Attention writers: This book could save your life If your tough guy in your hard-boiled detective story/police procedural/cozy thrillerdrops dead after one bit of the amanita pantherina, or the panther mushroom, and shows no symptoms, the uninformed may think your scene is shocking and dramatic, while fans in the know will probably feed you some wild grapes. If you read Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons, you probably won't know that the poisonous plant moonseed can be mistaken for wild grapes, you'd know that your tough guy, after eating amanita pantherina would first get an upset stomach, feel lightheaded, and get dehydrated from tears and sweat, before succumbing to death at least one and a half to three hours later. However, your tough guy would have had to eat a whole trunk full of mushrooms and been, well, too tough to go to a doctor.
R.N. and writer Serita Deborah Stevens and partner-in-crime Anne Klarner give a would-be Ed McBain or Sue Grafton all the lethal ammunition you need in this reference guide to poisons. Read Deadly Doses and avoid the wrath of a homicidal fan.
From a Pharmacist/Poison Specialist I became interested in this book, not because I am a writer, but because I'm a toxicologist and love to read anything on poisons. It's a great place to start, and *mostly* accurate. Hoever, some info is out of date (especially decontamination and antidotes), incomplete, or just plain wrong. It certainly is much easier to read than other toxicology texts, and even though I have my doctorate in pharmacy, I learned a few things! I would suggest though, for people who intend to incorporate poisonings in their writings (accurately), to verify the info with a toxicology text or poison control center.
Just stateing what you already know Okay, all this book is is a guide to common poisons that everyone knows about. It explains a little bit about how to obtain them and how to make some common ones. It also gives some info on how to identify different poisons. This is one of those things that makes you say "I-WILL-NOT-BUY-STUPID-STUFF-FOR-NO-REASON!"
a must for historical or mystery writers!! This book is a super reference book for writers. Gives you a short history of poisons,then moves in the classic aka Agatha Christie style poisons. Next we get into the what's on hand style of poisons i.e. household stuff. Plant poisons, the dead mushrooms etc. They cover movie poisons such as spiders and snakes, medical oops-es, what's in the garden pesticides. Even Street Drugs and a few hints on do-it-yourself-versions. They covered the methods, the forms, the symptoms, and even the time that is takes and just how successful (toxicity rating)....anything a writer needs to know....no no no don't touch that mushroom!
Super reference work and highly recommended
Excellent Beginning Resource Deadly Doses is an excellent beginning resource for the writer interested in using poison as an element within a story. It gives a brief history of poisoning, clearly divided chapters (plant based poisons, industrial, medical, etc.), and an easy to read format for each entry. Each poison is listed with a toxicity rating (6 being the highest), form, effects and symptoms, reaction time, antidotes and treatment, case histories, and notes of interest. Because the book has to cover so much, each entry is necessarilly brief and many less toxic forms of poison are glossed over or omitted. The author is quite open about this from the start.
In addition to the known poisons, the author provides a chapter on how to create an imaginary poison for the sake of your story. You may not find exactly what you need to kill your main victim with, but you will certainly come out of this book with a much stronger sense of how to do it and where to look, thanks to a very infomative biliography. As an unlooked for benefit, you may find yourself far more knowledgeable of dangerous substances in your own life, and, while one hopes such knowledge will never be necessary, knowing the syptoms and treatment of a common household poison may be useful (especially if you have children!)
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
