Review by Booklist Review
In forensics, the FBI's crime lab has no peer, a fact that Fisher confirms in his detailed but sprightly account of the experts who work there and the cases they've cracked. If one thing unites the inventive ways people commit murder, whether by poisoning, shooting, or bombing, it is the uniqueness of some microscopic piece of evidence left at the crime scene; it could be flecks of paint, traces of a chemical, bodily hairs or fluids, shards of plastic or glass, a piece of paper, a striated bullet. The lab is divided into units (as Fisher also arranges his chapters) devoted to each such type of trace evidence. Allowed ample access to the facility's personnel, Fisher lets his awe and appreciation for their work run free in his prose--but keeps within a well-organized arrangement of the welter of facts--and so produces a work quite difficult to put down. Most of the cases, many but not all well publicized, contain appalling, hard-to-stomach brutality, as the critical minutiae inevitably reconstruct the victims' last moments of life; without such close examinations, justice has no chance. A fine peek behind the scenes. --Gilbert Taylor
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
True-crime fans will savor this room-by-room, machine-by-machine tour of the FBI Criminal Laboratory in Washington, D.C., perhaps the world's best forensics department. Fisher (Killer) introduces readers to units that involve chemistry (with a special emphasis on toxicology), explosives, hairs and fibers, fingerprints and DNA analysis, material analysis, documents, firearms, photography, video enhancement and polygraphy. Included are details of the ballistic investigations of the assassination of John Kennedy, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, the murder of Martin Luther King, and the World Trade Center bombing. Readers will be astounded by the abilities of the high-technology equipment and the talents of the investigators who staff this extraordinary sci-crime lab. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Major advances in forensic science, such as DNA analysis, have taken place in the recent past. With the interested lay reader in mind, Washington Post journalist Fisher describes the work of the FBI Crime Laboratoryregarding explosives, firearms, hairs and fibers, toxicology, etc.and how it has been used to solve problematic cases. Writing with the FBI's cooperation, Fisher tends to accept at face value their judgments in some controversial casesSacco and Vanzetti, Alger Hiss, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and the JFK assassination. Nevertheless, his enthusiasm for the progress in processing the faintest crime-scene clues is not misplaced. While some detailed accounts of forensic procedures can be soporific, they also pinpoint guilt or innocence previously undetectable. Recommended for larger popular crime collections.Gregor A. Preston, formerly with Univ. of California Lib., Davis (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A breezy, enjoyable, and informative collection of anecdotes by the FBI crime lab, by an enthusiastic if unskeptical fan. Fisher, coauthor of several celebrity autobiographies (George Burns's All My Best Friends, 1989, etc.), likes to introduce chapters with quotes from Sherlock Holmes, so it's clear this book is an entertainment, albeit an educational one. The opening chapter traces the history of the lab, established in 1933 to provide free and impartial investigative services for federal, state, and local agencies. Fisher then devotes each of the eight following chapters to one or a few related units of the lab, recounting the impressive march of scientific expertise and offering tidbits from interesting cases. Faced with extortion threats regarding cyanide-tainted Tylenol in 1982, members of the lab's chemistry/toxicology unit recognized that X-rays could detect the presence of the poison. Lab expertise, Fisher notes, sometimes proceeds curiously: One vital tool for developing invisible fingerprints is superglue, using a technique discovered by accident in 1979. And new technology can be a double-edged sword for criminals: Though illegal copying of documents has increased, every copy machine has ``fingerprints'' caused by its unique set of scratches and smudges. In addition to its technique, Fisher captures some of the lab's lingo lore: Criminals use so much duct tape that analysts call it ``crime tape''; Radio Shack is known as ``the Bomber's Store,'' because one can buy nearly all components there. However, though he shows that the lab does act impartially, he offers only sketchy treatment of some controversial issues, like the importance and reliability of DNA testing and the theories surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. A good alternative to much true-crime ephemera. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
