Rating: 
Summary: pleased
Review: A very well written, easy to use text. My only complaint is that precise dosages were not included.
Rating:
Summary: Loads of information.
Review: Deadly Doses certainly has loads of information, including the histories of certain poisons, real life examples, and their uses in literature and drama. And though it lacks the engaging tone of, say, Scene of the Crime, Private Eyes, or Missing Persons, the information is set up to be easily read, keeping it from being so dry I simply couldn't get through it (like Police Procedural).My one complaint is that at times things are glossed over, as though the writers assumed the reader already knows some of the effects or durations of the more well-known poisons. There's also a continued use of medical terms which, to the layman, are rather obscure. The glossary in the back helps, but misses some of the terms used or is unclear as to their meanings.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Beginning Resource
Review: Deadly Doses is an excellent beginning resource for the writer interested in using poison as an element within a story. It gives a brief history of poisoning, clearly divided chapters (plant based poisons, industrial, medical, etc.), and an easy to read format for each entry. Each poison is listed with a toxicity rating (6 being the highest), form, effects and symptoms, reaction time, antidotes and treatment, case histories, and notes of interest. Because the book has to cover so much, each entry is necessarilly brief and many less toxic forms of poison are glossed over or omitted. The author is quite open about this from the start. In addition to the known poisons, the author provides a chapter on how to create an imaginary poison for the sake of your story. You may not find exactly what you need to kill your main victim with, but you will certainly come out of this book with a much stronger sense of how to do it and where to look, thanks to a very infomative biliography. As an unlooked for benefit, you may find yourself far more knowledgeable of dangerous substances in your own life, and, while one hopes such knowledge will never be necessary, knowing the syptoms and treatment of a common household poison may be useful (especially if you have children!)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Beginning Resource
Review: Deadly Doses is an excellent beginning resource for the writer interested in using poison as an element within a story. It gives a brief history of poisoning, clearly divided chapters (plant based poisons, industrial, medical, etc.), and an easy to read format for each entry. Each poison is listed with a toxicity rating (6 being the highest), form, effects and symptoms, reaction time, antidotes and treatment, case histories, and notes of interest. Because the book has to cover so much, each entry is necessarilly brief and many less toxic forms of poison are glossed over or omitted. The author is quite open about this from the start. In addition to the known poisons, the author provides a chapter on how to create an imaginary poison for the sake of your story. You may not find exactly what you need to kill your main victim with, but you will certainly come out of this book with a much stronger sense of how to do it and where to look, thanks to a very infomative biliography. As an unlooked for benefit, you may find yourself far more knowledgeable of dangerous substances in your own life, and, while one hopes such knowledge will never be necessary, knowing the syptoms and treatment of a common household poison may be useful (especially if you have children!)
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of more than only 5 stars!!
Review: Did you know that the pit of a Peach is deadly?? Did you know that lovely foxglove growing in your garden is poisonous? Deadly Doses has been my favorite book from the Howdunit Series. This book gives a writer the information that is needed to write a believable poisoning in their story line. The variety of poisons and their forms, lethal dose toxicity levels, reaction times, effects, symptoms, and treatments are all covered in Deadly Doses. A writer will gain a wealth of knowledge by reading this book cover to cover. It is simply the best specific-topic writer's resource book I have ever read. Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons also gives historical cases where the method of poisoning was used in a homicidal or suicidal death. The types of poisons used are amazing. They include plants, household, medical, and even street drugs. Even if you are not a writer, read this book! It will get you thinking twice about the 'common' products that you use now. I find myself being really careful about the products I use at home and at work. I've even been reading the labels!
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of more than only 5 stars!!
Review: Did you know that the pit of a Peach is deadly?? Did you know that lovely foxglove growing in your garden is poisonous? Deadly Doses has been my favorite book from the Howdunit Series. This book gives a writer the information that is needed to write a believable poisoning in their story line. The variety of poisons and their forms, lethal dose toxicity levels, reaction times, effects, symptoms, and treatments are all covered in Deadly Doses. A writer will gain a wealth of knowledge by reading this book cover to cover. It is simply the best specific-topic writer's resource book I have ever read. Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons also gives historical cases where the method of poisoning was used in a homicidal or suicidal death. The types of poisons used are amazing. They include plants, household, medical, and even street drugs. Even if you are not a writer, read this book! It will get you thinking twice about the 'common' products that you use now. I find myself being really careful about the products I use at home and at work. I've even been reading the labels!
Rating:
Summary: Don't do what Jonny Don't does!
Review: Don't taste that strichnine! Don't smell that paint solvent! Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons is an incredibly useful compilation of toxic things from all walks of life. Useful for writers of all genres because within are described poisons found in nature as well as those found in industry, household, and many, many others. Although there isn't quite enough specific information, there are plenty of leads for research, and, after all, the book wasn't designed as a complete reference - it's just very, very useful. Included are a useful glossary of medical terms, and a section of tables further organizing the toxins by symptoms, toxicity, and speed of action. In a word - indispensable.
Rating: 
Summary: From a Pharmacist/Poison Specialist
Review: I became interested in this book, not because I am a writer, but because I'm a toxicologist and love to read anything on poisons.
It's a great place to start, and *mostly* accurate. Hoever, some info is out of date (especially decontamination and antidotes), incomplete, or just plain wrong. It certainly is much easier to read than other toxicology texts, and even though I have my doctorate in pharmacy, I learned a few things! I would suggest though, for people who intend to incorporate poisonings in their writings (accurately), to verify the info with a toxicology text or poison control center.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, but not intirely
Review: I found Deadly Doses to be a very informative when it came to Plant Poisons that could be used in a Middle Ages setting, the time period for my first manuscript. However when it came to the serious poisons used in that period (i.e. Arsenic) It became less useful, espicially when you need to know what a leathal dose is and what symptoms occur first. This small bit of information probably would have saved me hours on the Internet search for what I did need.
Rating:
Summary: Made me go... hmmm
Review: I had invented a poison for my character and was using it 'until' my copy of DEADLY DOSES arrived. I was thrilled to find a poison that was pretty close to just what I was using. The book told the exact effects that I needed, in doing away with the bad guy. I am a romance writer and so I need subtle ways to do away with that bully of a hubby... quick and untraceable ways to do away with that tongue waggling mistress. Deadly Doses is a fiction writer's friend.
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