Fingerprints: Murder and the Race to Uncover the Science of Identity (Astrolog Complete Guides) (Hardcover)

Beaven, a journalist and trained physicist, tells his story through the prism of a particular turn-of-the-century East End murder, the first case where fingerprints proved absolutely crucial to detection and conviction. Using this springboard, Beaven dives into the history of criminal investigation, surfacing with such pearls as the 19th century Scottish missionary who discovered prints on ancient Japanese pottery, the Victorian geneticist Francis Galton who thought certain kinds of prints indicated intellectual prowess, and the scandalous 1896 jailing of "con artist" Adolf Beck--a man who would have been proved innocent had the value of fingerprint evidence been more widely acknowledged at the time.

If that list infers the book is narrowly focused on the late Victorian age, it shouldn't. Beaven is, if anything, a historical jackdaw: he also sees fit to include the "supernatural ordeals" of Medieval justice, the establishment of investigating juries way back in 1215, the Italian innovations in law and criminology that came with the Renaissance, and much, much else. The result is a witty, readable, concise, informative, lucid, highly entertaining bouillabaisse of history, anecdote, criminal lore and truly popular science. --Sean Thomas

Review
'Beavan's effortless prose, firm grasp of his subject and vividly drawn characters will delight.' Publisher's Weekly

When we are burgled, and the police arrive with their little dishes of silver dust to brush over the surfaces, we take it for granted. But little over a century ago there was no such thing as fingerprinting. The only way a criminal could be convicted was by eyewitness testimony. As a result many a criminal was set free and many an innocent man was held in jail through the flawed recollections of a witness. Colin Beavan traces the discovery of identification through fingerprinting by telling the stories of the many colourful characters involved. Scottish doctor Henry Faulds, a missionary to Japan, devoted his life to studying the rugae and furrows on the palmar surface of the hand. So determined was Faulds to discover whether fingerprints were true marks of an individuals identity that he shaved off his finger ridges with razors until no pattern could be traced. The ridges grew back with exactly the same pattern. He repeated the experiment with pumice-stone, sandpaper, emery dust, various acids, caustics and even Spanish fly each time with the same result. There is nothing so unique and permanent as a fingerprint. While identical twins have the same DNA, even they have different fingerprints. Faulds longed for his work to be recognized. But his ambitions were thwarted by the scientist Francis Galton, the well-connected cousin of Charles Darwin, who plagiarized Faulds work and claimed all the credit. Galton was a fervent eugenicist, believing that some people were born intelligent, athletic and cultured, and that these individuals should be encouraged to breed. He hoped that, through fingerprints, a biological code would be found to identify those destined for greatness. Eventually even Galton confessed that such a theory was unfounded; but he did manage to claim his wrongful place in history as the founder of fingerprinting. Its a wonderful story, simply yet powerfully told. Beavans book is a welcome addition to the growing collection of fine non-fiction classics. Review by Dea Birkett (Kirkus UK)

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• Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > History of Science
• Books > Science & Nature > Popular Science > Forensics
• Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Law & Disorder > Forensic Science

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