bDiscover the extraordinary role of plants in modern forensics,from their use as evidence in the trials of high profile murderers such as Ted Bundy to high value botanical trafficking and poaching. /bWe are all familliar with the role of blood spatters or fingerprints in solving crimes,from stories in the media of DNA testing or other biological evidence being used as the clinching evidence to incriminate a killer. This book lifts the lid on the equally important evidence from plants at a crime scene,from the incriminating presence of freshwater plants in the lungs of a drowning victim,to rare botanical poisons in the evening gin and tonic,to exotic trafficked flowers and drugs. In Planting Clues,David Gibson explores how plants can help to solve crimes,as well as how plant crimes are themselves solved. He discusses the botanical evidence that proved important in bringing a number of high-profile murderers such as Ian Huntley (the 2002 Shoham Murders),and Bruno Hauptman (the 1932 Baby Lindbergh kidnapping) to trial,from leaf fragments and wood anatomy to pollen and spores. Throughout he traces the evolution of forensic botany,and shares the fascinating stories that advanced its progress.
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Publisher: Oxford University PressISBN: 9780198868606Weight: 376 gDimensions: 220 x 142 x 25 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
The narrative offers an interesting experience for the reader,who may learn and be entertained at the same time.A great and fascinating read that will be devoured by both those lay folk into popular science and crime procedural stories alike,but also those who have studied biological sciencesThere is some genuinely interesting material here... You can't fault Gibson's enthusiasm for the subject - and I suspect would-be botanists will enjoy it,while murder mystery writers will gain some excellent ideas for methods that their CSI teams can use.A wide-ranging survey of forensic botany... (the book) has some great tales about how plants help solve crimes - and are used to commit them.Gibson is a brisk,lucid writer...very good at conveying complex technical information smoothly.Planting Clues opens up a world that few of us know about,and while the book is heavy on technical details,it manages to balance these with (often brutal) case studies that help to bring to life the many ways in which plants (and botanists) have helped to solve crimes. This makes the pages fly by.A great book... Written in a very accessible way,Planting Clues should not only appeal to the general reader,but will also serve well as a textbook for an undergraduate course on forensic... a most welcome addition to the literature on plant-based forensics.well-structured and readableGibson's case studies aren't for the faint of heart... Armchair criminologists...will find plenty to like.Recommended reading for those interested in biology,forensic sciences,botany,and crime solving.David Gibson provides an engaging introduction,eminently readable...Not only is Planting Clues a great and fascinating read that will be devoured by both those lay folk into popular science and crime procedural stories alike,but also those who have studied biological sciences,are doing so,or are thinking of embarking on a bioscience course...I highly recommend (it).This volume is an excellent,entirely new type of treatment of the subject matter,deeply researched,and clearly and succinctly written.Gibson's book includes a wide range of examples of'forensic botany'...Gibson makes clear that taxonomic classification is at the heart of all forensic applications of botany,from Locard's dandelion to Wiltshire's palynomorphs.
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