The Poisoner's Handbook
By Deborah Blum
Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Penguin Books, 2010.
Summary of The Poisoner's Handbook book by Deborah Blum
Thrilling tales of early 20th century murders and the daring scientists who battled corruption, exposed deadly poisons, and fought tirelessly to secure justice for countless victims.
Chapters in The Poisoner's Handbook book summary
What do you get from this book? Meet the trailblazers of forensic medicine amid Prohibition-era corruption, murder, and intrigue
Through much of history, it was easy to kill with poison, and much harder to prove it in a courtroom
Political corruption was rampant in New York when serial killer Frederic Mors claimed the lives of eight victims
When Mors got away with murder, it prompted major reformations in New York’s medical examiner system
The new mayor flouted New York’s laws, but the governor intervened, and Charles Norris became Chief Medical Examiner
Cyanide poisoning became the new rage, especially when a high-profile trial proved killers could get away with it
Although arsenic was easy to identify, it was difficult to convict anyone based on it
Poisons plagued New York, and despite Norris's progress, corrupt officials continued to exert influence
The mid-twenties saw the rise of carbon monoxide and its resulting deaths—many of which were unintentional
When the US government added methyl alcohol to industrial alcohol, hundreds of New Yorkers ended up dead
Radium may have helped soldiers during the war, but it killed the factory girls who worked with it
As ethyl alcohol deaths and budget cuts increased, Norris finally felt he had to do something drastic
The 1930s saw both the repeal of Prohibition and New York’s first forensics lab
Gettler was not perfect, but he and Norris created a forensics system that transformed criminal investigation forever
Summary of the key insights
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The Poisoner's Handbook — Book Summary Snapshot
Who should read The Poisoner's Handbook book
- True crime enthusiasts
- criminologists
- those fascinated by forensic medicine
- mystery and thriller readers
- anyone interested in the American criminal justice system
About the author of The Poisoner's Handbook
Deborah Blum
Deborah Blum is an award-winning science writer and journalism professor. She first taught at the University of Wisconsin before leading the Knight Science Journalism department at MIT. Blum received the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting for her work on primate research, and has written extensively for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Psychology Today.
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