The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York Reviews

• 
  carol.

  Please note: this book is not actually helpful if you were looking for tips on how to poison someone (unless you are the U.S. government, in which case there are notes scattered throughout on how to poison industrial alcohols).
  
  I wanted to like this book. I wanted to rate it higher. I'm not quite sure what I expected, but I don't think it was this mix of science journalism, novel and research notes. I'm a biology nerd who enjoys science writing and have two years of chemistry under my belt--including organic, which was the most effort I've put into a college class ever--so this should have been like serving truffles to a chocoholic (who, me?). Unfortunately, awkward organization and writing has me wondering if it was laced with wood alcohol.
  
  Divided into chapters on early 1900 poisons, it roughly covers the birth of forensic medicine in New York City under one of the more motivated chief examiners, Charles Norris, and a talented chemist named Alexander Gettler. However, a great deal of Prohibition detail is also included, scattered throughout most the chapters. The publisher was misleading with the subtitle; I suppose The Emerging Disciplines of Medical Examiners and Toxicology in Context of Courtrooms and Politics During Prohibition in New York would not have been nearly so sexy a description as "a fascinating Jazz Age tale of chemistry and detection, poison and murder." Alas, there is no jazz to speak of. There is, however, a paragraph mentioning the development of cocktails in the Prohibition speakeasies as a way of disguising the harsher alcohols--now that would have been an enjoyable chapter.
  
  Chapters include chloroform, wood alcohol (an inadvertent poison resulting from Prohibition), cyanide, arsenic, mercury, carbon monoxide methyl alcohol, radium, and ethyl alcohol. To me, the implication in the jacket of tale, implies a singular subject. There is no real common link between chapters (barring the intermittent appearance of Norris or Gettler), except that they are about 'poisons' and detection. Please note, junior scientists, that some of these cases are intentional poisonings, but some are accidental and more correctly described as toxicities, casualties of the human search for improvement--one story mentions how an "over-zealous nurse 'poisoned' a child by treating his head-lice with the prescribed radium tonic." As the book continues, Blum does little to separate the intentional from the accidental, which is a disservice to the material and the victims. In her afterword, Blum mentions how poisoning always seemed particularly horrific because the murderer was not only planning a death, but presumably aware of the potential for the victim's suffering. So to discuss both murderers, accused murderers, and those who kill (or suicide) by accident or ignorance is misleading and imprecise, rather surprising in a science writer.
  
  One of the few threads pulling the story together is the difficulty of prosecuting poisoners, and the efforts of examiner Norris and chemist Gettler to build and prove their evidence of cause of death. I can only shudder at some of the experiments--nowadays, chemistry is conducted more-or-less safely under specially vented lab areas and usually doesn't involve liquified organs. One experiment was designed to detect post-mortem cyanide, both in poisoned subjects and un-poisoned ones. The chemist tested flesh up to 8 weeks old, noting that there was a fair degree of putrefaction. Ugh.
  
  Her writing style is acceptable, although I occasionally found her attempts to add flourish awkward. Case in point: "Or Belle Guinan's El Fay Club on West 45th, where the hostess gleamed like a candelabrum and the house band played..." Candelabrum? Really? I found myself completely distracted, unable to decide if she meant the hostess was metallic, on fire, or, in a more literal translation of the word, had hair twisting branch-like from her head.
  
  Personally, I found narrative structure awkward, both within each chapter and through the book as a whole. In the arsenic section, for instance, Blum dramatizes the story of a young girl who ate a berry pie from a café and died. The anecdote breathes life into her tale. Then she starts a new paragraph, states "something similar happened the previous October at another café," then mentions "the café is now closed." When, exactly, is "now?" In July, when the girl died? In 2010 when the book was published? Confusing and irrelevant. We never find out why the girl died.
  
  We move on to a brief history of arsenic poisoning, it's decline when it was discovered it could be traced in autopsy, and then, oddly, Blum covers the process of opening a body for autopsy. It's the type of writing weirdness that leads me to wonder what she's trying to do. The arsenic chapter continues in its hopscotch development by describing the pathology lab, then gang violence in the city from Prohibition. While one can argue for creating a mood, it leaves the reader largely unclear as to theme. Prohibition continues to ricochet into chapters, and the story related may or may not be pertinent to the poison discussed. By no means is the logic-challenged narrative confined to the arsenic chapter; the chapter on mercury poisoning contains no actual intentional poisonings and then discusses the case of an industrial toxin, tetraethyl lead, used to prevent engine knock.
  
  Sections are redeeming, however. As a science dork, but generally history-impaired, I find it interesting to have the history of chemical science come alive. Nowadays, we cringe to hear about cyanide and arsenic; in 1920, they were common in the home as pesticides. In fact, arsenic was still in topical medicines. Both arsenic and lead were used in makeup (and still are, dear reader). How did society learn about toxicity, except through accidental deaths, man like Norris and Gettler, and the suffering of thousands of dogs, cats and rabbits?
  
  The book also casts a whole new angle on Prohibition, with the concern that wood alcohol is toxic. Learning that our government deliberately poisoned alcohol with various substances in order to discourage drinking was shocking. Can you imagine that now? What if agents were out there adding arsenic to soda pop, or Agent Orange to tobacco? (do be quiet, dear conspiracy theorists) It kind of echoes current drug epidemics where people go on using despite the possibility of harm or death.
  
  Other interesting mentions: radium poisoning. Can you imagine buying a tonic made from radioactive materials? Or having your doctor suggest you use it? Me either, but it wasn't that long ago when it was done. The FDA, when it was created, was so toothless that it took scores of people dying and FDR to give it power to regulate pharmaceutical claims three decades later.
  
  Ultimately, while sections were interesting and thought provoking, the narrative was far too jumbled to make reading enjoyable. I'm not quite sure what Blum's chief focus was, but this mix of newspaper articles, court reports, New York history and scientific research is blended too well, and contains a few too many ingredients. I can't, in good conscience, say that I'd recommend it, unless someone wanted a few creative ideas for 1900s murder mysteries.
  
  There's clearly a moral to her story here. Too bad it's so torturous to find.
  
  Cross posted at
  http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
• 
  Hannah Greendale

  
  Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
  
  
  
  
  Combine prohibition, bootleggers, and poison. Mix and pour. Drink at your own risk.
  
  The Poisoner's Handbook is a murderous romp through Jazz Age New York and an enthralling look at the birth of forensic medicine, developed in response to the growing number of poisons in illegal alcohol, common household products, and in the hands of calculating murderers using toxic substances to their nefarious advantage.
  
  Highly recommend this thoroughly researched work of non-fiction to chemistry fanatics and science/history buffs.
• 
  Kemper

  I don’t know why publishers feel the need to put huge subtitles on non-fiction books. Take The Poisoner’s Handbook, for example. To me, that’s a great title that would probably intrigue most potential readers. But the full title is The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. While accurate, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it?
  
  Think about The Devil and the White City. Even if you knew nothing about that book, if you saw it while trolling through a bookstore, wouldn’t you at least give it a look based on that title? But then you see that the whole thing is actually The Devil and the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America which makes you feel like you just got eye strain so you drop the book and stagger out of Barnes & Noble to go get a beer.
  
  The trend isn’t getting any better either. There’s a new book out called Hellhound On His Trail. That sounds cool. But wait for it! The whole title is Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin. It’s like you just read the whole Wikipedia entry about James Earl Ray.
  
  Thank goodness that Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood before this trend started. Because the title these days would be In Cold Blood: Murder and Fear On the Kansas Plains & The Two Dipshit Losers Who Killed An Innocent Family .
  
  But back to The Poisoner’s Handbook, as we will refer to it from now on because I am not typing all that shit out again. This is a mix of science, crime, politics and history. It tells the story of how two men, Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler, worked tirelessly to bring scientific methods to the New York City coroner’s office and laid the groundwork for much of modern forensics. So I guess we can blame them for all those goddamn CSI shows.
  
  America used to be just as poison crazy as it is gun crazy, and before there were documented methods to prove the existence of poisons in a body, it was tough to get a conviction. Plus, the old New York coroner’s office was corrupt and incompetent so it was an uphill battle for Norris and Gettler to gain respectability.
  
  There’s detailed, but easy to understand, explanations of the chemical nature of the various toxins they dealt with as well as a sometimes hilarious account of the political in-fighting that happened to even get a qualified coroner appointed. There’s also a ton of stories about how the American public was routinely poisoned by harmful products or misunderstood chemicals.
  
  One of the more interesting parts is about the work done during Prohibition. Norris and Gettler considered Prohibition a lethal joke that was killing people who were drinking almost anything to get a buzz and they did a lot of research into alcohol and intoxication levels to show that people were drinking more when it was illegal. And the fun fact that I didn’t know before reading this was that the U.S. government actually had companies add things to industrial alcohol to make it MORE poisonous in a vain attempt to keep bootleggers from using it. And if a few thousand boozehounds went blind or died from drinking it, then they shouldn’t have been breaking the law anyhow.
  
  Interesting book, but I would have liked a bit more history about Norris and Gettler and a little less of a chemistry lesson.
• 
  Misty Marie Harms

  Set in the Jazz Age, The Poisoner's Handbook goes in-depth about how chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler paved the way for forensic chemistry. This book is filled with all types of ways to poison someone and how it was detected. Blum did an excellent job plunging the reader back in the past and explaining how things were at that time. If you are expecting a boring science book, then skip this one.
  
  
• 
  Julie

  The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum is a 2010 Penguin Press publication.
  
  Interesting history of forensic pioneers!
  
  After some initial push-back, Charles Norris was named the first official Chief Medical Examiner in 1917 by the city of New York. He then brought in Alexander Gettler to create a toxicology lab. Although, forensic science was met with skepticism, Norris and Gettler were beneficial in uncovering deaths attributed to tainted alcohol during prohibition, and deaths caused by carbon monoxide, and radium poisoning. But murderers were also caught out as poisons such as arsenic, cyanide and thallium were discovered post-mortem.
  
  There were so many common uses for some of these poisons and in some cases the dangers were not apparent until it was too late. Science has advanced, thanks to Norris and Gettler, and we are much more aware of the dangers poisons present. The work these gentlemen pioneered has both acquitted and convicted criminals and helped to prevent further illness and death.
  
  The spotlight on prohibition is a bit long winded, as other consequences of the era get a share in the examination. Still, the number of deaths from tainted alcohol was shocking!
  
  The Radium Girls story was already familiar to me, but it is still one of the most powerful segments in the book. Incredibly sad and difficult to read about.
  
  The entire book is interesting and fascinating, but what propelled me to bump this one up on my list was a recent Dateline episode in which a man was poisoning his wife with Thallium and used this book as a guide!! (She survived- miraculously- just by the grace of God!)
  
  Thallium is a poison I was not all that familiar with. During the 1930s it was used in dyes, and women, in particular, used it as a depilatory agent.
  
  It was also used to treat certain ailments. It is known as the ‘Poisoner’s Poison’ and ‘Inheritance Powder’ as it is odorless and tasteless.
  
  Positively chilling!
  
  Overall, an incredibly interesting book. The only complaint I have is that we didn’t really get to know our hero scientist in a more personable way. A bit more biographical information might have been nice, but certainly not necessary.
  
  Thank goodness Norris and Gettler stayed strong, sticking to the science and facts, despite all the forces working against them. Some of Gettler’s toxicology tools are still in use today. I shudder to think how many people would have gotten away with murder, or how many would have been wrongfully convicted, or how many substances would continue to sicken and kill, without their brains, and their determination to keep corruption out of their work.
  
  True Crime readers will enjoy this one as well as those interested in the history of forensics, pathology, toxicology.
  
  4.5 stars
• 
  David

  Mercury Rising : One Reviewer's Feverish Reaction to Annoying Trends in Non-fiction Book Titles
  
  Through our secret researches, we were able to discover some of the rejected titles for this book:
  
  
  Heavy Metal Madness : A Stroll Through Some of the More Insalubrious Back Alleys of the Periodic Table
  
  CSI Manhattan : Murder and Retribution in the Jazz Age
  
  Where's Fido? : Estimation of the Median Lethal Dose for Some Common Neurotoxins Under Severe Budgetary Constraints
  
  Moonshine and Giblets : Prohibition Era Recipes for Pickling Organ Meats
  
  God-Awful Title : A Pretty Decent Book About the Origins of Forensic Science
  
  Though Deborah Blum is a skillful and engaging writer, this book never quite soared for me. A good editor might have pointed out that presenting a parade of a dozen villainous poisoners is ultimately less affecting than choosing to discuss just one or two. The organization of chapters by compound is a little artificial, but works reasonably well. Including some relevant photos would have greatly improved the book. But these are minor quibbles - this is a well-researched, interesting book. The material relating to Prohibition was unexpected and fascinating.
  
  Despite the author's skill, this book will never match my own little project in the works. At present, all I can share is the bewitching title:
  
  Painted Ladies : The Untold Story of the Two Indomitable Donner Party Survivors Who Founded San Francisco's Most Architecturally Charming Brothel and a Nationwide Cosmetics Distribution Network
  
  Order your copy now. In fact, don't just order it. Order it in advance!
• 
  Diane S ☔

  Can a book be both interesting and dry? Never thought so before, but here it applies well. Taking place between 1915-1936, the book opens with a self confessed murderer claiming he has poisoned many. The problem here is that there is no evidence to convict him, and he gets away with his crimes. The problem is that there are no tests to detect poison in corpses. Plus, so many poisons are do readily available, used in common household cleaners, in beauty products and in medicines.
  
  The Uber corrupt Tammany Hall and Prohibition also are also but players during this time. The book is structured like connecting stories, each featuring a poison and the nefarious uses of said poison. We have a modern day Lucretia Borgia, poisoned pies, a blue man and of course bathtub gin and wood alcohol. We also have the beginning of the medical examiners and pathology. So many got away with so many murders. But we have two heroes, Brother and Norris, the first medical and his assistant. They run experiments, event tests, see what the poison does to a human body, and slowly things begin to change.
  
  So why both interesting and dry? The cases were interesting, but the testing and results took of too many pages. Unless you are in this field or inordinately curious, I think many will feel the same.
• 
  Carol

  Yes, it's a 4 star read and I didn't finish it. I own it. The fault is mine, in that I am truly not a reader dedicated to reading non-fiction works start to finish.
  
  Blum's book is fantastic - both entertaining and fact-filled, and can be approached as a collection of short stories. That makes it easy for readers like me to feel no guilt if they put it down and don't pick it up again for several months. It also means that readers whose attention span exceeds mine (the vast majority of the educated universe) can look forward to a delightful read, capable of being finished in a weekend if murder by poison is as interesting to you as it is to me.
• 
  Ginger K

  Wow! I picked this up as an impulse buy, thinking my sister (who loves all things Jazz Age) would want to borrow/steal it later. Now that I've read it, she can't have it: it's mine. Science! History! Prohibition! Murder! Accidental deaths due to the utter lack of regulation of drugs, household chemicals, and cosmetics!
  
  The book has an interestingly layered organization. Each chapter is titled for the poison/chemical whose investigation is woven the most centrally through that section; however, the book is also a chronological biography of Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler, the scientists who put science at the center of death investigations in New York. Deborah Blum uses individual case studies -- some solved, some not -- to highlight the development of various detection techniques, Norris and Gettler's efforts to elevate the status of good science in the courtroom, and even the everyday dangers of the era.
  
  Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys science, history, and forensics.
• 
  Montzalee Wittmann

  The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
  by Deborah Blum
  This was very informative and interesting! It filled my scientific bug,my history interest, and the need for weirdness!
  It's so strange to think that all these poisons were just part of everyday life! If I lived back then, what job would I have had? On that would make my jaw fall off? Terrifying but fascinating read!
  The story is based around a doctor and a chemist that worked together to change how murder was investigated. Then later how chemicals were used around the public and in public consumption. Wonderful read!
• 
  David Rubenstein

  This book is mainly about two men; Charles Norris, the chief medical examiner of New York City, and Alexander Gettler, the chief toxicologist. These two learned, fiercely dedicated men fought city hall and the establishment, in bringing forensic medicine into the twentieth century, and to bring respect to the profession that it deserved. Basically, the book is a collection of short stories of various mysteries that these men, and the medical departments they served, helped to solve in the early twentieth century.
  
  I was most struck by two things in the book. First, the depth of corruption in the city's administration under Mayor Hylan was incredible. Hylan put a drunkard named Riordan into the coroner's office; he had absolutely no qualifications for the office. Three medical pathologists applied for the job; they had passed the civil service exam for the job, which required successfully performing autopsies. But the state-required autopsies were not performed in a medical school, as required by law, so the doctors were arrested and charged with felonies!
  
  It was also interesting how, during the Prohibition, hundreds of people died in New York City each year because they were poisoned by illegal alcohol. Many different types of poisons were involved, and were required by the government to be additives to industrial alcohol, to discourage drinking!
  
  Despite the wealth of grim stories, this is a fascinating book, and very well written. Highly recommended!
• 
  Nancy Oakes

  more of my chattiness about this book
  here if you so desire.
  
  One day I left this book downstairs in the kitchen right next to the coffee maker intending to take it upstairs later, and the next thing I knew there's a post on my husband's facebook page with a photo of this book that reads as follows:
  
  "Hmmmmm, first she has me get more life insurance - then I see this book. #‎eatouttonight‬?"
  
  I didn't really ask for more life insurance, but his post is kind of spot on regarding this book -- one of the main points in Blum's study is that for a very long time, people who were so inclined could get away with murder when it came to poisoning. With very few exceptions, in this period of time there were a wide range of toxic poisons that were basically undetectable, used as a weapon to get rid of unwanted people. That all starts to change with the advent of serious forensic medicine during the 1920s, especially under the auspices of two major figures: Dr. Charles Norris, and Dr. Alexander Gettler. Norris was New York's Chief Medical Examiner, while Gettler was a brilliant toxicologist -- together the two started to change not only the way in which science was used in crime cases, but also brought to the fore the emphasis on how government should work to protect its citizens. Beyond being just plain interesting, it's also a very good look at politics of the time, at the failures and dangers of Prohibition, and at the unsuspected dangers that lie hidden in some every-day products and how science worked to study them and ultimately lead the fight in making lives safer.
  
  I first came across this book when one night, I couldn't sleep and decided to watch anything I could find remotely interesting at 2 a.m. and chose an American Experience episode with this title. I was hooked and then discovered that there was a book and that's all it took. I enjoyed The Poisoner's Handbook -- one thing it did for me was that it hit home that in some ways a lot has changed (and happily so) since that time but in others, a lot remains the same. Today, like in the 1920s, many pro-business interests in government continue to represent the interests of corporations at the expense of the people who work in their industries; there are still people who for some reason I do not fathom continue to insist that science is wrong, undermining the work of skilled, brilliant people for some political or financial reasons. One more thing -- this book takes more of a journalistic approach making it highly accessible to everyone, which is a good thing. I have only one negative thing to say and that's that each chapter ends in some sort of anecdote which not only adds unnecessary fluff but gets tiresome after a while. A lot of readers might enjoy that, but I'm all about keeping the flow going so I didn't. But that is just such a nit-picky kind of thing that really did not make my interest flag or prevent me from being absorbed in this book, and I highly recommend it, especially to people who are into historical true crime.
• 
  Jody McGrath

  I was really excited for this book and I was a little let down. It was very interesting, but so dry in parts that I had to set it down. The story was broke up in strange chunks with the ongoing problems of prohibition running throughout. There was a lot of information about forensic scientist and medical examiners fighting for budgets and prestige. I am glad I read it, it I wouldn't read it again.
• 
  Connie G

  Deborah Blum has combined true crime with Jazz Age history and science to create a fascinating book. Medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler headed New York City's first scientifically trained forensic team. Each chapter features a different poison--chloroform, cyanide, arsenic, lead, radium, carbon monoxide, etc--with the story of a questionable death, the way the poison attacks the body, and the methods used by the toxicologists to identify the toxin.
  
  The most important poison during the Prohibition era was wood (methyl) alcohol, often tainted with additional substances. The government required more poisons to be added to industrial alcohol to discourage people from drinking it. But some people refused to stop imbibing alcohol during Prohibition, and enjoyed the intrigue of obtaining bootlegged alcohol. Tainted alcohol during Prohibition contributed to more deaths than drinking normal liquor (ethyl alcohol) ever had. Eventually a constitutional amendment did away with Prohibition.
  
  The author is a colorful storyteller so this nonfiction book moves quickly. The well-researched book was also a tribute to two tireless scientists--Norris and Gettler--who brought forensic investigation into the modern age in New York. I highly recommend this engaging book.
• 
  Olive Fellows (abookolive)

  I read this book for a book club and boy am I glad they picked this one.
  
  I've seen some other reviews complaining that it's heavier on the history than it is on the science, but I found it to be a good mix of the two. The focus is on the work of Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler, New York City's first medical examiner and toxicologist, respectively. We learn about developments in forensic science through their work: the main cases they come up against, the political climate, and the time period in which they lived. Blum paints their world so clearly with some of the best storytelling I've ever experienced in a piece of nonfiction. You get a thrilling narrative, a 1920s-1930s history education, and hard scientific facts all in one fun package. I was so taken in by the story that I had to force myself to take it slow so as to be able to retain my knowledge for my book club meeting.
  
  This book was fantastic. You should read it.
• 
  Jane

  Where I got the book: purchased at Borders ALAS POOR BORDERS.
  
  This short (278 pages of text) nonfic covers the development of forensic toxicology in New York from 1915 to 1936 (with a little look before and after) against the background of Prohibition, which led to an epidemic of self-poisoning as people drank, seriously, ANYTHING because they couldn't get regular alcohol. I had no idea it was that bad, or that Prohibition had done quite such a splendid job of turning moderate tipplers into binge-drinking maniacs. Says a lot for human nature.
  
  Interestingly, each chapter focuses on a specific poison, although the Prohibition theme is relentlessly hung on every hook the author can find so things go a bit off-topic at times in an engagingly rambling sort of way. Lots of anecdotes of real crime, a little bit of science and a few brisk character sketches add up to an entertaining read. Although I suspect this is not the best book on poisoning out there, it's worth reading for a little inspiration.
  
  NO, not inspiration to poison people. Honestly. *Rolls eyes.* I'm talking about inspiration for stories. Talk about truth being stranger than fiction. As for the writing, I'd class it as highly competent journalistic prose but not exciting per se. Still good enough to merit 4 stars and to whet my appetite for more murder.
• 
  Ashley Daviau

  I had no idea this was non fiction when I bought it, it just sounded like a cool murdery story to me and I was interested. Imagine my surprise and delight when I realized this was not fictional and actually real. It was such a fascinating read, I kept stopping to read bits out loud to my dad because I needed to share with someone the mind blowing facts I was learning. To think that so many poisons were used for remedies and other household things before people realized that these substances were killing people and should be avoided. It’s quite mind blowing when you think about it, especially the bits about the Prohibition era and the people dying left right and center from poisoned alcohol. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book, I’m damn pleased with myself for buying it! It was just so damn fascinating and the way the author wrote it I didn’t feel like I was reading a scientific nonfiction book and I just got lost in its pages.
• 
  [Name Redacted]

  Though the author's intent is clearly to argue against prohibition in the US, the main take-away for me is that people are IDIOTS and love filling their bodies with things they know are poisonous and will kill them.
  
  It's a wonder to me that, in an age so obsessed with eugenics; an age in which Margaret Sanger founded her Planned Parenthood with the dream of "purging" the US of "mental defectives" and minorities; an age in which G.K. Chesterton actually had to write a Christian tract AGAINST eugenics (anti-eugenicists being seen as hopelessly old-fashioned and provincial); and in which the US govt. actively poisoned liquor in the hopes of enforcing prohibition; in such an age, NO-ONE ever suggested that perhaps the people's willingness to risk blindness, insanity and death by drinking, rubbing into their skin, or smoking/chewing substances they KNEW were deadly was something that should be encouraged. Not a person seems to have voiced the opinion that people who willingly destroy themselves should be allowed to do so, despite the sickening passion for eugenics which pervaded that age. The US is very lucky most eugenicists were opposed to prohibition and most of the anti-eugenicists were for it, because otherwise we would have had one of the most incredible mass-exterminations in human history.
  
  Seriously, PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS.
  
  
  
  PS: I could probably write a book on the double-think and cognitive dissonance which must result from the fact that most of the same people who demand government oversight of foodstuffs (pushing for trans-fat bans, bans on high-fructose corn-syrup, etc.) also insist that prohibition was a huge and immoral mistake. *sigh*
• 
  Ellie

  I strongly recommend
  The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by
  Deborah Blum. While I found the book less "sensational" (in the sense of lurid) than its tabloid name, I also found it far more fascinating. It is an extremely well-written and engrossing account of New York City during the Prohibition years as well as a history of the development of forensic medicine, particularly toxicology. There are shocking revelations of government activities in support of prohibition (such as the deliberate poisoning of available sources of liquor with the well-foreseen consequences of many additional deaths from alcohol poisoning), the political maneuverings of the time, the life of the average citizen in New York City (which I'll admit is of particular interest to me as an NYC resident!) and, well, yes, some pretty shocking crimes.
  
  So, ok, there is some reportage of lurid crimes which were pretty interesting as well.
  
  Something for pretty much everyone put together in a terrific package.
• 
  ☕Laura

  While this book is ostensibly about poisons, it is also very much the story of the development of forensic toxicology and its pioneers Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler. In a time when cause of death was often determined by a politically appointed coroner with little or no medical or scientific training, the appointment of Norris as Chief Medical Examiner of the city of New York was a game changer. Norris, along with his chief toxicologist Gettler, would introduce scientific methods into determining cause of death and pioneer forensic methods to determine the presence of poisons in a body. This book follows their 20 years of work in the early twentieth century, covering various poisons and discussing real cases of homicide by poisoning and of inadvertent poisoning due to exposure to toxic substances in the work place and in everyday health and beauty products in the years before the FDA had any real power. It is crazy to learn that poisons like arsenic and even radioactive elements like radium were sold to the public in various concoctions without their knowledge, often with disastrous results. This book also covers the years of Prohibition and the many deaths which occurred from attempts to circumvent the law by doctoring industrial alcohols for consumption. This really was a fascinating book on so many levels.
• 
  Rosa, really

  
  Good the second time through. Though the narrator sounded like Arnold Schwarzenegger when she used an Austrian accent and Pepe le Pew when she used a French accent. It's nonfic, sweetcheeks, it's okay to talk like a 'Murican. A 'Murican who can enunciate, anyway.
• 
  Jill Hutchinson

  This is an unusual but interesting book as it is a mix of the history, science, and true crime. The author traces the birth of forensic medicine which basically began in the office of the Medical Examiner of New York City. The use of poison as a means of murder was all-pervasive and had been since the days of the infamous Borgia dynasty. Science was at a loss to determine the presence of poison in a human body and murderers were having a field day. Drs. Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler changed all that in 1918 with trailblazing scientific detective work and became the founders of forensic medicine.
  The author cites famous and not-so-famous murder cases and how forensics played the major part in bringing the killers to justice. Each chapter deals with a particular poison from chloroform through thallium and explains the effects that each has on the body's systems. A fascinating subject which is well presented and enlightening. Recommended.
• 
  Stephanie (That's What She Read)

  I have so many random facts to share with people now! Which is the best post non-fiction book feeling
• 
  Cornerofmadness

  This is one of those rare non-fiction books that suck you in, every bit as smooth and engrossing as the best fiction book. It centers on NYC’s first medical examiner (as opposed to the elected and often corrupt coroner), Charles Norris and his chemist partner, Alexander Gettler. Between the two, a huge chunk of forensic medicine is gotten under way. Blum makes both men alive and as interesting as the best mystery characters. I was honestly sad by the end that I would never meet them (being contemporaries of my great grandmother).
  
  The time frame of the book goes from 1915 to the mid 1930’s encompassing all the mighty upheavals of that time. So not only do we get forensic history and many many criminal cases to read about, we examine prohibition and the Great Depression as well and the vehicle to do so was as the title suggests, poison. Blum looks at chloroform, wood and ethyl alcohols, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cyanide and thallium among others.
  
  Each poison gets its own chapter, its own criminal cases and how forensic chemistry got started (much of which was in fact created by or enhanced by Gettler and Norris). We get rich details of both New York and national history along the way. There are many side stories, each as interesting as the main chapter theme.
  
  I learned so much in this book and was entertained the whole time. For example, I didn’t know the government purposely made alcohol poisonous when it became clear prohibition didn’t work and bootleggers were winning. Their attitude ‘if they obeyed the law, they wouldn’t have died.’ Nice and chilling. You also get the idea that those screaming we were so violent now and it was so much better back in the day have never read a history book. These people prove we’ve always have been good at killing each other. This is an excellent book for people interested in jazz age history, forensic medicine and poisons (none of which would help you much today since they’re all easily detectible). I can’t wait to use some of this in writing historical fiction. I liked this book so much it’s not leaving my shelf.
  
• 
  Lightreads

  Feh. In the afterward, the author thanks a whole bunch of people for helping her with the technical aspects of the chemistry. And I was like "ahaha what technical aspects? What chemistry?" This book is like the Youtube video of chemistry: the "technical" sections would read something like, "he ground the tissue into a paste, then boiled it in a simple solution. And then he added nitric acid and the whole thing flared green!"
  
  That isn't chemistry, that's a Mr. Rogers voice over. And this is not science writing. It's history with a sprinkle of description using science words on top, with no exploration of how or why.
  
  The book could have been somewhat redeemed with interesting historical content, given that's what it was really doing. And there is a lot of stuff here about the founding of the first true American forensics lab, and the institution of a lot of modern law enforcement procedures against a corrupt political background. Oh, and a whole bunch of stuff about the homebrewed poisons of the prohibition era, when a glass of moonshine actually could kill you. But it was disorganized and shallow, with the usual journalist focus on the sensationalist details of cases without any real analysis or depth.
  
  And the fake "science writing" was astonishingly irritating.
  
  Didn't I just swear off nonfiction by reporters? Well, I'm doing it again, and this time I'll actually check first so it sticks.
  
• 
  K.

  Trigger warnings: death, murder, suicide, execution, death of a child, graphic medical procedures, animal experimentation.
  
  4.5 stars.
  
  This was absolutely phenomenal. Each chapter deals with a different poison prevalent in the 1920s, including carbon monoxide, wood alcohol, and radium. It was so compelling and well written, the perfect mix of forensics and history.
  
  I'm knocking off half a star simply because I could NOT deal with the number of times it was like "They needed to test their theory so they went to the pound and got a bunch of dogs......." (seriously - if animal cruelty is a trigger for you? Probably skip this one)
• 
  Sandra

  A non-fiction book discussing how forensic medicine came about in Manhattan from around the 1920s-1930s. The book is a great mix of science and history, telling the story of New York's first chief medical examiner, Charles Norris, and the toxicologist, Alexander Gettler.
  
  The book uses a mix of poetic descriptions and scientific explanations, and a true-crime-esque writing style. Included is a lot of fascinating history and background into various poisons/toxins, their effects on the human body, cases in which they were used to murder people, and how the causes of death were determined.
• 
  The Captain

  Ahoy there me mateys!  For those of ye who are new to me log, a word: though this log’s focus is on sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult, this Captain does have broader reading tastes.  Occasionally I will share some novels that I enjoyed that are off the charts (a non sci-fi, fantasy, or young adult novel), as it were.  So today I bring ye a non-fiction title:
  
  the poisoner's handbook (Deborah Blum)
  
  Except this review has a twist.  The First Mate and I listened to this one together.  We discussed the book as we listened and I enjoyed his viewpoint so I ordered asked him to write a review.  So you get one from me and a bonus additional review from me crew.  Please note that I write like I talk and the First Mate writes like he thinks.  Hope you enjoy!
  
  From the Captain:
  
  I first heard about this book from the amazing
  what's nonfiction? blog.  Y'all should read her excellent review.  I thought this would be one the First Mate and I could enjoy together and I was correct.  The shortened title is a bit misleading because while it is about poisons, the actual focus is on how forensic medicine was established in New York City during the Prohibition era.  Absolutely fascinating!
  
  This historical account has quite a mix of features.  There is the chemistry behind poisons and also how chemists learned to establish cause of death using experiments.  It discusses how the coroner system worked before the use of science (craziness!).  There are true crime stories with the sordid details of both how the murders happened and the sensational trials afterwards.  There is insight into how horrible the over-the-counter medicines of the day were.  Prohibition is discussed at length as was manufacturing and the unhealthy working conditions (the radium chapter!).  Political machinations abound.  But the heart of the story is Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler, two of the hardest working men I have ever had the pleasure of reading about.  Seriously they are heroes for mankind.
  
  Aye, that list of topics may seem overwhelming but it really is a very accessible book.  The science components are easy to follow.  Toxicology turns out to be endlessly interesting.  Each chapter is loosely dedicated to a different toxin.  A lot of the work Norris and Gettler did to establish forensic guidelines involved trying to determine if a death was from murder or natural causes.
  
  I loved this one and only had two minor quibbles.  The Prohibition sections, while extremely interesting, seemingly advocated that the government was actively poisoning people to cause deaths.  Because of how the book jumps in and out of the discussion of Prohibition (somewhat frustratingly), the facts were a bit misleading.  Aye, the government put more toxic chemicals into the industrial substances bootleggers were reverse engineering to make the hootch.  The industrial alcohol was never meant for human consumption.  This did lead to deaths.  The government was trying to discourage the use of these toxic chemicals as alcohol additives.  Stupid on the part of the government and absolutely evil on the part of the bootleggers.  But drinkers were determined to get alcohol any way they could regardless of known health risks.  
  The Snopes article about the issue actually quotes Blum's material and clarifies the complexities of the issue.
  
  The other quibble is with the audiobook narrator, Coleen Marlo.  She did a fantastic job except for a pet peeve of mine.  Accents.  She distinguished some of the people by giving them accents when quoting them.  The French, Brooklyn, and other choices just sounded so fake and cliché.  Annoying.  Though the First Mate didn't really have the same problem.
  
  All together a wonderful read where upon finished leads me to want more information about a variety of topics.  I love when that happens.  Arrrrr!
  
  From the First Mate:
  
  A few weeks back I read Jeffrey Toobin’s book on the OJ Simpson trial, “The Run of His Life,” and I commented to the Captain how fascinating it was that so many areas of forensic science were obtuse to the jury in that case.  We’ve lived in a post-”CSI” world for so long that it’s difficult to comprehend a world where DNA and fiber analysis are not understood by most people. The Captain, of course, had a book in mind that showed that there was a time when even the police were skeptical of what uses forensic science could be put to.
  
  The subtitle of this book “Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York” is really more accurate than “The Poisoner’s Handbook” as a title.  While the book does detail a few murderers who are involved in “the poison game,” the real focus of the book is the efforts of Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler to establish the role of forensic science as a vital component of crime investigation in the 1920s and 30s.  Norris is the New York Chief Medical Examiner and he deals with the seemingly endless bureaucratic attacks by various New York City Mayors. Gettler is the head chemist and he figures out all sorts of chemical tests that need to be performed in order to determine what chemicals may have led to a person’s death.  When the men get started they’re vilified by the establishment (Norris is himself arrested for performing an autopsy) and are constantly fighting for funds and respect.
  
  Each chapter of the book is nominally devoted to a single poison but typically it exists simply as a central focus from which to talk about what Norris and Gettler were up to in a particular time frame.  Specifically, we typically get the process by which Gettler figured out how to measure the amount of a particular poison in the human body. Unfortunately, a very reliable aspect of his process involved poisoning dogs and examining the effect various levels of dosing had on the animals.  The radium chapter was particularly harrowing.
  
  A peculiar aspect of the book are the chapters devoted to the poisonous properties of methyl and ethyl alcohol.  I’m certainly not denying that alcohol is a poison, just that it’s not one that is typically thought of when considering the poisons that are used to kill people.  Particularly interesting were the sections on the adulterants that the US government mandated be added to methyl alcohol to make it even more lethal in an effort to further deter people from drinking it.  I have to admit that this book is the first I’ve ever read about the odd chemistries that were involved in the battles between bootleggers and the government. I’ll certainly be keeping my eye out for more.
  
  Ultimately, “The Poisoner’s Handbook” is a fascinating read.  It’s technical enough that you get really do come to understand the broadest outlines of how the poisons work, while also being accessible in giving you heroes you can root for in Norris and Gettler.  They changed the world for the better, and their path to doing so was full of interesting, grotesque, and surprising turns. Highly recommended.
• 
  Lauren Stoolfire

  The Poisoner's Handbook is absolutely fascinating and not for the faint of heart. It follows the careers of Charles Norris, an NYC medical examiner, and Alexander Gettler, a toxicologist, who modernized and completely changed the game when it comes to forensic toxicology from about 1918-1936. Their work helped get the innocent out of murder charges and convict the guilty. One of the more well known cases today that they worked on was the Snyder-Gray case which inspired both The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity.
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  Carly Friedman

  I really enjoyed this informative and engaging book about the start and development of forensic medicine. I loved learning about Gettler and Norris and their early research in forensic science. I learned a good deal of new information about poisons and their use in crime in the early and mid-1900s. My favorite sections detailed the research they engaged in and discussed more common toxins like leaded gasoline, lead, and alcohol.
  
  I am so glad I read this book!