Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers
Dead Reckoning - Michael Baden and Marion Roach
by Michael Baden and Marion Roach
Dr Michael Baden is a name that will be familiar to anyone with an interest in forensic science. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he has become one of the world's leading forensic pathologists, conducting more than 20,000 autopsies and acting as a consultant for some of the world's highest profile murder cases, including the trial of O.J. Simpson and the assassination of President Kennedy. His book "Dead Reckoning", written with Marion Roach, is a look at how forensic science is changing the face of crime detection in the 21st century.
In it he describes how a routine autopsy is actually conducted and also highlights some of his more unusual cases. He writes of some of his most esteemed counterparts and describes their work. These include Dr Neal Haskell, one of the world's few practising forensic entomologists, who has done ground-breaking research into insect activity on corpses and also Herb MacDonnell who researches blood spatter patterns. (Baden and Roach also include some less worthy names of people who have been caught falsifying testimony.) He also discusses his work as an expert witness.
This is a book that is filled with fascinating -if gruesome - snippets of information. (For example, a human head weighs around 11lbs!) It is divided into chapters with titles such as Blood, Exhumation, Heads, Bugs and Inside and yet the chapter headings are quite loose. The trial of O. J. Simpson, for example, appears in several different chapters, the overall effect being that this book reads like recollections of a career, rather than a strict documentation of events.
Whereas the subject of the book is not a pleasant one, Baden and Roach approach it in a way that is very user-friendly, the tone of the book being almost conversational at times. It must be remembered that while many people would be repulsed by Baden's work, for him it is more a lifelong calling than a job and his enthusiasm for his work is almost contagious. Indeed, there are several examples of black humour (the kind that those faced with horrific situations rely on to keep their sanity) and some of the conferences that Dr Baden attends in the course of his work sound particularly riotous affairs.
"Dead Reckoning" looks at the past, present and future of forensic science, explaining it in a way that makes it both interesting and easy to understand. It is not a rehash of infamous murder cases, but an excursion into the mortuary and an explanation of what can be discovered from a detailed examination of a dead body. There is a section of black and white photographs which, given the subject of the book, some readers may find disturbing, yet as far as possible they seem to have been carefully selected to be educational rather than horrifying. At the end of the book is a list of sources (all properly referenced as befits a scientist) and an index.
Forensic science is, according to the books cover, "The new science of catching killers". Of all the books on forensic science I have ever read, I found "Dead Reckoning" one the most down to earth and matter of fact. It is perhaps not a book for those with a weak stomach but, for anyone with even a passing interest in forensic science, it is a candid look at the way it is practised. I found it fascinating from first to last.
Publisher: Arrow
ISBN: 0099439794
Price: £6.99 / $13.00 p/b
Date Reviewed: November 2002
My Rating: 4/5
