Emsley John. The Elements of Murder. A History of Poison

Oxford University Press, 2005. - 436 p.You are about to enter a world that was once a closed book to the human mind. Today we can unravel the mysteries that early generations struggled to understand, and appreciate all that has been done to remove toxic elements from our lives. While we have made the world a safer place, we can still learn from tales of the days when chemical elements poisoned millions – and sent a few inconvenient individuals to an early grave.Contents

The poisonous elements of alchemy
Mercury
Mercury poisons us all
Mad cats and mad hatters: accidental mercury poisoning
The poet and the poison
Arsenic
Arsenic is everywhere
Insidious arsenic
Malevolent arsenic
Murder revisited: the guilt of Florence Maybrick
Antimony
Antimony the great cure-all
Requiem for antimony
Severin Klosowski alias George Chapman
Lead
The empire of lead
Lead and dead
Lead murders
Thallium
Driving you hairless
Graham Young
Other poisonous elements

Index