Book review - Poison: Deadly Deeds, Perilous Professions, and Murderous Medicines

Poison – Deadly Deeds, Perilous Professions, and Murderous Medicines

By Sarah Albee

2017

Ages 8-12

History, Science

Poison – A Laughing Matter?

This book is a scream! If you are one for historical zip-a-dee-doo-da with a healthy dose of puns, get this book. Anyone age eight and up will be able to grasp the humor and amazement in this title. That said, be warned, there is a whomping amount of historical data referenced and commented on throughout the chapters. I mean, it is about the history of poison…

I received this signed copy of Poison, by Sarah Albee at the New England Society of Children’s Books Authors and Illustrators (SCBWI) recent conference. She was gracious enough to donate this gift for the door prize raffle and I am so glad she did. I couldn’t be more delighted with a book I knew nothing about before opening. Sarah does the impossible and somehow manages to keep this history of personal poisonings fun and zany. To do it Ms. Albee stood by the interpersonal relationships of which history is fraught, rather than focus on dictators, or overtly cruel and insidious industries out to capture profit. (You can find plenty of other books in the marketplace for those discussions). This book is for the savvy middle school reader whose excitement lies in word play and imagination, not geopolitical machinations.

Poison – Killin’ It for Millenia

It’s odd to think about, but folks have been using poison to kill each other for thousands of years. According to research in Sarah’s book Poison, cyanide, or the ‘punishment of the peach’ was handed to more than a few unfortunate souls starting at least 4500BC. Arsenic, which the Egyptians used in the base to their cool green eye make-up, caused lasting damage, and death over time.

Alchemy took numerous lives and ruined countless others. Lead poisoning from smelting, coal mines and untested chemicals (paint, asbestos, etc.) caused all kinds of woe. You’ll flip at the in-depth research delivered with wit and zing. Did you know hemlock is also known as ‘poison parsley’? You do now!

There is not enough time in this review to comment on all the ways in which poison has caused people to die. But here are just a few fun ones: snake venom, henbane, opium, mandrake. There were so many ways to off someone the business of detecting poison developed at equal rates. Silver chopsticks were said to detect certain impurities, and animals and even human food testers were employed to protect rulers.

Dying to Stay Young

Ironically, loads of death occurred while people were hunting for the fountain of youth. Mercury shows up thousands of years ago, as a probable killer of Ch’in Shi Huang, (the guy who built the Great Wall). He sent his wisemen to all the corners of the realm to find the elixir of life, they settled on a combination of potables with mercury as a prime ingredient. That turned out to be not so potable and he died within four years of the ‘medicine’.

If you could survive all the premeditated poisonings, and the ones nature tossed at you, one still had to survive the lure of popularity. Muckety-mucks in Europe often had pools, or fountains of mercury which guests could mingle. In Egypt the bold green make-up used by pharaohs was loaded with lead and caused various skin deformities and illness. Moving into the 20th century we get an even more expansive look at drinkable poisons, and more so illicit powders. I know it sounds daunting, but the pace and witticisms herein will make it a treat to read or reference anytime. Who can forget Anthrax the most popular of the new fumes: sarin gas.

Conclusion:

This book is great for kids, trivia geeks, history nerds, book worms and everyone in between. Give it to your pal today.