Poisons: From Hemlock to Botox and the Killer Bean of Calabar Kindle Edition

Very informative and entertaining, especially if you're a morbid weirdo who delights in learning about accidental deaths and mass murder.

Fun ride through the history of poison biological chemical and natural. Wondrous well researched work, treat to read and a wealth of anecdotes

I need to mention that I am reasonably educated in the field of historical toxicology--technically a layperson, but I've read a few books about it and I research it pretty regularly. This one was good, but a couple of issues kept me from bumping it up to a four.The good stuff--it's comprehensive and interestingly-formatted, with text boxes of tidbits and little illustrations of the plants, which I quite liked. It also provided lots of information about a variety of poisons from history as well as the modern day, including chemical pollutants and biological sources such as the poison required for cellular apoptosis. It covered famous poisoners of history and their crimes, as well, which was a nice thing to touch on--not all books do.However, sometimes the science was skimmed over and the style could occasionally be irritating. There was a tendency to ramble and change topics randomly, and it didn't feel as structured as most of the scientific nonfiction books I've read about other things--as well, the author is a bit fond of sounding clever, and a few of his remarks were opaque and too opinionated for nonfiction. A couple lines seemed a touch sexist as well, particularly a bit about belladonna drops making it as though the ladies using them were 'leading gentlemen' on by obeying the fashion convention of the time. I could have done without that.In all, though, I'd recommend it and would probably read it again. It was very informative and the faults don't sink the book.

A generally light-hearted history of poisons, I found this book a quick read. At first I was disappointed that it didn't delve deeper and describe "poisons" more thoroughly, but that gives me incentive to do more research myself. Also, there are many thoughtful insights as to who/what may be the greatest poisoner.

I’ve always been interested in the poisons (and before you start accusing me of anything, I’m not planning to do anyone in) and I thought that this book would satisfy most of my curiosity. Besides, the e-book was on sale. I had expected to enjoy this book more than I did. There was nothing wrong with the writing nor was there any problem with the history of poisoning. Author Peter Macinnis does a fine job of giving a complete background of poisons (intentional and accidental) throughout history. In retrospect, I think my problem with the book that I was more interested in more modern poisons and not as much a fan of ancient poisoning.Removing my disappointment from the review, I would give this book a solid 4/5. If you are interested in the history of poisonings, this is a great book to have on your shelf (or Kindle library).I’m going to be taking a break from reading non-fiction to catching up on all those mystery e-books I’ve collected over the year.

It's organized and got a lot of facts. The first chapter is poison cases. And then after that it gets really scientific, so it's really educational!

A very good book on the subject, certainly if you've not read many. No substance will poison anyone if in low enough dosage, although we really do not know what we're doing with this ellipses ... and you wouldn't want that to happen, would you :-P So read this book and try to get up to speed on these offensive toxins.Lots can be learned that can very quite likely be used to avert poisoning of yourself or of a loved one or pet. Of course, this quite a lot of effort goes into an environmental awareness that can tell the difference in food versus air or contact, a-hah! Lots of citations and source reference material can be found. Good luck not getting poisoned, I'm so bad at this!

Very interesting book - enjoyed reading it. Informative about a lot of things I never thought about.

Encyclopedic in scope, written with wit and erudition. A delightful if exhausting read. Not likely to be to everybody's cup of tea. For those who are interested it is captivating if complex and wide ranging dissertation that is an eye opener.Excels as a writer. His research into ergot is stunning and his reflections on apoptosis is nothing short of amazing and quite alarming.

Who knew that poisons were/are so ubiquitous? One assumes the stories will be, say, about Victorian poisons and, to be sure, they are, but the author then expands to cover modern poisons, many of which are or were in standard products offered. Instructive and cautionary to that extent.

This book was an excellent read and very informative. Very well written.

I love how the author incorporates factual history into the poisons, it's a good read, easy to read, easy to remember.

Interesting read, but it can be a little tricky to follow as the stories almost blend one into the other.