A Taste for Poison

"The dose makes the poison."

As I write this, my husband is giving me the side eye after listening to me go on about how awesome this book about poisons and the people who used them was. I can't imagine why, because we both know I lack the attention span required to cook up a poison or two.

But in all seriousness, this was a fantastic book about several different natural and synthetic compounds that were used to commit crimes. Each chapter features a different poison, centers around a major case (and sometimes a minor one as well) where the poison featured prominently, and discusses medically what happens when the poison is administered and other neat (read: morbid) facts about efficacy, cures, and how the poison was made or discovered. My favorite chapter was the chapter on ricin, if only for the morbidly amusing story about an elderly woman in Vermont who cooked up poisons in her assisted living kitchen. The chapter on polonium was also fascinating.

It's not a very long book and the poisons discussed were all ones I had at least heard of, if not knew the details about. It's not a comprehensive book about all poisons ever, but what it does talk about is well fleshed out and entertaining to read about. Just a great, interesting read all around.

Maybe pick your audience carefully before discussing this book, though.