Handbook of Forensic Science, 7 Volume Set

Description: 

Forensic science serves as an accessible and inspiring window into a fascinating realm of science.

The Essentials of Forensic Science set was created in response to this thirst for knowledge and information. Written by eminent forensic scientists, the books cover all major areas of forensic science from their earliest inception to the modern laboratory and courtroom. With topics ranging from firearms and fingerprints to fakes and forgeries, the books in this intriguing set provide students, teachers, and general readers with a readable and comprehensive account of current topics in this field as well as related findings in science. Each title features black-and-white photographs and line illustrations, as well as an index, a glossary, and Web sites for further reading.

Books in the Set

Blood, Bugs, and Plants

Author: R. E. Gaensslen

Blood, Bugs, and Plants explores how three disciplines within biological science relate to forensic science: the identification of blood and other physiological fluids, including DNA typing and interpretation of blood-spatter patterns; entomology (bugs), the study of insects, whose life cycles inform autopsies? and botany (plants), a field used to analyze plants as evidentiary material. The book illustrates progress made in these areas through research in the forensic laboratory, investigations in the field, and courtroom testimony. Throughout the book, sidebars on notable cases, personnel and a variety of forensic issues are included to reinforce the text.

This volume contains more than 30 black-and-white photographs and line illustrations, a glossary, a detailed list of print and web resources, and an index. 

Contents: 

Overview • History and pioneers • DNA and genetics • Blood and body fluids: preliminary testing • DNA typing • Bugs and plants • The future • Index 

About the Author: 

R. E. Gaensslen, Ph.D., is professor and director of graduate studies of forensic science in the Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He has published numerous journal articles and is the author of several books. He was the editor of the Journal of Forensic Science from 1992 to 2000. 

Crashes and Collapses

Author: Thomas L. Bohan 

Crashes and Collapses examines forensic cases and investigative methods from forensic engineering, a discipline that includes the physical sciences, such as chemistry and physics, as well as other engineering fields. The engineering sciences dominate forensic investigations of events underlying civil disputes and also play an important role in criminal investigations, especially those in which a crime has been disguised as an accident In addition to a history of forensic engineering science, the book takes an enlightening look at specific crashes and collapses, historical and recent, and presents both facts and theories as to their causes, effects, and resolutions. Throughout the book, sidebars on notable personnel and a variety of forensics issues are included to reinforce the text.

The volume contains more than 80 black-and-white photographs and line illustrations, a glossary, a detailed list of print and Web resources, and an index. 

Contents: 

History and guiding principles of forensic engineering science • Accident reconstruction: getting started • Accident reconstruction: moving into high gear • Speed from critical-speed scuffs • Murder poorly disguised as an accident • Subway stop • The grounding of the merchant vessel tamano • Crane collapse • Scaffolding collapse • Bringing it all together • Index 

About the Author:

Thomas L. Bohan, Ph.D., received a doctorate in physics from the University of Illinois-Urbana. Currently the director of MTC Forensis in Portland, Maine, he has published articles in refereed journals on physics and forensic science and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Forensic Sciences. Bohan is also president-elect of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and treasure of the Forensic Specialities Accreditation Board. 

Firearms and Fingerprints

Author: Edward Hueske 

The science of using fingerprints in human identification goes back several thousand years, although the science of fingerprint comparison and the scientific examination of firearms goes back only to the early 19th century. Firearmsand Fingerprints examines firearms evidence and fingerprint comparison from the beginnings and the people who laid the groundwork for the current science, discussing the highly specialized education, training, and experience required in the modern forensics laboratory. Providing an in-depth examination of the capabilities and limitations of firearms and latent print evidence, the book looks at evolving possibilities and recent legal challenges. Throughout, sidebars on notable cases, personnel, and a variety of forensics issues are included to reinforce the text.

This volume contains more than 60 photographs and illustrations, a glossary; a list of print and web resources, and an index. 

Contents: 

Overview • A Brief history of firearms and fingerprints and the scientists involved • Scientific principles, instrumentation, and equipment • Forensic applications ?The future • Index 

About the Author: 

Edward Hueske retired in 1996 after a 23-year career in government crime laboratories in Taxas, Arizona, and Oklahoma as a criminalist, firearms examiner, and laboratory manager. He is the criminalistics program coordinator at the University of North Texas and teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in criminalistics/ Hueske is a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Science, an emeritus member of the American Society of crime Laboratory Directors, an emeritus member of the Southwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, a distinguished member of the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners, and a member of the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts.  

Science versus Crime

Author: Max M. Houck 

Science versus Crime provides an insider's look at how crimes are solved with the help of forensic science. Written by a well-respected forensic scientist, the book offers an intriguing overview of many renowned criminal investigations and explores a numbers of topics that are key to how forensic science solves crimes. The book also covers testimony, admissibility hearings, and how the law and scientific evidence intersect in a courtroom. Throughout the book, sidebars on notable cases, pioneers in the history of forensic science, and a variety of issues are included to reinforce the text.

This volume contains more than 30 black-and-white photographs and line illustrations, a chronology, a glossary, a detailed list of print and Web resources, and an index. 

Contents: 

Forensic Science: In and Out of the laboratory • History and pioneers • What is evidence? • Microscopy • Spectroscopy • Chromatography • Forensic DNA • Fingerprints • Firearms examination • Testimony and report writing • Index  

Trace Evidence

Author: Max M. Houck 

Trace Evidence focuses on the forensic analysis of minute fragments of material that wander from their original source to a different location, remaining there until removed. Forensic analysts attempt to trace these fragments to their source in order to demonstrate the association between the source and where a fragment is found. Written by a well-respected forensic scientist, the book illustrates the importance of sometimes microscopic evidence and the significant impact it can have on criminal investigations. Throughout the book, sidebars on notable cases, pioneers in the history of forensic science, and a variety of issues are included to reinforce the text.

This volume contains more than 25 black-and-photographs and line illustrations, a glossary; a detailed list of print and web resources, and an index. 

Contents: 

What is evidence? • Forensic applications • Hairs • Fibers • Index 

About the Author: 

Max M. Houck is director of West Virginia University's forensic science initiative (FSI), an organization that provides resource and training to the nation's forensics laboratories. He is also the university's director of forensic business development in the college of Business and Economics. Houck has written several books and coedits the journal Forensic Science Policy and Management. 

Drugs, Poisons, and Chemistry

Author: Suzanne Bell 

Drugs, Poisons, and Chemistry traces the fascinating history of forensic toxicology. Although forensic and toxicologists are concerned primarily with drugs and poisons, they examine different types of evidence. Forensic chemists in crime labs work to determine whether potential evidence might be an illegal substance and examine samples-including fire debris, soil, paint, glass, explosives, and fibers-obtained from crime scenes. Toxicologists examine blood, saliva, urine, and feces evidence, using analytical chemistry to identify chemical traces and unmetabolized drugs, often working in labs associated with a medical examiner's office or a hospital. The tools and techniques used by forensic chemists-ranging from the familiar, such as the microscope, to the more obscure, such as the use of antibodies to detect toxins-are also discussed. Throughout the book, sidebars on notable cases, personnel, and a variety of forensic issues reinforce the text.

This volume contains more than 40 black-and-white photographs and line illustrations, a glossary, a detailed list of print and web resources, the Periodic Table of the Elements, and an index. 

Contents: 

History and Pioneers • Scientific principles, instrumentation, and equipment • Toxicology: drugs and poisons in the body • Forensic drug analysis • Conclusions: the future of drugs, poisons, and chemistry • Index  

Fakes and Forgeries

Author: Suzanne Bell 

Fakes and Forgeries investigates how physical evidence suspected of being faked, forged, or fraudulent is examined forensically and how such tools as computers, printers, and scanners create questionable documents and counterfeits. Fakes and forgeries are known from ancient times to the present. As the methods of forgery have advanced, however, science is now key in the battle against forgers. Print and coin currency, works of art, and historical artifacts are only a few of the objects that are commonly forged, and today scientists in forensic laboratories work with artists, museums, linguists, and historians to establish such objects? authenticity.

This volume contains more than 30 black-and-white photographs and line illustrations, a glossary, a detailed list of print and Web resources, and an index. Throughout the book, sidebars on notable cases, personnel, and a variety of forensics issues are included to reinforce the text. 

Contents: 

History and pioneers • The scientific approach • Dyes and pigments; inks and paints • Detecting document forgery • Counterfeiting currency • Forging art, history and science • Index 

About the Author: 

Suzanne Bell, Ph. D. holds a degree in chemistry from New Mexico State University and an M.S. in forensic science from the University of New Haven. She is currently an associate professor of chemistry and director of forensic and investigative sciences at West Virginia University. Bell's previous work has been published in Journal of Chemical Education, Analytical Chemistry, and Journal of Forensic Science. 

Target Audience: 

Students, teacher and general readers looking to know about forensic science.