Book Review: The Poisoner’s Handbook
When I first saw The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
Blum organizes the book’s chapters by years and by poisons, i.e., chapter one takes place in 1915 and focuses on chloroform. As the book progresses, moving through the first 30 years of the 1900s, chapters cover cyanide, arsenic, radium, thallium and as these years also cover the era of Prohibition, a number of chapters focus on the various forms of alcohol, such as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol and ethyl alcohol.
The book also follows the development of the Medical Examiner’s office in New York, from an office granted by the mayor to his cronies as reward for political support, which resulted in an astonishing amount of completely unqualified people holding the position, to the hiring of Charles Norris as Chief Medical Examiner, who was not only highly qualified, but who developed the position and in many ways the profession in the US. Norris was a passionate man, someone who fought hard for years to professionalize the Medical Examiner’s office and to build forensic science into something that could be used in the courts to assist in determining guilt or innocence of people accused of murder by poison. Norris also hired Alexander Getler, a toxicologist who spent years developing tests of increasing sensitivity for various portions. Together, these two men pioneered forensics and their story is fascinating.
Before Norris and Getler got involved, one of the easiest ways of killing someone and getting away with it was poison and the early parts of the book covers an impressive amount inventive ways of killing people throughout history. For instance, arsenic, so favored by the Borgias, was known as ‘inheritance powder’ due to its helpful quality of knocking off relatives who wouldn’t die quickly enough. I learned other things, as well. That the Y-incision used in autopsies was adopted instead of a straight incision due to pressure from undertakers who needed to be able to hide the incision under a body’s clothes should there be an open casket funeral. That Pepto-Bismol became Pepto-Bismol in 1919. The story of Typhoid Mary, the details of which I’ve never known and that’s just for starters.
The stories of two poisons in particular stood out the most.
Yup, that sounds pretty fascinating. I'm adding it to my list for my next library visit.
Sounds amazing! Must check it out…
Typhoid Mary's story there was–wow, what a mixture of culture, pride, arrogance on both sides, and the harm it did.
If you ever get the chance, see the play “These Shining Lives” by Melanie Marnich. It tells the story of the radium girls. The things you learn when your kids go off to college! (My son was the stage manager for his school's production.)
The joy of working in a library! We have that book, I'm going to go get it right now so I can start reading it on my upcoming boring reference desk shift! (It's Friday, no one needs research help on a Friday afternoon in the summer.)