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

Dramatis personae -- Glossary of poisons -- Prologue -- Poison's children -- A slew of poisoners -- Poison and food -- The science of poison -- Poison in the medicine chest -- Cosmetic and domestic poisons -- Poisoned workplaces? -- Poisoned politics -- Poison and war -- Envenomed fangs and stings -- The tiny poisoners -- Epilogue.;Poisons permeate our world. They are in the environment, the workplace, the home. They are in food, our favorite whiskey, medicine, and well water. They have been used to cure diseases as well as incapacitate and kill. They smooth wrinkles, block pain, stimulate and enhance athletic ability. In this entertaining and fact-filled book, science writer Peter Macinnis considers poisons in all their aspects. He recounts stories of the celebrated poisoners in history and literature, from Nero to Thomas Wainewright, and from the death of Socrates to Hamlet and Peter Pan. From cyanide to strychnine, from Botox to ricin and Sarin gashave you ever wondered about their sources? Where do they come from? How do you detect something that can kill you in a matter of seconds? Macinnis methodically analyzes the science of these killing agents and their uses in medicine, cosmetics, war, and terrorism. With wit and precision, he weighs these questions and many more: Was Lincolns volatility caused by mercury poisoning? Was Jack the Ripper an arsenic eater? Can wallpaper kill? For anyone who has ever wondered and been afraid to ask, here is a rich miscellany for your secret questions about toxins. A wide-ranging and provocative look?teeming with little-known facts and engaging stories?at a subject of the direst interest. Poisons permeate our world. They are in the environment, the workplace, the home. They are in food, our favorite whiskey, medicine, well water. They have been used to cure disease as well as incapacitate and kill. They smooth wrinkles, block pain, stimulate, and enhance athletic ability. In this entertaining and fact-filled book, science writer Peter Macinnis considers poisons in all their aspects. He recounts stories of the celebrated poisoners in history and literature, from Nero to Thomas Wainewright, and from the death of Socrates to Hamlet and Peter Pan. He discusses the sources of various poisons?from cyanide to strychnine, from Botox to ricin and Sarin gas?as well as their detection. Then he analyzes the science of their action in the body and their uses in medicine, cosmetics, war, and terrorism. With wit and precision, he weighs such questions as: Was Lincoln?s volatility caused by mercury poisoning? Was Jack the Ripper an arsenic eater? Can wallpaper kill? For anyone who has ever wondered and been afraid to ask, here is a rich miscellany for your secret questions about toxins