was very interesting and it kept me entertained. I would recommend it to others who like this type of genre/subject. 4 stars
Packed with Progressive Era facts and findings, The Poisoner's Handbook was almost as much about Prohibition, the Great Depression and political wrangling as it was about forensic medicine. The book did, in fact, explore Alexander Gettler and his ground-breaking toxicology experiments more than Charles Norris administrative skills, which is contrary to what the blurb led me to believe. Thats not necessarily a bad thing, as Mr. Gettlers work was definitely more fascinating and hands-on. As someone who knows next to nothing about chemistry, I found this book to be incredibly comprehensive and well researched, with extensive endnotes.
What I didnt care for was how the narrative bounced back and forth, from case to case and poison to poison. It made it difficult to keep all the information straight. For example: Ms. Blum would be writing about a methyl alcohol poisoning case one minute, then shed switch to a chloroform case for several pages (or more), then switch back to the previous methyl alcohol poisoning. This happens several times and although she usually does a good job of tying the cases together to make her point, it gets tedious trying to remember all the details within the book. Also, as this was a work of nonfiction, a few photographs taken by the newspapers at the time or borrowed from the family's estates would have been nice to include.
Overall, I thought The Poisoner's Handbook was very interesting and it kept me entertained. I would recommend it to others who like this type of genre/subject. 4 stars
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