Silent Witnesses

A gripping history of forensic science by the creator of the BBC series Silent Witness

It is a fascinating story, and makes for a thoroughly good read.

A convincing and readable history of a science defined by the simple maxim: 'Every contact leaves a trace.'

Nigel McCrery served as a police officer with the Nottinghamshire Constabulary, working on a number of murders and serious crimes. On retiring injured in 1987 he attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read Modern History. In 1990 he joined the BBC on their graduate entry scheme, soon moving into drama and becoming the creator of many successful television series, including Silent Witness. He has also written a number of crime and military novels. He lives in Nottingham.

A crime scene. A murder. A mystery. 
 
The most important person on the scene? The forensic scientist. And yet the intricate details of their work remains a mystery to most of us. 
 
Silent Witnesses looks at the history of forensic science over the last two centuries, during which time a combination of remarkable intuition, painstaking observation and leaps in scientific knowledge have developed this fascinating branch of detection. Throwing open the casebook, it introduces us to such luminaries as 'The Wizard of Berkeley' Edward Heinrich, who is credited with having solved over 2000 crimes, and Alphonse Bertillon, the French scientist whose guiding principle 'no two individuals share the same characteristics' became the core of identification. Along the way, it takes us to India and Australia, Columbia and China, Russia, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. And it proves that, in order to solve ever more complicated cases, science must always stay one step ahead of the killer.

Nigel McCrery

Fascinating... For those of us who love football, and still more for those who make fortunes playing it, all this sacrifice should offer considerable food for thought. Gary Lineker says as much in a thoughtful foreword... I wish with all my heart a copy could be given to every Premier League player.

The Footballers Who Fought and Died in the Great War

A moving narrative history of the professional footballers who fought and died in World War I, with a foreword by Gary Lineker. 
 
In 1914, as today, successful footballers were heroes and role models. They were the sporting superstars of their time; symbols of youth, health and vigour. Naturally enough, when war broke out they felt it was their duty to join up and fight. Between 1914 and 1918, 213 professional players fell in action. Some teams lost half their players, either killed or else so badly injured in mind and body that they were never to play again. 
 
 The Final Season is the powerfully moving account of these young men who swapped the turf of the pitch and the cheers of the fans for the freezing mud of the battlefield and the terrible scream of shell fire. It follows them as they leave their fans and families behind, undergo training and then travel on to the bloody arenas of war: Ypres, Gallipoli, the Somme, Passchendaele. 
 
Nigel McCrery paints these men in vivid detail. From their achievements on the football pitch to their heroic conduct on the battlefield, we will learn of the selfless courage and determination they displayed in the face of adversity. For far too many, we will also learn when, and how, they made the ultimate sacrifice.

Nigel McCrery

Books by Nigel McCrery

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