The poisoner's handbook

Description:

The untold story of how poison rocked Jazz Age New York City. A pair of forensic scientists began their trailblazing chemical detective work, fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler investigate a family mysteriously stricken bald, factory workers with crumbling bones, a diner serving poisoned pies, and many others. Each case presents a deadly new puzzle and Norris and Gettler create revolutionary experiments to tease out even the wiliest compounds from human tissue. From the vantage of their laboratory it also becomes clear that murderers aren't the only toxic threat--modern life has created a kind of poison playground, and danger lurks around every corner.

subjects: History,  Poisoning,  Forensic science,  Forensic toxicology,  Forensic sciences,  Large type books,  New York Times reviewed,  Toxicology,  New york (state), history,  History, 20th Century,  United states history - northeastern & middle atlantic region,  Law enforcement,  Clinical medicine,  Forensic toxicology--history,  Poisoning--history,  Poisoning--new york (state)--history,  Forensic toxicology--new york (state)--history,  Forensic sciences--history,  Forensic sciences--new york (state)--history,  Hv6555.u62 n373 2010,  2010 d-285,  Qv 11 an6 b658p 2010,  614/.1309747109041

Places: New York (State)