Forensic Science Books

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Mary Roach

Amazon Price: $11.16 List Price: $13.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: W. W. Norton & Company Amazon Marketplace: 184 new & used starting at $2.87

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 358 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Interesting... but makes your stomach churn 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Lots of interesting facts and I was impressed at how the author managed to write about this subject. Seriously, if someone told me they were going to write a book about cadavers and it was going to be a best seller, I wouldn've thought they were crazy. That being said, Mary Roach did manage to write a best selling book on the subject, although some of the information and description of the facts made my stomach churn. Maybe I'm just squeamish, but her descriptions on the way the human cadaver were used throughout history made me a bit nauseous. Also, I don't know why people thought this book was hilarious. Interesting maybe, but hilarious? I don't see it. Some of the facts she uncovered were amusing (in an interesting way,) but I didn't fall down laughing. If you're interested in knowing what happens to human cadavers and has a strong stomach, then this book is pretty informative, but if you want a funny book, go somewhere else.

Editorial Review:

Oddly compelling and often hilarious, Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets

David Simon

List Price: $24.95 By: Houghton Mifflin (T) Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $7.08

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Remarkable . . . A true crime classic . . . A journalistic masterpiece . . . [A] saga of a brutal, bloody, bewildering year in the Baltimore Police Department's homicide unit . . . This is interior reporting at its finest." Associated Press

"We seem to have an insatiable appetite for police stories . . . . David Simon's entry is far and away the best, the most readable, reliable and relentless of them all . . . . An eye for the scenes of slaughter and pursuit and an ear for the cadences of cop talk, both business and banter, lend Simon's account . . . the fascination that truth often has . . . . Fueled by coffee, cigarettes and the drive to 'put down' (i.e., close) cases, these heroes keep at it long after ordinary mortals would have lost heart." The Washington Post

"This may be the best true-crime book, the best naked look at murder and cops and crime and life on the killing streets of big-city America in the late 20th century . . . . A rich, revealing look at the twisted lives of killers and their victims and at the men who are obsessed with solving the most heinous and baffling murders." San Diego Union

Verbal Judo

George J. Thompson

List Price: $20.00 By: William Morrow & Co Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $5.93

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Assumes the reader is a negative person 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I read this book to see what kind of material was being used to train police officers in effective communication, and to see if there was any material in the book that would be useful to participants in an anger management class I am teaching. There are some useful things in the book, such as the necessity of understanding a conflict from the other person's perspective, responding with what the situation calls for to create calmness rather than what your ego might want, and the time honored counseling technique of making sure that you understand what the other person is saying by paraphrasing it back to them and asking them if you have understood. It is also useful to point out that most of a message is in the tone of voice and the body language more than in the words themselves.

The book could have been shorter by about half if the authors would have spent less time hyping in the book how wonderful verbal judo is and how it is going to change things for the reader and more time just presenting the guts of what they have to say. This kind of self-congratulatory writing just seems feels like sales hype. I have already bought the book- quit the bs and get down to the substance of what you have to say. Additionally, I found it very concerning that the authors seem to feel that their readers will feel good by being negative, and that that is the reader's natural impulse. Let me share this quote in that context:

From a list of principles to keep in mind on page 220: "If it makes you feel good, no good. If you say the thing that makes you feel the best, nine times out of ten you are making a mistake. Sadly, it makes you feel good to stroke your own ego, to put somebody down, to tear into someone."

It does?

That isn't true about me, and I imagine it is also not true about about many people who will read this book. To make this assumption in a book that talks about communication skills seems like a pretty serious error.

Editorial Review:

A guide to improved communication shows readers how to avoid the most common conversational disasters, listen and speak more effectively, engage people through empathy, and use a simple, easily remembered strategy to communicate point of view. 75,000 first printing. $27,500 ad/promo.

The FBI Career Guide: Inside Information on Getting Chosen for and Succeeding in One of the Toughest, Most Prestigious Jobs in the World

Joseph W. Koletar

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: AMACOM Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $8.12

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent Overview for FBI Special Agent Applicants 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I've read several books on the FBI Special Agent career path, and this book is the most informative overall collection of data available. This is the only book I've read that details the specifics of an agent's career path and what to expect during various levels of an agent's career. It also provides excellent preparation for the two Phases of the agent application process, and I highly recommend this book to any person who is about to embark on the lengthy Special Agent application process.

Pithy and informative 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This was the best FBI book I've been able to get my hands on. In the book you will learn about all phases of the application process in detail. Also, you will learn which applicants are the most competitive and why. Pay grades and benefits are included and fully explained. There is also a nice section on the six month training period that takes place at Quantico, Virginia for those who are selected to join the FBI's ranks. The author describes what an average day might be like for a special agent.

The reason I did not rate this book as 5 stars is because the author really did not describe the different divisions and responsibilities of each task force within the FBI (at least not with much detail). For example, he barely mentions any SWAT components and does not mention the Hostage Rescue Team at all. It would have been nice for there to have been more information about what each individual unit does and how they go about getting it done. However, I would still strongly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn the basics about the FBI. They are covered very adequately in this book.

Editorial Review:

This ultimate insider's guide looks at every step of an FBI career, from the application process through training, from different types of assignments and career trajectories to nitty gritty issues like pay and benefits. Readers will also learn how the job might affect them and their families, how to climb the career ladder, and even prepare for life after the Bureau.

Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science

Bill Bass, Jon Jefferson

Amazon Price: $8.99 List Price: $25.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: William Morrow Amazon Marketplace: 18 new & used starting at $5.48

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

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 decomposition—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 reassembling—from battered torsos and a stack of severed limbs—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.

MINDHUNTER: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit

John Douglas, Mark Olshaker

List Price: $17.00 By: Audioworks Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $0.61

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 176 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

He has hunted some of the most notorious and sadistic criminals of our time: The Trailside Killer in San Francisco, the Atlanta Child murderer. He has contronted, interviewed and researched dozens of serial killers and assassins -- including Charles Manson, Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, and James Earl Ray -- for a landmark study to understand their motives. To get inside their minds. He is Special Agent John Douglas, the model for law enforcement legend Jack Crawford in Thomas Harris's thrillers "Red Dragon and "The Silence of the Lambs, and the man who ushered in a new age in bahavorial science and criminal profiling. Recently retired after twenty-five years of service, John Douglas can finally tell his unique and compelling story. With journalist Mark Olshaker, he gives us a behind the scenes look at his fascinating career, revisiting his journeys into the dark recesses and calculated madness present only in our worst nightmares. This is the true-crime work everyone has been waiting for -- by the Mindhunter himself.

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper -- Case Closed

Patricia Cornwell

List Price: $27.95 By: Putnam Adult Amazon Marketplace: 772 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 601 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The number-one New York Times-bestselling novelist Patricia Cornwell is known the world over for her brilliant storytelling, the courage of her characters, and the state-of-the-art forensic methods they employ.

In this headline-making new work of nonfiction, Cornwell turns her trademark skills for meticulous research and scientific expertise on one of the most chilling cases of serial murder in the history of crime-the slayings of Jack the Ripper that terrorized 1880s London. With the masterful intuition into the criminal mind that has informed her novels, Cornwell digs deeper into the case than any detective before her-and reveals the true identity of this elusive madman.

Enlisting the help of forensic experts, Cornwell examines all the physical evidence available: thousands of documents and reports, fingerprints, crime-scene photographs, original etchings and paintings, items of clothing, artists' paraphernalia, and traces of DNA. Her unavoidable conclusion: Jack the Ripper was none other than a respected painter of his day, an artist now collected by some of the world's finest museums.

Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science (College Edition) (9th Edition)

Richard Saferstein

Amazon Price: $92.43 List Price: $122.60 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Prentice Hall Amazon Marketplace: 116 new & used starting at $65.84

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Expensive, but worth it 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Now this is one expensive book, but it's well worth it in my opinion. I just finished a 60+ page thesis paper for college and this was one of the Computer Forensics books that I referenced/used a source. It's a thorough book that covers a lot more than just Computer Forensics, but rather aspects of the whole of Forensic Science. The full color pages are detailed and the case studies are thorough.

Editorial Review:

Intro to Forensic Science courses - in CJ, Forensic Science, Chemistry programs Criminalistics aims at making the subject of forensic science comprehensible to a wide variety of readers who are planning on being aligned with the forensic science profession. Written by a very well-known authority in forensic science, this text introduces the non-scientific student to the field of forensic science. Through applications to criminal investigations, clear explanations of the techniques, and the abilities and limitations of modern crime labs, Criminalistics covers the comprehensive realm of forensics. The text strives to make the technology of the modern crime laboratory clear to the non-scientist. Combining case stories with applicable technology, Criminalistics captures the excitement of forensic science investigations.

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales

William Bass, Jon Jefferson

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Berkley Trade Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $4.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 77 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Incredible! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I could not put this book down. It was the best written, most interesting book i think i have ever read. i read a lot & typically won't read the same book twice - this one i will read over & over again. i bought it as a gift originally and decided to buy another for myself after reading it.

So Much To Learn - This Is A Wonderful Forensic Resource 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Death's Acre
Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson

I am fascinated by forensics and the details that can be discovered through forensic work. So, when I got a chance to interview Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson on a book panel, I was thrilled. I have to admit that neither of the men were what I expected, but that's all right. But, I was very impressed with both of them and I've enjoyed the books they have written together.

For people who aren't familiar with Dr Bill Bass, he is a world renowned forensic anthropologist and he has worked on a huge number of cases. At one point in those cases, he realized that it would be beneficial if there was a scientific way to determine how long a body had been dead. This would make it much easier for police, attorneys etc to make a case against a suspect. If the time of death is narrowed down to several days - it can be hard to debate an alibi, but if the time of death can be narrowed down to a more limited time frame, that makes an alibi more necessary and more useful.

This is one of the things that prompted the development of the "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee. The Body Farm was started by Dr Bass and it was originally an acre - therefore "Death's Acre". Dr Bass and the UT students study the various stages of death and decomposition in a wide variety of conditions. It is fantastic research which is very helpful in crime solving.

I could rattle off all kinds of great stories and examples that were in the book, but that would take the fun out of it for you. I will tell you that there is death, gore and sorted details. It could be more gory, but there is plenty of detail. I think it was handled very well and should appeal to many people who are interested in forensics and forensic anthropology. I highly recommend the book and it gives you an interesting overview of many aspects for Dr Bass' life.

I admit that I had a tough time getting into the beginning, but give it a chance. The case studies are great. When I talked with Dr Bass, he looked at my copy of the book and noticed all the paper clips on the pages (there are a lot). He asked me what they meant. When I told him those were all the examples that I want to include in my future mysteries. He gave me a huge smile and said he was very glad he could get me thinking. Its a fantastic resource for mystery writers and entertaining for people who are interested in forensics.

Nikki Leigh

Editorial Review:

Dr. Bill Bass, one of the world's leading forensic anthropologists, gained international attention when he built a forensic lab like no other: The Body Farm. Now, this master scientist unlocks the gates of his lab to reveal his most intriguing cases-and to revisit the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder, fifty years after the fact.