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Molecules of Murder: Criminal Molecules and Classic Cases |
Customer Rating: 
Sales Rank: 45797
Available from Amazon |
$16.47 |
<P>Molecules of Murder is about infamous murderers and famous victims. Few books on poisons analyse these crimes from the viewpoint of the poison itself, but doing so throws a new light on how the murders or attempted murders were carried out and ultimately how the perpetrators were uncovered and brought to justice.
Part I includes molecules which occur naturally and were originally used by doctors before becoming notorious as murder weapons. Part II deals with unnatural molecules, mainly man-made, and they too have been dangerously misused in famous crimes. The book ends with the most famous poisoning case in recent years, that of Alexander Litvinenko and his death from polonium chloride.
The first half of each chapter starts by looking at the target molecule itself, its discovery, its history, its chemistry, its use in medicine, its toxicology, and its effects on the human body. The second half then investigates a famous murder case and reveals the modus operandi of the poisoner and how some were caught, some are still at large, and some literally got away with murder.
Molecules of Murder will explain how forensic chemists have developed cunning ways to detect minute traces of dangerous substances, and explain why some of these poisons, which appear so life-threatening, are now being researched as possible life-savers.
Award winning science writer John Emsley has assembled another group of true crime and chemistry stories to rival those of his highly acclaimed Elements of Murder.</P> <P>
<STRONG>Author Information</STRONG></P> <P>Another bestseller from John Emsley - the award winning popular science writer!
Dr John Emsley is best known for his series of highly readable popular science books about everyday chemistry, some of which have run into multiple editions and printings and all of which have been translated into several other languages. He has also published in national newspapers and magazines, and he has written chemistry books and booklets for industry. John has a carved an impressive career in popular science writing and broadcasting over the past 20 years, emphasising the benefits of chemistry, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
John's chemistry career started in 1960 as a chemistry graduate with a PhD in phosphorus chemistry from Manchester University, England. With spells at the University of London, Westfield College and Kings College as lecturer and reader, he became science writer at Imperial College, London, and then the University of Cambridge where his prolific writing career took off. With his background in chemistry he has had over 110 original research papers published, mainly on phosphorus chemistry and on very strong hydrogen-bonded systems.
Some of his best selling popular science books (which have been translated into many foreign languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Finnish, Chinese and Japanese) include:
-The Consumer's Good Chemical Guide, 1994
-The Shocking History of Phosphorus, 2000
-Nature's Building Blocks, 2001
-Vanity, Vitality & Virility</P>
This book is about poison. Each chapter the author intitially introduces the poison by giving a brief look at a way it has been used to murder. He then goes on to provide historical and technical information about the poison. He talks about its origins, how it is made (or refined), how it can be tested, etc. Then he closes the chapter with more details on the real-life case with which he started the chapter.
There is a wealth of information that I found to be very interesting. I didn't feel like the author's writing style when discussing the technical detals was boring in the least. Unfortunately, the author's writing when discussing the actual cases leaves a lot to be desired. He's a great at talking about technical details, but he isn't much of a story teller.
The real-life stories are very hamhanded and rambling. Sometimes the author's writing doesn't even make sense. Here is an example: "The count had poisoned his wife's ailing brother, Gustav Fougnies, with nicotine so that they could inherit his wealth, but that was in jeopardy once Gustave announced his intention of marrying." This type of poor control of the story and sentance structure can be found throughout the book, but is mostly only found in the stories. The educational parts of the book show much better structure and control, though.
I give this book three stars but I did find it interesting. I do warm that, as other reviewers have said, the writing is kind of bad.
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