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Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie Detector
by Amit Katwala
A thrilling account of the creation of the so-called lie detector, exploring shocking murders and dramatic trials to uncover the true nature of the polygraph. This tense true crime story is perfect for fans of American Predator and The Invention of Murder.
Late one evening in the summer of 1922, Henry Wilkens burst through the doors of the emergency room covered in his wife's blood. But was he a grieving husband, or a ruthless killer who conspired with bandits to have her murdered?
To find out, the San Francisco police turned to technology and a new machine that had just been invented in Berkeley by a rookie detective, a visionary police chief, and a teenage magician with a showman's touch.
John Larson, Gus Vollmer and Leonarde Keeler hoped the lie detector would make the justice system fairer – but the flawed device soon grew too powerful for them to control. It poisoned their lives, turned fast friends into bitter enemies, and as it conquered America and the world, it transformed our relationship with the truth in ways that are still being felt.
As new forms of lie detection gain momentum in the present day, Tremors in the Blood reveals the incredible truth behind the creation of the polygraph, through gripping true crime cases featuring explosive gunfights, shocking twists and high-stakes courtroom drama.
Touching on psychology, technology and the science of the truth, Tremors in the Blood is a vibrant, atmospheric thriller, and a warning from history: beware what you believe.
"Katwala has real storytelling chops, and the chilling conclusion about the flawed nature of polygraphs truly hits home. This evocative account complements Ken Alder's The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A lively, engrossing combination of true crime, biography, and history." - Booklist
"The book's riveting, fascinating details will likely draw readers into the story of how the polygraph affected its creators, the justice system, the media, and the public as a whole." - Library Journal
"Rollicking true-crime... fast-paced and elegant and fun." - WIRED Magazine
"Tremors in the Blood, Amit Katwala's beautifully told origin story of the lie detector, contains just about everything a reader wants in a true crime book - murder, mystery, gunfights, courtroom theatrics and dogged police work - along with a solid exploration of the ethically troubling issues that continue to haunt criminal justice and its sometimes dubious tools." - Deborah Blum, bestselling author of The Poisoner's Handbook
This information about Tremors in the Blood was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Amit Katwala is an award-winning journalist and editor. He is a senior writer at WIRED, based in London. He writes about the collision between technology and culture, and has covered everything from the race for quantum supremacy to the hunt for the mysterious Planet Nine. He grew up in Bournemouth, and studied experimental psychology at Oxford University.
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