Recommended Reads - Adults: Forensics
Forensic Science
Interesed in Forensic Science, in general? Or, do you want to read more about the history of the subject. The links below will give you a good place to start learning about the topic.
- FBI Laboratory ServicesExplore the services provided by the FBI lab and the lab itself.
Books on Forensic Sciences
American Sherlock by Call Number: B HEIISBN: 9780525539551Publication Date: 2020-02-11Berkeley, California, 1933. In a lab filled with curiosities--beakers, microscopes, Bunsen burners, and hundreds upon hundreds of books--sat an investigator who would go on to crack at least two thousand cases in his forty-year career. Known as the "American Sherlock Holmes," Edward Oscar Heinrich was one of America's greatest--and first--forensic scientists, with an uncanny knack for finding clues, establishing evidence, and deducing answers with a skill that seemed almost supernatural. Heinrich was one of the nation's first expert witnesses, working in a time when the turmoil of Prohibition led to sensationalized crime reporting and only a small, systematic study of evidence. However with his brilliance, and commanding presence in both the courtroom and at crime scenes, Heinrich spearheaded the invention of a myriad of new forensic tools that police still use today, including blood spatter analysis, ballistics, lie-detector tests, and the use of fingerprints as courtroom evidence. His work, though not without its serious--some would say fatal--flaws, changed the course of American criminal investigation.
Bodies We've Buried by Call Number: 363.25 HALLCOXISBN: 9780425207529Publication Date: 2006-01-03Shocking, uncensored, and sometimes darkly humorous, Bodies We've Buried the true story of what goes on in the Harvard of hellish violence (Washington Post), also known as the National Forensic Academy.
The Killer of Little Shepherds by Call Number: 364.152 STARRISBN: 9780307266194Publication Date: 2010-10-05At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as “The Killer of Little Shepherds,” terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years—until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era’s most renowned criminologist. The two men—intelligent and bold—typified the Belle Époque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with science’s promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition. With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher’s infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts and constructs a map of Vacher’s crimes. We follow the tense and exciting events leading to the murderer’s arrest. And we witness the twists and turns of the trial, celebrated in its day.
Fingerprints by Call Number: 363.258 BEAVENISBN: 9780786866076Publication Date: 2001-05-09Describes the controversial 1905 murder case in England that ultimately led to the common use of fingerprint identification, and discusses the role and technology of fingerprinting in modern-day forensics.
Never Suck a Dead Man's Hand by Call Number: 363.25 KOLLMANNISBN: 9780806528229Publication Date: 2007-02-01With plenty of insider insight - and without pulling any punches - Dana Kollmann introduces the real science and the actual process of crime scene investigation as she recounts her life as a CSI in fascinating and gritty detail. Whether explaining rigor mortis or insect infestation rates, speeding to an accident scene or cautiously entering a crime scene, she shows what it is really like to work on the front lines as a forensic expert.
Ebooks and EAudiobooks on Forensics
Forensics by ISBN: 9780802191052Publication Date: 2015-07-07The dead can tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died, and, of course, who killed them. Using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene, or the faintest of human traces, forensic scientists unlock the mysteries of the past and serve justice. In Forensics, international bestselling crime author Val McDermid guides readers through this field, drawing on interviews with top-level professionals, ground-breaking research, and her own experiences on the scene. Along the way, McDermid discovers how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine one's time of death; how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer; and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist were able to uncover the victims of a genocide. Prepare to travel to war zones, fire scenes, and autopsy suites as McDermid comes into contact with both extraordinary bravery and wickedness, tracing the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.
Forensics for Dummies by Call Number: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/13376200ISBN: 9781119608967Publication Date: 2019-06-12Understand the real-life science behind crime scene investigation Forensics For Dummies takes you inside the world of crime scene investigation to give you the low down on this exciting field. Written by a doctor and former Law & Order consultant, this guide will have you solving crimes along with your favorite TV shows in no time. From fingerprints and fibers to blood and ballistics, you'll walk through the processes that yield significant information from the smallest clues. You'll learn how Hollywood gets it wrong, and how real-world forensics experts work every day in fields as diverse as biology, psychology, anthropology, medicine, information technology, and more. If you're interested in a forensics career, you'll find out how to break in--and the education you'll need to do the type of forensics work that interests you the most. Written for the true forensics fan, this book doesn't shy away from the details; you'll learn what goes on at the morgue as you determine cause of death, and you'll climb into the mind of a killer as you learn how forensic psychologists narrow down the suspect list.
18 Tiny Deaths by ISBN: 9781492680475Publication Date: 2020-02-04Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes and made it her life's work. Best known for creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dioramas that appear charming--until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair, a blood-spattered comforter. And then, of course, there are the bodies--splayed out on the floor, draped over chairs--clothed in garments that Lee lovingly knit with sewing pins.Lee developed a system that used the Nutshells dioramas to train law enforcement officers to investigate violent crimes, and her methods are still used today. 18 Tiny Deathsis the story of a woman who overcame the limitations and expectations imposed by her social status and pushed forward an entirely new branch of science that we still use today.
Forensics by ISBN: 9781622317394Publication Date: 2015-07-07Val McDermid is one of the finest crime writers we have, whose novels have captivated millions of listeners worldwide with their riveting narratives of characters who solve complex crimes and confront unimaginable evil. In the course of researching her bestselling novels, McDermid has become familiar with ever branch of forensics, and now she uncovers the history of this science, real-world murders, and the people who must solve them. The dead talk-to the right listener. They can tell us about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died, and, of course, who killed them. Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help serve justice using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene, or the faintest human traces. Forensics draws on interviews with some of these top-level professionals, groundbreaking research, and Val McDermid's own original interviews and firsthand experience on scene with top forensic scientist.
Online Forensic Journals
If you're interested in even more of the science, you can check out the online forensic journals available to you through the Tappan Library. By accessing the Health Reference Center Academic, you can read the latest articles in journals such as Forensic Examiner, Forensic Scientist and the Journal of Forensic Sciences, to name a few.
"The Body Farm"
This term refers to a facility where the decomposition of bodies is studied. By understanding the science behind decomposition, information can be extracted that can be used by law enforcement. There are currently five locations where this occurs in the US. The largest, and most famous, location is at the University of Tennessee.
*****The vidoes found in the links below contain images of decomposing human bodies. Please watch at your own discretion*******
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
This audio book tackles the subject of one of England's first ever detective, and the case that was his undoing. In June of 1860 three year old Saville Kent was found dead in his home. Detective Jonathan Whicher of Scotland Yard was sent out to investigate. This book chronicles his findings and the fallout of the case. Click below to download the auidobook from the Tappan Library.