WRITTEN IN BLOOD - A History of Forensic Detection

Written in Blood Series

by Colin; Flem-Ath Wilson

In 44 B.C.E. a Roman doctor named Antistius performed the first autopsy recorded in history on the corpse of murder victim Julius Caesar. However, not until the nineteenth century did the systematic application of scientific knowledge to crime detection seriously begin, so that a tiny scrap of evidence might yield astonishing results like the single horsehair that betrayed the sex murderer in New York's 1936 Nancy Titterton case. In this massive history of forensic detection, the internationally recognized criminologist Colin Wilson charts the progress of criminalistics from the first attempts at detecting arsenic to the development of an impressive array of such modern techniques as ballistic analysis, blood typing, voice printing, textile analysis, psychological profiling & genetic fingerprinting. Wilson also explores the alarmingly modern phenomenon of serial sex crime with a discussion of notorious cases that includes Jack the Ripper, Lucie Berlin, Mary Phagan, the Black Dahlia, Charles Manson & Peter Sutcliffe, the so-called Yorkshire Ripper. Wilson shows how increasing sophistication of forensic detection & the introduction of computerized information retrieval has increasingly stacked the odds against the sex killer. Whatever the case, Written in Blood never fails to enlighten & intrigue.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime, Science

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Gae-Lynn Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to get through this book, simply due to the quantity of material it contains. Wilson and Wilson do a great job of outlining the sometimes accidental, sometimes hard-earned way that science has come to play a role in crime detection. They include summaries of a variety of crimes, along with the procedures police used - or didn't - to try and identify the perpetrator. An enjoyable, informative read - highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the history of forensics and crime.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Written in Blood" is a true crime book that covers cases throughout history (but mostly after 1800 AD) primarily from Britain and France, but also from other European countries and America. These cases were mainly murders, robbery, and/or rape. Sometimes woven into the retelling of a case was information on advances made in forensic detection or information about specific detectives (usually the one who made the advance or was well-known). Specific details were given about each new method and how it was used.

The book covered hundreds of cases. Each case was about a page or two long. The cases were interesting, but the briefness meant there wasn't much suspense and the pure number of them got sickening after a bit. I found the advancements in forensics more interesting.

Also, the author came across as arrogant--he'd mention when others disagreed with his conclusions about a case, but he'd make it sound like they were dumb for not seeing what was so obvious to him. He also strongly pushed the idea that--until relatively recently--humans were just too stupid to use logic in solving crime. That judges in the past were dumb beyond words and that's why some people were declared innocent even when they were obvious guilty. (Ironically, in one of those cases, the author did admit that bribes and corruption among judges was the norm at that time.)

The topics covered were: how police forces were developed in England; the development of methods of detecting poison (plus many cases involving poison); the methods developed to identify repeat criminals and dead bodies (plus cases focused on these methods); using blood types and then DNA to solve cases; methods used to link bullets from crimes to the shooter; how the microscope was used to solve various crimes (using fibers and such on the body to identify the criminal or where the person was killed); the rise of sex crimes; private detectives; country-wide manhunts; and criminal physiology (including information on lie detectors and the development of profiling).

There were some black and white pictures of several crime scenes and people discussed in the book. However, the pictures were all in one place so it was difficult to connect a picture to the particulars of the case.

The book was well-written in the sense that it was easy to understand what was going on and how various tests worked. If you love reading true crime books, then you'll likely enjoy this one. If you're interested in how forensic science developed, this book does give that information with a fair amount of detail, but it's mixed in among the many true crime cases and wasn't the primary focus of the book.

[Kara Thorpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be more of a case history/true crime type of book more than a history of forensics. While the cases do showcase the advances in forensics, it often seemed as if more focus was placed on the investigators and descriptions of the crime than how forensics helped. The author's bias towards his "favorite" scientists and forensic pioneers shows through quite clearly and, at times, can be off-putting.

While I appreciated the number of cases documented in the book, I would not recommend this for those looking purely for forensic-driven information. It would be better labeled as a "true crime" or "case history" type of book. The photos were not very informative, and I did not completely understand the necessity of their inclusion.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and informative. It starts from the beginning and follows the various developments of forensic evolution from the discovery of fingerprints to the early days of DNA. Each chapter contains several notable crimes such as Jack the Ripper, H. H. Holmes, the Black Dahlia, the Manson family, the Lindbergh kidnapping, covering England, France, Italy, Germany as well as the United States. He examines poisons, blood evidence, ballistics, development of the microscope, sex crimes, manhunts, the use of hypnosis and lie detectors, and wraps it up with the "Soul of the Criminal."
The chapter on ballistics focuses at the end on the fact that "In America, where the Constitution permits every citizen to carry arms, and where there are 60 million hand-guns, a powerful 'gun lobby' (supported by arms manufacturers) has opposed any attempt to change the law and the number of gun-related deaths has continued to rise steadily." The book was published in 1989. The author is British. He reflects how the rest of the world sees the US. He goes on to quote New York's Chief Medical Examiner Milton Helpren (1975): "I feel very strongly about this crazy notion that all Americans must have the sacred freedom to carry guns. We are not pioneering across the West now." Wilson concludes the chapter with "So, as the twentieth century draws to a close, it seems there are no hopeful signs that the United States will follow the rest of the civilized world and rationalize its gun laws. Meanwhile the insanity continues."
The final chapter covers serial killers, and motives or the lack thereof. Not all killers had poor childhoods and not everyone who suffered poor parenting or no parenting became killers. Why do people kill? He mentions the formation of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit which was later depicted in the TV series Criminal Minds beginning in 2005.
Despite the book being over 30 years old, I found it to be enlightening. Most of what Wilson recounts is still valuable in forensic science today. There may have been more in depth research and discoveries into DNA since this book was published, but not much else has changed. I highly recommend this or an updated version if available. I found the abundance of cases especially revealing.

[PJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was recommended this book by my teacher who also lent me his copy so for that reason I think my read was maybe more urgent and rushed than I wanted it to be, so take that into consideration. I'd like to read this again another time when I can get myself a copy to give it a better chance to settle into my head.

Overall this book was a highly engaging read and seeing crime investigation's history was something I didn't even know I was interested in.

I did find it slightly repetitive at times--especially the chapter on poisoning--though this isn't the fault of the author it is just that the details of investigation were very much a process of addition, spiraling out into more forward thinking skills and techniques.

I'm not very good at writing reviews.

[David Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Capitalism Freewill isn’t Free

Very long and complex history. I loved that it is written in so many dimensions: philosophical, psychological, technological and historical. It’s interesting that the red flags of a potential serial killer are known and after crossing a Rubicon of civility; the criminal is like a moth drawn to a flame.
I believe that real problem is over population and 1:20 ratio. We saw this with rat over population studies. This is why the “rationale” for murder charged.

[Lazlo Nibble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars until the end

An entertaining catalogue of true-crime anecdotes, framed as a history of criminal forensics. It goes off the deep end in the final chapter and postscript, in ways I would have expected had I known more about Wilson as a writer (the is my first Colin Wilson book; suffice to say Martin Gardner’s comments in Wilson’s current Wikipedia entry are dead-on) but his credulity in the home stretch doesn’t color the rest of the work.

[Trenton Twining · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of criminology

Wilson traces the history of scientific study of crime. Wilson offers several examples and a few counter-examples for advances. The book also explores some modern trends in criminology.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't expect the book to include such graphic descriptions of such horrid violence. I thought instead it would be more about the improvements in solving crimes. Those improvements were covered up to 1999 when the book was published. Important changes have been made since then.
This book was very long, 948 pages, and it took me a month to finish it since I could only read so much at a time. I would have preferred a shorter version with more emphasis on the improvements in solving crimes. The author listed the names of many criminals and many people who used specific methods to solve crimes. I couldn't keep track of all of them. Charts with names and dates showing how different methods were used over the years would have helped.
There were quite a few typos, many with just one letter wrong; but then it was a very long book. I wondered if an old version of optical character recognition had been used or if someone had typed the manuscript from a dictaphone.

[John]

Fascinating. A little dry at times, but it's the history of a science, so what do you expect?

[renee c shaner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating history of csi

This book looks at the entire history of criminal investigations and all its early leaders and criminals. Very well written and researched.

[Rose]

Meh. Nothing really new or groundbreaking.