Hidden Evidence: Forty True Crimes and How Forensic Science Helped Solve Them [Paperback]

David Owen (Author), Thomas T. Noguchi (Foreword) (Author), Kathy Reichs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2000

Hidden Evidence takes you to the scenes of 40 infamous crimes and into the heart of the forensic investigations. These are the true crime shockers that have grabbed headlines and aroused public passions. David Owen explains the scientific procedures that helped crack every one of these cases -- from the gathering of elusive physical clues to the examination of weapons and bodies, to the use of sophisticated scientific analysis.

Threaded throughout the book is the history of forensic science and the technologies that support it, including:
fingerprinting, autopsies, handwriting analysis, ballistics, hair sampling, blood typing, DNA testing, dental records, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, compound and electron microscopes, and toxicology.

The high-profile cases David Owen used to illustrate forensic developments are from as early as 1775, when Paul Revere used dentures to identify a slain soldier, to the latest developments in the Oklahoma bombing. Most will be familiar to readers, such as: The Lindbergh Kidnapping, Pan Am Flight 103, The Kennedy Investigation, The Hitler Diaries, Wayne Williams, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey MacDonald, Dr. Josef Mengele, Robert Maxwell's suicide, Tsar Nicholas II, and The World Trade Center bombing.

David Owen presents the facts, steering clear of speculation. Comprehensive in scope, thoroughly researched and expertly compiled, Hidden Evidence is, in the words of former Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas T. Noguchi, "a fascinating book ... [and] an excellent mini-encyclopedia of widely discussed, high-profile cases."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Once it took a thief to catch a thief; these days it more often takes forensic scientistsAthe experts who scrutinize fibers and fabrics, tire tracks and shoe prints, cell scrapings and bloodstains. Journalist and engineer Owen's first book shows how these scientists work and what they discover. Forensic geologists trace pebbles and soil; engineers examine aircraft panels and wreckage to find the cause of a crash. Forensic pathologists investigate corpses for their time and manner of death; chemists test hair and blood for DNA. Owen organizes his book by type of evidence, which sometimes corresponds to manner of death: drowning, hanging, poison, guns, and the identification of bodies each get chapters. Each case shows how the scientists work. Some concern famous victims (Czar Nicholas II) or notorious criminals (Josef Mengele); some date from the 19th century, while others show off advanced technology. Fingerprints are the oldest way to prove a person's presence at a crime scene. Another early tool, the comparison microscope, presented two magnified images side by side, making it easy to check if, for example, two bullets came from the same gun. Forensic scientists don't just catch criminals, we learn; they also save lives by preventing accidents. When a U.S.S. Iowa turret blew up in 1989, killing 47 sailors, the navy labeled the disaster sabotage; explosives experts discovered the real cause, a flaw in the guns' loading procedures, thus preventing repeats of the tragedy. More than 420 photos (many in color) enhance the text, and retired L.A. coroner Thomas Noguchi and mystery writer Kathy Reichs vouch for the book in two short introductions. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Owen, a science writer, looks at how forensic science has developed and how techniques have evolved from methods of investigation used in ancient China to computerized DNA analysis. The discussion presents the earlier and fairly dubious practices of cataloging physical traits of the criminal class and how such practices evolved into more scientific methods of sketching suspects. Owen highlights 40 actual crimes, including explanations of how evidence was investigated, in such cases as the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and the O. J. Simpson murder trial. The author looks at how blood, skin tissue, and fiber sampling have evolved. In the arena of criminal frauds and forgeries, Owen examines detective methods used to determine the authenticity of the alleged diaries of Adolf Hitler and Jack the Ripper. He details the procedures used by police and investigators at the crime scene and forensic lab and looks at promising developments in forensic science. This is fascinating reading for a range of readers from forensic scientists to professional and amateur sleuths, but the graphic illustrations are not for the squeamish. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (September 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552094839
• ISBN-13: 978-1552094839
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, slight book on forensic science., December 16, 2000

By 

K. L Sadler "Dr. Karen L. Sadler" (Freedom, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hidden Evidence: Forty True Crimes and How Forensic Science Helped Solve Them (Paperback)

I'm always a little leary of saying a book like this is fun. I don't want people to think that forensics is anything but a serious science, and one that is unfortunately used way too often in this world. I've always wondered why I am fascinated by this particular field, and it worries me less it says something bad about me. However, I can say that of all the professions especially in the sciences, forensics is the one that comes nearest to being able to solve puzzles and mysteries and still manage to get paid for it! When I see a book like Owen's I find it is hard to put the book down. Like other reviewers, I wish the author had put more information in the book about the techniques and the crimes. I did not recognize some of the crimes, so when the author refers back to them it is difficult to understand where the technique was used. The photography and graphics were phenomenol. For someone like me, who is deaf, graphic presentation is as important as the written presentation of the science. I feel like the author got all these pictures (and that was a lot of work doing this research, because I have not seen many of the pictures before)and did a rush job on the writing part. The book is still very good, and I think this is a valid book to refer to for people who are deciding whether or not to go into the particular field as a career. It is basic, but it provides enough information and 'gore' to see if a person can stand dealing with the awful situations in which forensic scientists are called upon to view. I know in medical school I was a little leary of if I was going to be sick when we had to go down to the morgue, for fear I'd get sick or not be able to do my work. I found out that it didn't bother me (except for children)and it did bother my interpreters (went through 3 in less then a month!) It is imperative for people who are even considering this field to look at a book like this to see how squeamish they are in dealing with this stuff. I know too many people who tried to become doctors or nurses who had to quit because they could not deal with death and illness on a daily basis. How much more important is it for someone who will be exposed to violent death to decide whether this field is actually for them? This book would be a good career guide for this field. They no longer just use a coroner, but specialists in anthropology, entomology, firearms, photography, psychology, etc. and the need for these trained people is going to increase because of population increases. For the most part this was a good book, but be aware that the author does not give as much information about a lot of the crimes as many people want. This book is mainly about the science behind the police and prosecutors, and not about the crimes themselves. If the reader is interested in the crimes themselves, they will have to go elsewhere to find the information. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Gruesome Picture Book of Forensic Science, December 8, 2000

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hidden Evidence: Forty True Crimes and How Forensic Science Helped Solve Them (Paperback)

"Hidden Evidence" is a trade paperback that relies more on photographs than text, and some of the pictures are pretty gory. The is the first forensic science book I've read where there was actually a photograph of the aftermath of one of the 'Jack the Ripper' murders. David Owen has still assembled an interesting book. Some of the forty crimes that he uses as examples are well-known, e.g. Wayne Williams, the Atlanta child killer. Others will probably be unknown to the reader (Americans, at least). For instance, there are several gruesome goings-on Down Under that the author touches on, including the sixty-three-year-old auntie who liked to put thallium in her relatives' tea.

Although "Hidden Evidence" held my interest, I wish the author had gone into more detail about the forensic techniques that he describes and also more detail about some of the crimes. He skips from case to case so quickly that there is little room for suspense or a clear description of the amount of work it took to solve some of these crimes. I think the British have the edge over us Americans when it comes to writing true crime/forensic science books. One of my favorites is "Forty Years of Murder" by Professor Keith Simpson, who was the British Home Office pathologist for forty years. Another favorite is the biography of Bernard Spillsbury, who was Simpson's chief crime-solving rival.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Picture-laden, text-light good general overview of forensics, June 28, 2003

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hidden Evidence: Forty True Crimes and How Forensic Science Helped Solve Them (Paperback)

This is a picture book for adults about forensics. The photos and illustrations are amazing, varied, and, often, gruesome and graphic. The text seems like an afterthought; nothing more than the basic information is given, and each case study covers the facts and very little else. This book is not for someone like myself who studies forensics, but rather for someone who is hooked on CSI, doesn't know anything about the topic, and wants to read more about it. This book is a much better general forensics overview and has more detailed information [and more information generally] the The Forensic Science of C.S.I.

Hidden Evidence also explains the major types of forensic science [ballistics, DNA, trace evidence, etc] and uses case studies to document each field. Overall, this book is a good starting point for anyone interested in forensic science.