Book Review: Forensics, The Science Behind the Deaths of Famous People (OT)

Forensics: The Science Behind the Deaths of Famous People, by Harry Milman (Xlibris, 2020, 365 pp, $20.99 PB)

Playing Hooky

When I have nine literary and feline (yes, feline!) books to review in less than two months but, nevertheless, take the time to read a murder mystery instead, I am guilty of playing hooky but love the book I am committing a misdemeanor with, so I rush through it, feeling rejuvenated afterward. One such book that I picked up after the holidays at a book sale is Forensics: The Science Behind the Deaths of Famous People.

I picked up this book at my favorite local bookstore (actually the only one) for two reasons: I am fascinated by forensics having taken a class in Forensic Anthropology, plus the book has large print so I can read it at night when my bedside light is "not the brightest bulb on the block."

For Example

Each chapter-story begins at the end with the person's unfortunate demise, then the autopsy findings and his/'her cause and manner of death, followed by the person's life and career, and ending with a conclusion - all generously endnoted.

For example, Robin Williams knew he was failing intellectually, Marilyn Monroe had attempted suicide at least once or twice before she succeeded (empty sedative bottles and a locked bedroom door). Cass Elliott and Karen Carpenter* both had eating disorders and succumbed at about the same age - both singers, one obese and the other anorexic but in recovery, they live on in their talented music recordings. 

Four of the famous people in the book probably died of natural causes; 11 of overdoses, two were homicides and two were suicides, two drowned, and for most of them, drugs were implicated. Yes, drugs can kill.

Rumors still abound around some of these famous people: some are put to rest with additional information, as in the JonBenet Ramsey story. The author has read newspaper articles, publicly available reports, and he even studied the autopsy and toxicology results in coming to his conclusions - plus, he translates medical terminology into everyday language to make this a book you may just devour. 

People

Author Harry Milman has a PhD in pharmacology/toxicology with 40 years' experience. He has participated in more than 300 autopsies and testified in court and is an award-winning mystery novelist.

Of the 23 famous people depicted in Forensics, I was familiar with all but two (but then I'm old) and was aware that most had died prematurely and possibly under questionable circumstances.

Starting with Errol Flynn (1959) and ending with Carrie Fisher (2016), Forensics has what this reviewer really likes - short chapters that you can read in any order, plus a fascinating introduction** and a summary that mentions most if not all of the people discussed and postulates on the "lifestyles of the rich and famous." Additionally, to make this book a keeper is a nearly 30-page formulary, a listing and description of drugs from aspirin to caffeine to codeine to valium to benadryl . . . . 

As you conduct an Amazon search, you will come upon numerous other books about forensics that will entice you to read further. With the advent of programs like "CSI" and "Cold Case Files," college majors have sprung up. Reading Forensics will give you conversation-starters with your high-schooler or at cocktail parties. Or, if you are a famous-people junkie, you will also like Forensics.

*both were fortunate to have not joined the Twenty-Seven Club, whose musician members died at that age and include Jimi Hendrix. Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison of the Doors, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stone. . . . 

**the history of forensics begins with the first autopsy, Julius Cesar's, and follows through fingerprinting and more technical methods

PS - Did you know Elvis weighed nearly 350 pounds?