Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Poisons by Peter Macinnis - Available

Poisons

From Hemlock to Botox and the Killer Bean of Calabar

by Peter Macinnis
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available
Poisons permeate our world. They are in the environment, the workplace, the home. They are in food, our favorite whiskey, medicine, and well water. They have been used to cure diseases as well as incapacitate and kill. They smooth wrinkles, block pain, stimulate and enhance athletic ability. In this entertaining and fact-filled book, science writer Peter Macinnis considers poisons in all their aspects. He recounts stories of the celebrated poisoners in history and literature, from Nero to Thomas Wainewright, and from the death of Socrates to Hamlet and Peter Pan.
From cyanide to strychnine, from Botox to ricin and Sarin gas—have you ever wondered about their sources? Where do they come from? How do you detect something that can kill you in a matter of seconds? Macinnis methodically analyzes the science of these killing agents and their uses in medicine, cosmetics, war, and terrorism. With wit and precision, he weighs these questions and many more: Was Lincoln's volatility caused by mercury poisoning? Was Jack the Ripper an arsenic eater? Can wallpaper kill? For anyone who has ever wondered and been afraid to ask, here is a rich miscellany for your secret questions about toxins.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 15, 2011

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781628721188
      • File size: 1449 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781628721188
      • File size: 1449 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 14, 2005
      Macinnis ranges widely and rather lightheartedly in investigating the uses and misuses of poisons (which have received media interest of late because of the poisoning of Ukrainian prime minister Yushchenko). The author, an Australian science writer (Bittersweet: the Story of Sugar
      ), delivers his carefully researched material in a series of anecdotes crafted with dry humor and informed ruminations. Macinnis describes with zest the effects of all sorts of legal and illegal poisons on humans and animals. He highlights criminal cases through history, including that of Locusta, who sold fine poisons to the Roman nobility and was believed to have supplied the emperor Nero with arsenic to kill Britannicus. As recently as two centuries ago, physicians still inadvertently hastened the deaths of patients through ignorance. George Washington, for instance, may have been the victim of his doctor's prescription for bleeding and some doses of calomel. And Macinnis provides myriad examples of how poisons have permeated the workplace and the world of politics. Mussolini's henchmen forced opponents to consume lethal doses of castor oil mixed with petrol. This engrossing history is not one for the squeamish. B&w illus. Ad/promo and Web marketing.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading