Criminal Investigation

By Hans Gross,

Book cover of Criminal Investigation: A Practical Handbook for Magistrates, Police Officers and Lawyers

Book description

Excerpt from Criminal Investigation

This Indian and Colonial edition, while omitting some portions of the original which would be of no use to the practical worker, for example, the slang words of Bohemian gipsies, thus contains much new and interesting matter, the better to adapt the book for India and…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Criminal Investigation as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Europe was at the forefront of the revolution in forensic science in the 19th century. Way ahead of the UK, and decades ahead of the USA. While most of the pioneers were doctors, Gross was a lawyer. He made the language of the law more accessible. Written over a hundred-and-fifty years ago as a textbook, the style will appeal more to the academic reader and researcher of historical forensics. The Kindle version hasn’t been transcribed well, but is a fascinating window on the past nevertheless. 

From C. A.'s list on for writers of Victorian mysteries.

Hans Gross, Professor of Criminology, first published this book in his native German in 1893. It was translated into English, among other languages, by 1908, and remains one of the great seminal works on criminal investigation. It is also full of fascinating and sometimes gory detail.

Gross details the importance of recording every minute trace at a crime scene, and the need for a thorough search for evidence, sometimes in peculiar places. He illustrates his technique by recounting a number of bizarre crimes, the stolen coins hidden in a pot of boiling soup, the meaning of missing blood at a…

From E.J.'s list on the beginning of crime.

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