''The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York'' is a ''New York Times'' best-selling non-fiction book by Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer

Deborah Blum Deborah Blum (born October 19, 1954) is an American science journalist and the director of the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

that was released by Penguin Press in 2010.

Synopsis

In 1918,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

appointed Charles Norris,

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

's chief pathologist, as its first scientifically trained

medical examiner The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictio ...

. The book, about Norris and Alexander Gettler, the city's first toxicologist, describes the Jazz Age's poisoning cases. Before the two began working in the medical examiner's office, Blum pointed out in her book, poisoners could get away with murder. The book covers the years from 1915 to 1936, which Blum described as a "coming-of-age" for

forensic toxicology Forensic toxicology is the use of toxicology and disciplines such as analytical chemistry, pharmacology and clinical chemistry to aid medical or legal investigation of death, poisoning, and drug use. The primary concern for forensic toxicology is ...

. "Under (Norris's) direction, the New York City medical examiner's office would become a department that set forensic standards for the rest of the country," Blum wrote. While a guest on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

’s "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday" to discuss the book, Blum told host

Ira Flatow Ira Flatow (; born March 9, 1949) is a radio and television journalist and author who hosts Public Radio International's popular program '' Science Friday''. On TV, he hosted the Emmy Award-winning PBS series ''Newton's Apple'', a television sc ...

that she wrote the book because "I've always been interested in poison. I wanted to write about the mystery of how (poisons) kill us.”

Reception

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'' named ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' one of its Top 10 best crime books, saying, "This is science writing at its finest that reads like a mystery novel." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' placed the book on its Top-rated List on March 5, 2010. In its Sunday book review, the ''Times'' said ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' was "structured like a collection of linked short stories. Each chapter centers on a mysterious death by poison that Norris and Gettler investigate." The book was listed as a ''

New York Times bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

'' in paperback nonfiction in February 2011. Also, Amazon named ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' in its Top 100 Best of 2010. "Not only is ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' as thrilling as any 'CSI' episode," wrote reviewer Art Taylor with ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', "but it also offers something even better: an education in how forensics really works." '' Kirkus Reviews'' described the book as, "The rollicking story of the creation of modern forensic science by New York researchers during the Prohibition era." Barnes and Noble's editor's review said this: "The book is an unexpected yet appropriate open-sesame into a world that was planting seeds for the world -- with lethal toxins and cutting-edge tools -- that would later, darkly bloom."

Glen Weldon Glen Weldon is an American writer, cultural critic, and podcaster. He has written for publications such as ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', '' Slate'', ''The Atlantic'', and ''McSweeney's''. Weldon currently writes for the NPR Arts ...

from NPR Books said: "Rigorously researched and thoroughly engaging, ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' is a compelling, comprehensive portrait of the time and place that transformed criminal investigation, and made it much more difficult for that most insidious of murderers to escape the law."

Documentary

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

optioned ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' for TV and produced it as an episode of ''

American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...

''. It premiered on January 7, 2014.

Awards

* Finalist for 2010 Agatha Award in Best Non-fiction * Awarded Best Adult Nonfiction of 2010 by the Society of Midland Authors

References

External links