book reviews
(Source: Simon Howden)
The volume of forensic texts available is phenomenal, but many are of poor quality, or are factually innacurate.
Forensic medicine and science are popular subjects, and many books 'capitalise' on this popularity by reproducing innacurate knowledge passed on from textbook to textbook.
Follow this link (http://forensicbooks.weebly.com/) for unbiased reviews of forensic medicine, science and pathology reviews ..
Buy Knight's Forensic Pathology here
forensicmed.co.uk bookstores
In association with Amazon, www.forensicmed.co.uk has online bookstores at which one can buy:
- most academic forensic medicine, pathology and science titles;
- popular forensic books (and 'mass market paperback books');
- e-books
Want to read forensic books 'on the go'? Try ebooks on the Kindle (or use the Kindle app for iPhone/ iPad ..)
I believe the duty of a textbook is to be enjoyable to read. Most, however, have the linguistic flair of a German car manual; they have no sense of engagement with the reader, no real human "voice", no guides for the novice, no hints to help you remember indigestible facts, no etymology to explain words, no history of the disease, treatment, or investigations. In short, they are written by idiot savants devoid of wit and soul.
Allen RK. The failure of modern textbooks. BMJ 2010; 340:1085
forensics demystified
recently published
The invention of murder. Flanders J. Harper Press 2011
"Scratch John Bull and you find the ancient Briton who revels in blood, who loves to dip deep into a murder, and devours the details of a hanging." So said the Pall Mall Gazette in 1887. Its immediate justification was the success of Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which had been published the previous year and had already sold 40,000 copies. But it would be just as easy to prove the same point at any time during the last couple of centuries. And in our own time as well, as every bestseller list and TV schedule reminds us. Murder is as much a British preoccupation as football or the weather.
Andrew Motion in The Guardian 8/1/2011 (read the rest of his review here ...)
Hear Robert Glenister read an abridged version of this book (broadcast by the BBC, available on the author's website)
Buy it here ...
recently published
Current Practice in Forensic Medicine, Gall J, Payne-James J (Ed), Wiley Blackwell 2011
Read a sample chapter here ... (Expert evidence and health professionals)
'Look inside' this book here ...
Buy this book here ...
recently published ...
Forensic medicine in western society. Watson KD.
This highly original book presents an overview of the history of forensic medicine in the West since the medieval period right up to the present day. Taking an international, comparative perspective on the changing nature of the relationship between medicine, law and society, it examines the growth of medico-legal ideas, institutions and practices in Britain, Europe and the United States.
Following a thematic structure within a broad chronological framework, the book explores topics which include the legal inheritance, the medicalisation of deviant behaviour, experts and expertise, and criminal responsibility. Including case studies and a further reading section, Katherine D. Watson presents a clear and vivid portrait of a topic which will be of interest to all students of the history of medicine, crime, and the law.
Buy this book here ...
useful reference texts
- Forensic pathology of trauma: common problems for the pathologist, Shkrum MJ, Ramsay DA (2006)
- Forensic pathology: Principles and practice, Dolinak D, Matshes E, Lew E (2005) - at Google Books
Voodoo Histories - how conspiracy theory has shaped modern history. Aaronovitch D.
Buy it here ...
They [also] understand what everybody else doesn't, what everybody else would most like to deny. They are the lonely custodians of the truth, and they got there through the quality of their minds - and by being brave enough to read a book.
The author on the nature of the conspiracy theorist (p. 218)
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useful apps
- anatomylab - anatomy app with the ability to manipulate a virtual body, and carry out a layered dissection
Inspired by classic titles, I loves the 'Diff have created a great set of Cardiff/ Wales-related parody cards
