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A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insect Evidence Helps Solve Crimesby M. Lee Goff Forensic entomology is the study of insects and how they can be used to solve crimes and settle lawsuits. When did this person die? Were they poisoned? Was the body moved? Can we prove the suspect was at the scene of the crime? If you are a skilled forensic entomologist, you might be able to answer any of these questions and more. This book combines some personal stories of the author, such as how he stays sane while examining partially decomposed bodies, as well as the history of forensic entomology, a bunch of interesting examples of cases involving insects, and a some explanation of how it all works. He has one chapter that explains how he does his research, which involves lots and lots of pigs, and sometimes illegal drugs. Apparently, one conversation with a Drug Enforcement Agency officer started with, “Oh, you again.” Another chapter describes the different insects that show up as a body decomposes. If you know the cycle, you can often tell how long ago someone died. If you aren’t easily bothered by maggots and decaying bodies, and if you really like CSI-stuff, you will probably like this book. It’s not a textbook, but you will learn a lot of neat stuff. It includes a lot of details and science, but it’s still very interesting. You can read some of it online at Google Books. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the public library.
You might want to read the rules for borrowing books before you request anything. If you want to check
on the book or cancel your order, go here. June 25th, 2009
 Tags: crime, morbid, murder, scientists |  Category: Forensic Science, Science
|  Write a comment | Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologistby William R. Maples and Michael Browning If you like CSI or other shows like that, you might want to check out Dead Men Do Tell Tales. William Maples was a forensic anthropologist (someone who studies human remains to try to find out the cause of death and other things like that) and he talks about many different cases he has worked on. Some of the more famous ones include examining the remains of the Elephant Man, seeing if the 12th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor, was poisoned, and flying to Ekaterinburg, Russia, to tell whether nine skeletons there are those of the last members of the Russian royal family. If you are uncomfortable reading about suicide, murder, or decomposing bodies, you should skip this book. I don’t think Maples goes out of his way to gross anyone out, but he is talking about dead bodies. On the other hand, if you’ve ever wondered how you can identify someone after they have been cremated, how you tell if someone was murdered or committed suicide, how you tell if a skeleton is from a man or a woman, or how you tell which particular brand of saw was used to dismember a body, this might be the book for you. This is not a textbook. It is more like a biography that focuses on interesting cases Maples has had. He talks about his early life, how he got into forensic anthropology, as well as stories about his work and some general information about forensic anthropology. You get enough of the details to understand the big idea, but Maples mostly focuses on the story. You won’t learn how to do any of the stuff they talk about on CSI, but you should get a better idea of what they are talking about. If you want to read some of the book online, you can do that thanks to Google Books. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the school library.
You can get it from the public library.
This list was last updated September 8, 2010 at 12:26 am UTC. June 24th, 2009
Tags: crime, medical, murder, real people, scientists, suicide | Category: Forensic Science, Science
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