Every Contact Leaves a Trace : Scientific Detection in the Twentieth Century [Hardcover]

Zakaria Erzinclioglu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2001

For all those interested in the science of solving crimes, this spellbinding book si sure to inform and entertain in equal measures.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Zakaria Erzinclioglu was formerly Senior Research Associate at Cambridge University and also Director of the Forensic Science Research Center at Durham University. In his capacity as a forensic entomologist he is one of the most experienced scientists in the business. He is well known in England and has appeared in a number of television programs including "The Witness Was a Fly" for the BBC.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Carlton Books; Edition Not Stated edition (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842221612
• ISBN-13: 978-1842221617
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,357,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forensics, August 7, 2004

By 

S. J Parker (Edmond, Ok) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forensics: True Crime Scene Investigations (Hardcover)

Starting from the fundamental principle of forensics, that "every contact leaves a trace", this book presents a fascinating study of the techniques that we have all heard about in countless trials and on television dramas and crime reconstruction, but which until now have remained mysteries to the outsider. Chapters on poisons including alcohol and drugs, documents and handwriting, sudden death, fire, blood and other body fluids, identity, trace and contact evidence, ballistics, time of death, criminal psychology and the handling of forensic evidence present a complete picture of a science which involves much more than post-mortems.

Recent and earlier famous cases are covered in detail, including those in which Dr. Erzinqlioglu was himself an expert witness. If you've ever wondered how the pattern of blood splatters can yield so many clues, or why it is so difficult to establish exact time of death, you will find the answers here.

The author is a leading forensic scientist who carried out more than 500 murder investigations around the world.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Scholarly Work, February 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Every Contact Leaves a Trace : Scientific Detection in the Twentieth Century (Hardcover)

Over the years, I have read many books on forensic science. Some are popularizations aimed at the general public, some are textbook-like and aimed at professionals in the field while many others are aimed at various levels somewhere in between those two extremes. I would classify this book in the third category - just short of being a textbook (although I can see this book being recommended as supplementary reading in forensic science courses). The author discusses the basic principles of forensic science. He covers different techniques used in much of the field and offers his professional opinion on many cases that everyone is familiar with. The book has been written with a careful choice of words which is indicative of a careful scientist. Reading this book was both a great pleasure for me as well as a learning experience. It's a real page-turner that is difficult to put down and I strongly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written and easy to read, November 14, 2004

By 

J. L. Keats (CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forensics - True Crime Scene Investigations (Paperback)

Dr. Erzinclioglu is very talented as an informative writer. The topics covered in this book are pretty basic - it is a great intro to forensic science book. He covers things such as time of death, cause of death, the method of poisoning, fire investigation - in the context of explaining the methods used to investigate each one. He cites many investigations as examples, and most of them are the more obscure that we have not heard about already, (at least if you leave in the US and not Britain), unlike a lot of other basic forensic texts that use cases we all may know about.

One of the more interesting cases discussed in this book under the chapter "Words and Images" is the Shroud of Turin. I recently watched a show on DSC not too long ago on this same topic, but the author brings up quite a bit of evidence that was never even touched on in the show.

This is one of those texts that just makes you feel smarter and more informed after reading it, and those who are seriously considering a career in this field will probably feel drawn to the author in the sense that this is a person you would like to meet and train under. I look forward to reading their other works.

In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to begin researching forensic science without throwing themselves into it headfirst. This will give you the basic principles and ideas that you need, as well as a basic understanding of different techniques used by investigators. It is a good foundation to build from in your learning process.