Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“I see poisoners—so calculating, so cold-blooded—as most like the villains of our horror stories.” (CBR11 Bingo)

The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

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I don’t know what it says about me that I quite enjoy medical history and historic New York, but I do know that it says that The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York is right up my alley. It also wins the prize for longest title of the books I’ve read this year. Blum’s book tracks the time when a pair of forensic scientists, Charles Norris and Alexander Getler began the chemical detective work that forensic science […]

Deadly Chemistry

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I have an obsession with true crime documentaries, shows, movies and books. I am fascinated by the motivations and methods of criminals. Up to this point though, I have delved more into serial killers and single murders (Serial season 1, Zodiac, Jack the Ripper, etc). My book club selection for March brought a new subject to me – poisoning and forensics. Deborah Blum’s The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York is an encyclopedia for anyone interested in […]

The OTHER Chuck Norris

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Deborah Blum decide not to be a chemist when she accidentally set her hair on fire with a Bunsen burner in college. But her fascination with learning about chemistry continued, so she put it to good use by writing The Poisoner’s Handbook, which describes — chapter by chapter — various murders and accidental deaths that occurred from specific poisons during the 1920s/30s in New York City. It’s gross, gory, and FASCINATING. And it stars bad-ass medical examiner Charles Norris and his sidekick, toxicologist Alexander Gettler. Get […]



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