American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI

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It was an honor to live along Stanford University's prestigious Faculty Row in Palo Alto, an affluent community about thirty miles south of San Francisco. Now a high-tech hub in the heart of Silicon Valley, the city has always attracted the wealthy, the educated, and the kingmakers, even in the 1930s. The Lamsons' cottage was snuggled amid the palatial homes of professors and professionals, surrounded by the splendid coast live oaks and flowering eucalyptus trees on campus. The university had earned an international reputation by the 1930s-a sanctuary for future academics who could afford a pricey private education, even as most Americans struggled through the fourth year of the Great Depression, later called the toughest year. The book is written in a very engaging manner and it doesnt get too dry. I'm not necessarily a true crime junkie, but I found it to be fascinating to see how these techniques came to be when you compare them with how they're done now. Mixed in with these cases are stories of how Heinrich grew up, the stresses of his childhood and adult life, his family life, and the toll that forensic science investigation took on his personal life, physical and mental health. If you're interested in true crime and history, this is a good choice to read! And it was a tumultuous era—the homicide rate in the 1920s, when Heinrich’s most interesting work began, had increased by as much as almost 80 percent from the decade before, thanks to Prohibition. For thirteen years the federal government in the US banned alcohol in hopes of reducing crime, but instead it spawned new and more creative criminal enterprises. Varying levels of corruption tainted local governments and police departments across the country. Judges enjoyed immunity from arrest, and most major cities were ruled by crime bosses. Those interested in the development of modern forensics will be enthralled." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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While many true-crime books suffer from stale prose, Dawson’s writing is remarkable in that it never uses the crutch of false suspense but also doesn’t skimp on valuable details… An entertaining, absorbing combination of biography and true crime.” From the acclaimed author of Death in the Air ("Not since Devil in the White City has a book told such a harrowing tale" - Douglas Preston) comes the riveting story of the birth of criminal investigation in the twentieth century. Archives & Special Collections · University of Minnesota Libraries". special.lib.umn.edu . Retrieved 12 August 2018.

Nollen, Scott Allen (2013). Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond. McFarland & Company. p.17. ISBN 9780786458547. Cops were combatting a sneakier criminal, those thieves and murderers who understood chemicals, firearms, and the criminal court system. Licencing, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Peepolykus Theatre Company". Peepolykus.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28 . Retrieved 2014-10-28. Inside the yearbook's offices she met David Lamson, the charismatic editor in chief for a popular humor magazine, the Stanford Chaparral. They shared so many interests, both brainy students who were engaged in the Stanford community. By graduation Allene had been charmed by the handsome writer, and they were married just a few years later.

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I loved the notes on Heinrichs's views of "experts" and how anyone could be considered an expert even if they were a student without hands-on experience. It reminded me of many of the "experts" paraded about on television today. Sad that we have come full circle. A fascinating work of historical resurrection. By deftly recounting a series of murder cases from the 1920s and 1930s, Kate Dawson constructs a complex and engrossing portrait of a brilliant investigator and illuminates the origins of modern forensic science.”— Karen Olsson, author of The Weil Conjectures: On Math and the Pursuit of the Unknown In 1991, Charlton Heston played Holmes in the Turner Network Television production of Paul Giovanni's play The Crucifer of Blood.

Considering America’s long obsession with forensics and criminal investigation, it is amazing that most of us don’t know who Oscar Heinrich was. Reading Kate Dawson’s engaging new book, I had the sense of being taken on a journey of discovery through the history of forensic science. The obsessive, brilliant Heinrich is the perfect character for the job!” —S.C. Gwynne, author of Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon I was fascinated by Heinrich’s method of putting together criminal profiles, especially as he was also developing the method for doing so during the 1920s. The minutiae that he focused on to arrive at conclusions about the type of person they were looking for made me realize I am not as detail-oriented as I would like to think. Through excerpts of Heinrich’s letters to friends, readers are given a closer and more private view of his personality. He could be scornful of his competitors and their methods, always feeling that his approach was the best. He tried his best to support his family on his income, but it never seemed enough. Heinrich’s personality comes to life in this book through his letters and testimonies, showing readers a man that was both arrogant and admirable and who just wanted to get the correct verdict. Considering America’s long obsession with forensics and criminal investigation, it is amazing that most of us don’t know who Oscar Heinrich was. Reading Kate Dawson’s engaging new book, I had the sense of being taken on a journey of discovery through the history of forensic science. The obsessive, brilliant Heinrich is the perfect character for the job!”— S.C. Gwynne, author of Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon I'm not really sure what I should be taking from this book other than hoping someone else writes a better one about Heinrich so we can get a clearer understanding of what he did.