BOOK REVIEWS

WHAT'S THE GOOD OF FORENSIC SCIENCE?

Uses of the Forensic Sciences B Caddy (ed) (Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh and London, 1987, 184 pp, ISBN 0 7073 051 6 0, £15.00) As I am someone who complains that Lawyers do not get to know enough about the Forensic Sciences, I found that this book gives some insight into some of the work undertaken by scientists. The book, which is highly readable, will be an asset to the book shelves of both scientist and non-scientist alike. Dr. Brian Caddy, the editor, collates a number of papers given at a conference held at the University of Strathclyde in 1986, and divides these papers into particular spheres viz Forensic Science, Forensic Medicine, Legal and Police. The overall aim of the conference, and this is exemplified by the book, is to give an understanding of the ways in which the various techniques of the forensic sciences can be utilised and to permit the various professionals involved to comprehend what each does. I am sure that my legal colleagues, many of whom were not able to attend the Conference, will find this book advantageous to read, irrespective of the type of practice they conduct. It is unwise to single out one paper from the remainder but as an appetiser, the article by Dr. Pat Whitehead on "Blood Sweat and Tears", gives the layman some knowledge of blood grouping without too much technical jargon.

If nothing else, certain of the papers are topical e.g. "The Rainbow Warrior Incident", and many will encourage the reader to pursue the subject matter further. A thoroughly recommended book!

NOS HABEBIT HUMUS

Death, decay and reconstruction: Approaches to archaeology and forensic science A Boddington, A N Garland and RC Janaway (eds). (Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1987, 249 pp, index, ISBN 0 7190 2303 3 (hardback) £27.50 The book consists of the proceedings of a meeting held in Leeds in 1986, being the printed papers of some seventeen contributors. Though described as a joint meeting of forensic scientists and archaeologists, the balance is very heavily tilted towards the latter and only Professor Keith Mant could really be considered to be in the forensic camp. However, this does not detract from the interest of all the contributions and though many are of purely archaeological concern, there are new techniques and concepts that have already been-or may in the future be-applied to forensic problems. The general theme is the changes and sequence of changes that take place in the dead-and usually buried-human body. There are interesting facts about the detection and nature of "soil silhouettes" and "pseudomorphs", which are the shadowy remains of completely decomposed bodies which alter the colour and composition of

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the matrix in which they were buried. Changes in manganese, copper, phosphorus and iron occur in these "ghosts" and could have some forensic relevance in both detecting and proving the existence of a corpse. There is a considerable discussion of disarranged bones, as to whether this was natural or artefactual; post-mortem fracturing and crushing is again a forensic puzzle on some occasions. There is much data on the relative survival of different parts of the skeleton and about factors which modify its decay. Professor Mant also pursues this theme, with details of 150 exhumations he carried out after the war for the War Crimes Commission. He discusses the effects of coffins, temperature, clothing, depth of burial, time before burial etc in a most useful survey which has very obvious forensic implications. Other sections deal with bone histology in estimating age at death and the process of decomposition. Some paleopathol- ogy is offered and analyses of populations from a study of skeletal recovery in archaeological digs. Finally, an update on forensic anthropology is offered, especially the determination of age, sex and race. All sections have a useful bibliography and the book should be accessible to all who have to deal with old skeletal remains of unknown provenance.