The Handy Forensic Science Answer Book gives real-world examples and looks at what Hollywood gets right and wrong. It provides the history of the science, and it introduces the scientists behind breakthroughs. An easy-to-use and informative reference, it brings the complexity of a criminal investigation into focus and provides well-researched answers to over 950 common questions, such as …& bull; What is the difference between cause of death and manner of death?& bull; How did a person’s skull fit into criminal evidence in the early 1800s?& bull; When were fingerprints first used to identify a criminal?& bull; How is the approximate time of death of a crime scene victim determined?& bull; What is forensic serology?& bull; What is the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System?& bull; Can a forensics expert look at skeletal remains and tell whether the person was obese?& bull; How can a simple knot analyzed in the crime lab be used as evidence?& bull; Can fingerprints be permanently changed or destroyed?& bull; How fast does a bullet travel?& bull; How was a chemical analysis of ink important in the conviction of Martha Stewart?& bull; What types of data are often retrieved from a crime scene cellphone?& bull; Can analyses similar to those used in forensics be used to uncover doping in athletics?& bull; What is the Personality Assessment Inventory?& bull; What are some motives that cause an arsonist to start a fire?& bull; What state no longer allows bite marks as admissible evidence in a trial?& bull; What is the Innocence Project?& bull; Why are eyewitness accounts not always reliable? & bull; Who was “Jack the Ripper”?
Providing the facts, stats, history, and science, The Handy Forensic Science Answer Book answers intriguing questions about criminal investigations. This informative book also includes a helpful bibliography, glossary of terms, and an extensive index, adding to its usefulness.