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sonygaystation's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.25
Really interesting and thorough on so many different types of poisons, but pretty hard to listen to at times. Hearing about how people died and how they used dogs for poison testing in graphic detail was really uncomfortable for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer and Child death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, and Abortion
jetpackdracula's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Abortion
cnidariar3x's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
My favourite non-fiction I read in 2020.
I've read this twice over two years. Both times were a 4.5 for me.
I learned SO MUCH and really came to appreciate just how forensic medicine was essentially developed by two guys working on a shoestring budget against many odds. There's an appreciation for the medical system that derives from having read this book, but on the same hand, one will learn about all the animal experimentation that was necessary to get us to that point. It's a moral dilemma that really puts our modern privileges into perspective.
The book has several interweaving themes throughout the chapters, and if I have one criticism in the book, it can sometimes feel unfocused. We often jump between the two scientists Gettler & Norris, to a brief history of prohibition, to the state of alcohol consumption at the time, to several notable poisoning cases. Some chapters focus on some aspects more than others, which can be frustrating if one of the less interesting topics is given more time to shine.
If one can handle reading about medical content, experimentation, and alcoholism, or are interested in this specific history in general, I can't recommend this book enough.
I've read this twice over two years. Both times were a 4.5 for me.
I learned SO MUCH and really came to appreciate just how forensic medicine was essentially developed by two guys working on a shoestring budget against many odds. There's an appreciation for the medical system that derives from having read this book, but on the same hand, one will learn about all the
The book has several interweaving themes throughout the chapters, and if I have one criticism in the book, it can sometimes feel unfocused.
If one can handle reading about medical content, experimentation, and alcoholism, or are interested in this specific history in general, I can't recommend this book enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Cancer and Abortion
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