This month, we’re exploring The Poisoner's Handbook—an enthralling true-crime narrative that delves into the groundbreaking origins of forensic science in 1920s New York.
The Summary:
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum tells the story of how forensic science developed in the 1920s and 1930s in New York City. It focuses on Charles Norris, the city’s first chief medical examiner, and Alexander Gettler, a toxicologist, who worked together to make major advancements in criminal investigations. During this time, criminals often used poisons like arsenic and cyanide to commit murders, and there weren’t many ways to detect these toxins in the body.
Norris and Gettler changed that by developing new methods to test for poisons. Their work helped make forensic toxicology a reliable science for solving crimes. The book also explores the impact of Prohibition, when the illegal alcohol trade led to many people being poisoned by contaminated alcohol.
Blum uses real-life cases to show how Norris and Gettler’s work helped solve crimes and changed how forensic science is used in law enforcement. It’s a mix of history, science, and true crime, showing how modern forensic medicine began.
Suggestions for Classroom Use:
This Poisoner’s Handbook is perfect for October and Halloween time when there is are general thoughts of witchcraft, poisonings, death and ghosts! It is a great choice for classes in biology, health science, medical forensics, or chemistry because it connects real crime cases with the development of scientific methods and application to real life! Here's how it works for each subject:
General Biology: The book explains how different poisons affect the human body by disrupting processes like cell function and respiration. This helps students understand biology by showing how these processes can be harmed, using real examples that make the science more interesting.
Health Sciences: For students studying health and medicine, the book highlights how toxic substances, like those found during Prohibition, affected public health. It shows how understanding chemicals and their effects on the body is important in health careers.
Medical Forensics: In a forensic science course, this book shows the beginning of forensic toxicology, one of the main fields used to solve crimes. It tells the story of how early scientists like Norris and Gettler developed methods to detect poisons, giving students an appreciation of toxicology’s role in solving crimes today.
Chemistry: For chemistry students, the book gives a historical look at how chemical tests were developed to detect poisons in the body. It also explains the properties of different toxins and how early scientists invented new ways to identify them, when reliable tests didn’t exist.
There is a detailed index which would allow you to focus on specific chemicals such as wood alcohol, carbon monoxide, cyanide, etc. without having students read the entire book.