Summary Of The Poisoner's Handbook By Deborah Blum

Catherine Gay
AP Chemistry
Mr. Sanders
May 6, 2016
The Poisoner’s Handbook
Introduction
The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum is a book about the untold story of how poisons affected the Jazz Age New York City. In the book Blum tracks the days when a pair of forensic scientists began their chemical detective work, fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. There are a number of different poisons discussed in the book that gave serial killers a certain advantage over the detectives that investigated their crimes because they were virtually undetectable until the scientists made many advancements in science and technology.
Key Idea 1 There are many poisons that were used quite often in the murders of Jazz Age New York. One of the most common ones was chloroform. Chloroform was a popular choice among serial killers because it was virtually undetectable with the undeveloped technology of the Jazz Age. It also had no smell and left no residue on the victims. It did however have many symptoms that occurred rapidly and were very harmful to the victims. Some of the symptoms included eye irritation, burning eye sensation, vision impairment, heart attack, pneumonia, shallow breathing, drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, and destruction of red blood cells,

They called it the most reliable poison because it would work when no other poison would. Carbon monoxide also has very distinct symptoms. These symptoms include, dull headache, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, shortness of breath, confusion, blurred vision, and loss of consciousness. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be especially dangerous for people who are sleeping, unconscious, or highly intoxicated. People may have irreversible brain damage or even be killed before anyone realizes there's a problem. That is why many killers used it because people would be dead before they even realized