Encyclopedia of Forensic Science (Facts on File Science Library)

Praise for the previous edition:
Society of School Librarians International "Honor Book"

"...user friendly and accessible...a book with tremendous potential usage...Highly Recommended." Library Media Connection, starred review

"...an excellent source...Essential..." Choice

"...will provide readers with a nuts-and-bolts understanding of the real world of forensic science and is recommended for public and undergraduate libraries." Booklist

"...[a] handsome, polished reference work...should be among the more frequently consulted reference works in public and university libraries." American Reference Books Annual

Gathering the core topics of forensic science into one comprehensive volume and providing an overview of each, Encyclopedia of Forensic Science, Revised Edition is a revised and expanded version of the award-winning original with approximately 650 entries, more than 80 new to this edition. More than 12 essays are interspersed throughout this reliable A-to-Z reference, describing how forensic science relates to areas such as drug testing in sports, privacy concerns, misconceptions about forensic science, and the interface of forensic engineering and forensic science. The encyclopedia is richly illustrated with more than 200 black-and-white photographs and illustrations, plus a full-color insert containing photographs with depictions of firearms, tool marks, and DNA analysis. Most of the photographs were supplied by working forensic scientists in many different organizations. With updated appendixes aiding further research, this essential revised edition will remain the ultimate primer in the subject of forensic science for high school and college students alike.

New and revised entries include:

• Accidental characteristics
• Airplane crashes
• Alchemy
• Anthropology, forensic
• Birch Method
• Bloodstain patterns
• Robert Boyle
• Color and colorants
• Crime labs (forensic labs)
• CSI and CSI effect
• DNA wars
• Dust analysis
• Environmental forensics
• Explosive power
• Glove prints
• Jack the Ripper
• Lindbergh kidnapping
• Madrid bombings
• Albertus Magnus
• Oaths and ordeals
• Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy
• Paracelsus
• Rigor mortis
• Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
• Skeletal identification
• Sir Bernard Spilsbury
• Vinland Map
• Zwikker test
• and more.

The tremendous growth in popularity of forensic science in popular culture via television shows like CSI and the fictional works of Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell has generated a corresponding growth in public interest in the topic. This book is made up of 15 essays describing the application of forensic science to real-life situations as well as 650 alphabetical entries, most including recommendations for further reading. Bell (chemistry, West Virginia Univ.)—who is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a Fellow of the American Board of Criminalistics and whose work has been published in such journals as The Journal of Forensic Sciences and Journal of Analytical Toxicology—writes in a style that is accessible to the general public, explaining some of the relevant broader concepts that underlie scientific work (e.g., the scientific method, hypothesis testing, and stipulation). Also profiled are relevant persons and institutions, including the FBI, the American Board of Criminalistics, Calvin Goddard, and Paul Kirk. Revised appendixes also provide sources for additional information ("Appendix I: Bibliographies and Web Resources") and common acronyms and abbreviations. An index provides additional access to topics covered in the encyclopedia, including main entries and illustrations. Black-and-white illustrations are included throughout the volume, and an insert features four leaves of color illustrations. BOTTOM LINE This resource fills the need for accessible, accurate information on a popular topic. It describes much of the reality of forensic work that is often glossed over in works of fiction. Recommended for public and academic undergraduate libraries as well as high school libraries. [Available electronically through Infobase Ebooks, the publisher's new ebook platform.]—Sarah Sutton, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Corpus Christi
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