Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

American Sherlock: Murder, forensics, and the birth of crime scene investigation by Kate Winkler Dawson

3 reviews

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective fast-paced

4.0

This was a really good look at the birth of modern forensics. Heinrich was unlikable to me. I felt like he spoiled his sons too much.  But the science part was interesting. As were the cases he helped to "solve". I also love the epilogue that pointed out the flaws in both his and some modern forensics and the parts throughout the book that did so. But especially the part of the epilogue that points out the lack of universal training standards for forensic "experts" and the lack of understanding of the juries on the reliability or lack thereof, of certain types of forensics. 
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librarymouse's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious slow-paced

3.0

This was an interesting look into the American judicial system and the life of the man who created the framework how evidence could be evaluated and understood that is still used today. The narrative was slow to pick up, but I really enjoyed the author's use of excerpt from letters between Heinrich and his librarian best friend. His obsessive record keeping meant that this book was very detailed, which I also enjoyed. The author added some of her own opinion on the past and current state of the American judicial system, in terms of corruptness and lack of justice for the many people wrongfully convicted and jailed, that I think Heinrich would have agreed with.
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laurataylor's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

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