Books like The Science of Sherlock Holmes by E. J. Wagner


Using the celebrated adventures of Sherlock Holmes as a framework, this nonfiction work traces the evolution of forensic science during the Victorian era. It examines how forensic autopsies moved beyond anatomical dissection, the breakthroughs in blood chemistry and poison detection, and the early adoption of fingerprints, photography, and trace evidence. The book also offers fresh insights into landmark criminal cases that shaped the field, such as Jack the Ripper and Lizzie Borden, and features rare period illustrations.
First publish date: 2006
Genre: History/Modern History
Authors: E. J. Wagner
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.3 (3 community ratings)

The Science of Sherlock Holmes by E. J. Wagner

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Books similar to The Science of Sherlock Holmes (12 similar books)

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by 5902998|Arthur Conan Doyle book cover

πŸ“˜ The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

A classic collection of Sherlock Holmes detective tales featuring the renowned sleuth, including adventures such as β€œThe Adventure of the Mazarin Stone” and β€œThe Adventure of the Three Gables.”

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The man who solved the market by 11088785|Gregory Zuckerman book cover

πŸ“˜ The man who solved the market

Jimβ€―Simons transformed Wall Street with Renaissance Technologies’ algorithmic Medallion Fund, delivering 66% annual returns and over $100β€―B in profits, while his quantitative approach reshaped finance and intersected with U.S. and European politics.

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The Alchemy of Air by 8359328|Thomas Hager book cover

πŸ“˜ The Alchemy of Air

A gripping tale of two brilliant chemists who revolutionized agriculture, but at a high cost.

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The World of Sherlock Holmes by 2126551|Michael Harrison book cover

πŸ“˜ The World of Sherlock Holmes

> A triumph of dedicated detective work, set against the romantic nostalgic splendor of Victorian England, *The World of Sherlock Holmes* reveals a wealth of unsuspected facts about the master sleuth. What was the scandal involving Queen Victoria's son and grandson? Why did Holmes visit the United States, and what did he do for Vanderbilt? Why did he remain silent about the identity of Jack the Ripper? What was the secret of the Vatican cameos? Why did the kings of Denmark, Sweden and Holland, the Sultan of Turkey, the Czar of Russia and the President of the United States confer on Sherlock Holmes their countries' highest decorations? >Mr. Harrison also sheds new light on Holmes' youth, including the unusual nature of his university career, his brilliant achievements at the top level of Victorian diplomacy and his close and curious relations with the Britsh crown.

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The poisoner's handbook by 9754755|Deborah Blum book cover

πŸ“˜ The poisoner's handbook

The untold story of how poison rocked Jazz Age New York City. A pair of forensic scientists began their trailblazing chemical detective work, fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler investigate a family mysteriously stricken bald, factory workers with crumbling bones, a diner serving poisoned pies, and many others. Each case presents a deadly new puzzle and Norris and Gettler create revolutionary experiments to tease out even the wiliest compounds from human tissue. From the vantage of their laboratory it also becomes clear that murderers aren't the only toxic threat--modern life has created a kind of poison playground, and danger lurks around every corner.

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Beyond the Body Farm by 8843084|William M. Bass book cover

πŸ“˜ Beyond the Body Farm

There is no scientist in the world like Dr. Bill Bass. A pioneer in forensic anthropology, Bass created the world's first laboratory dedicated to the study of human decompositionβ€”three acres of land on a hillside in Tennessee where human bodies are left to the elements. His research at "the Body Farm" has revolutionized forensic science, helping police crack cold cases and pinpoint time of death. But during a forensics career that spans half a century, Bass and his work have ranged far beyond the gates of the Body Farm. In this riveting book, the bone sleuth explores the rise of modern forensic science, using fascinating cases from his career to take readers into the real world of C.S.I. Some of Bill Bass's cases rely on the simplest of tools and techniques, such as reassemblingβ€”from battered torsos and a stack of severed limbsβ€”eleven people hurled skyward by an explosion at an illegal fireworks factory. Other cases hinge on sophisticated techniques Bass could not have imagined when he began his career: harnessing scanning electron microscopy to detect trace elements in knife wounds; and extracting DNA from a long-buried corpse, only to find that the female murder victim may have been mistakenly identified a quarter-century before. In Beyond the Body Farm, readers will follow Bass as he explores the depths of an East Tennessee lake with a twenty-first-century sonar system, in a quest for an airplane that disappeared with two people on board thirty-five years ago; see Bass exhume fifties pop star "the Big Bopper" to determine what injuries he suffered in the plane crash that killed three rock and roll legends on "the day the music died"; and join Bass as he works to decipher an ancient Persian death scene nearly three thousand years old. Witty and engaging, Bass dissects the methods used by homicide investigators every day, leading readers on an extraordinary journey into the high-tech science that it takes to crack a case.

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Sherlock Holmes and a Question of Science by 13474186|Christopher F. Lindsey book cover

πŸ“˜ Sherlock Holmes and a Question of Science

> This title provides an account of the wide range of scientific knowledge and observation that Sherlock Holmes could bring to bear in solving the various murders and mysteries so eloquently developed by his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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The Real World of Sherlock Holmes by 8417872|Peter Costello book cover

πŸ“˜ The Real World of Sherlock Holmes

This book details how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the doctor, became a detective writer. It draws on his education by Dr. Joseph Bell in Edinburgh University on how to observe and reason on even the smallest details when considering physical evidence of a possible crime. Through real life events, crimes and celebrated murders, we learn that Doyle was more like Sherlock Holmes in his methods and observations, and that he was at times, very much a real private detective. This is a fascinating case book on crimes and causes, for Doyle was always looking to help those who needed help. The last fifteen years of his life were spent on investigation and vigorous support of the spiritualist movement, but this did not entirely take away his interest in the various fields of criminology. Some of the major crimes of the early 20th Century are also discussed, and Doyle's observations are interesting to read.

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Written in blood by 7237518|Colin Wilson book cover

πŸ“˜ Written in blood


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The casebook of forensic detection by 8334740|Evans, Colin book cover

πŸ“˜ The casebook of forensic detection

Evans' collection vividly depicts the science of forensics, featuring notorious cases and the latest techniques.

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Hidden Evidence by 6948432|David Owen book cover

πŸ“˜ Hidden Evidence
 by David Owen


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The detective's assistant by 7264461|Kate Hannigan book cover

πŸ“˜ The detective's assistant

Eleven-year-old Nell moves to Chicago to live with her aunt, Kate Warne, the pioneering female detective of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency, and helps her solve intriguing mysteries including one linked to Abraham Lincoln and her own family.

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Some Other Similar Books

The Medical Detectives: The Lives and Cases of Sherlock Holmes by David M. Scadden
The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Madmen, Masters, and Murderers by James B. Stewart
The Science of Crime Detection by William R. Maples
The Science of Forensic Science by James W. G. Green
Murder on the Mind by David K. Rainsberger

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