Two book reviews
Sep. 13th, 2009 09:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona991 -
Although beautifully produced and well laid out, this books is nothing more than a collection of the known facts about various cases of murder in Lancashire. It adds no context to any of them, to describe, for instance, why a businessman may have convinced his lover to kill their illegitimate child or why the Home Secretary would pardon one young murderer but not another. With more background this would be a much better book.
Librarything review here - http://www.librarything.com/work/8959446/reviews/50823653
No suggestions or unsuggestions because not enough people have reviewed it.
2 -
A very interesting book from start to finish, including the lovely cover work, which so convinced my Mother that she thought I'd torn her book.
A very thorough explanation is given of the uses of these poisonous elements, why they're poisonous, what damage they do and what remedies can be used against them. In the section on each poison there is also at least one discription of a case where it has been used to poison people, the process that the murderer went through and how they were caught.
I also really like the chemical glossary at the end.
The weakest part of the book, oddly enough, was the first chapter on mercury but it gets better after this, particularly the sections on arsenic and stibium.
Very good and solid book.
Also, as an aside that is not going in my review, the section on mercury in the book, although it is my least favourite part, has taken on a whole new interest given that someone I know has just been caught up in a mercury poisoning case.
Recommendations for the book:
1.Poisons: From Hemlock to Botox to the Killer Bean of Calabar by Peter Macinnis
2.The 13th Element: The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus by John Emsley
3.Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements by John Emsley
4.Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Penny LeCouteur
5.The London Monster: A Sanguinary Tale by Jan Bondeson
6.Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons (Howdunit Series) by Serita Stevens
7.Vanity, Vitality, and Virility: The Science behind the Products You Love to Buy by John Emsley
8.Miracle Mongers and Their Methods: A Complete Exposé by Harry Houdini
9.Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
10.Signs and Wonders: Essays on Literature and Culture by Marina Warner
No unsuggestions.
A further also - it's not me with the unnatural interest in murder, it's my mother :)
Although beautifully produced and well laid out, this books is nothing more than a collection of the known facts about various cases of murder in Lancashire. It adds no context to any of them, to describe, for instance, why a businessman may have convinced his lover to kill their illegitimate child or why the Home Secretary would pardon one young murderer but not another. With more background this would be a much better book.
Librarything review here - http://www.librarything.com/work/8959446/reviews/50823653
No suggestions or unsuggestions because not enough people have reviewed it.
2 -
A very interesting book from start to finish, including the lovely cover work, which so convinced my Mother that she thought I'd torn her book.
A very thorough explanation is given of the uses of these poisonous elements, why they're poisonous, what damage they do and what remedies can be used against them. In the section on each poison there is also at least one discription of a case where it has been used to poison people, the process that the murderer went through and how they were caught.
I also really like the chemical glossary at the end.
The weakest part of the book, oddly enough, was the first chapter on mercury but it gets better after this, particularly the sections on arsenic and stibium.
Very good and solid book.
Also, as an aside that is not going in my review, the section on mercury in the book, although it is my least favourite part, has taken on a whole new interest given that someone I know has just been caught up in a mercury poisoning case.
Recommendations for the book:
1.Poisons: From Hemlock to Botox to the Killer Bean of Calabar by Peter Macinnis
2.The 13th Element: The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus by John Emsley
3.Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements by John Emsley
4.Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Penny LeCouteur
5.The London Monster: A Sanguinary Tale by Jan Bondeson
6.Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons (Howdunit Series) by Serita Stevens
7.Vanity, Vitality, and Virility: The Science behind the Products You Love to Buy by John Emsley
8.Miracle Mongers and Their Methods: A Complete Exposé by Harry Houdini
9.Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
10.Signs and Wonders: Essays on Literature and Culture by Marina Warner
No unsuggestions.
A further also - it's not me with the unnatural interest in murder, it's my mother :)
