| Reviews |
| - 'Meticulously researched, this book reads like a novel and a reader could pick up enough colourful anecdotes on which to dine out for some time.' - The Lancet
- 'The Elements of Murder contains as much malice and murder as any thriller, but without the mystery -Empsley explains it all as lucidly a Sherlock Holmes | The Guardian | 14/10/2006' -
- 'Endlessly fascinating book...Every page reveals delights and horrors...It is the perfect book to take on a long-haul flight' - Telegraph
- 'The Elements of Murder is full of such intriguing nuggets...Emsley must have been an outstanding chemistry teacher. | FT Magazine' -
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| Description | | - A vivid, anecdotal history of how we've used chemicals to harm and murder one another
- Explains the chemistry of poisons
- Topical, covering the history, chemistry, biochemistry, medical and forensic aspects of chemicals, and their impact on the world today
- Written by one of the top authorities in the field famous for his encyclopedic knowledge of chemicals
| How can a chemical we need on a daily basis to keep us healthy be fatal at a different dose? Why should elements that are intrinsically dangerous be used in medicine? How did poisoners use the chemical properties of chemicals to cover their tracks?
Emsley gives detailed histories of five of the most toxic elements - arsenic, antimony, lead, mercury, and thallium, highlighting some of the
most famous murders and how the murderers used the chemical properties of elements to hide what they were doing. He shows how the elements have been behind many modern day environmental catastrophes including accidental mass poisonings from lead and arsenic, and the Minamata Bay Disaster in Japan.
The array of fascinating stories shows how chemicals have impacted the lives of people ranging
from the Greeks and Romans to Newton, Napoleon, Lucrezia Borgia, Mozart, Nelson Mandela, and Saddam Hussein. Emsley also touches on subjects close to home: cot deaths, laxatives, venereal disease, alleged cures for acne, hangovers, and insanity.
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Readership: This book offers a compelling read for people interested in chemistry, history, biochemistry, medicine, and forensic science.
| Contents |
1.
Deadly elements
2.
The history and the chemistry
3.
One man's medicine is another man's murder weapon
4.
Arsenic and adultry
5.
Off the wall poison
6.
Insidious antimony
7.
Requiem for a metal
8.
Deadly lead
9.
When the Empire struck lead
10.
Mercury in the Tower
11.
Mad cats and mad hatters
12.
Young and deadly
13.
Driving you hairless
Glossary
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| Authors, editors,
and contributors |
John Emsley, Former Science Writer in Residence, Cambridge University
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The specification in this catalogue, including without
limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations,
and month of publication, was as accurate as
possible at the time the catalogue was compiled.
Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we
are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory.
Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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