American Sherlock : murder, forensics, and the birth of American CSI / Kate Winkler Dawson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dawson, Kate Winkler, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Heinrich, Edward Oscar, 1881-1953.

Heinrich, Edward Oscar.

Criminologists--United States--Biography.

Criminologists.

Forensic sciences--United States--History.

Forensic sciences.

Forensic scientists.

History.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

325 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, [2020]

Summary:

"From the acclaimed author of Death in the Air ("Not since Devil in the White City has a book told such a harrowing tale"--Douglas Preston) comes the riveting story of the birth of criminal investigation in the twentieth century"-- Provided by publisher.

Berkeley, California, 1933. In a lab filled with beakers, microscopes, and hundreds upon hundreds of books sat Edward Oscar Heinrich, America's first forensic scientists. Working in a time when the turmoil of Prohibition led to sensationalized crime reporting and only a small, systematic study of evidence, Heinrich spearheaded the invention of a myriad of new forensic tools that police still use today, including blood spatter analysis, ballistics, lie-detector tests, and the use of fingerprints as courtroom evidence. Dawson captures the life of the man who pioneered the science our legal system now relies upon-- as well as the limits of those techniques and the very human experts who wield them. -- adapted from jacket

Contents:

Prologue: Tales from the archive: pistols, jawbones, and love poetry

A bloody mess: the case of Allene Lamson's bath, part I

Genius: the case of Oscar Heinrich's demons

Heathen: the case of the Baker's handwriting, part I

Pioneer: the case of the Baker's handwriting, part II

Damnation: the case of the star's fingerprints, part I

Indignation: the case of the star's fingerprints, part II

Double 13: the case of the great train heist

Bad chemistry: the case of the calculating chemist

Bits and pieces: the case of Bessie Ferguson's ear

Triggered: the case of Marty Colwell's gun

Damned: the case of Allene lamson's Bath, part II.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Dawson, Kate Winkler. American Sherlock

ISBN:

9780525539551

0525539557

OCLC:

1103691025