Historically difficult substances to trace, poisons have been used by many for their own dastardly purposes. But the truly great poisoners are those who make selective use of poisons to save human lives. With ripping yarns, unusual views of famous people, Macinnis explains the whys and wherefores of poisons and poisoning.

Poisons permeate our world. They are in the environment, the workplace, the home. They are in food, our favorite whiskey, medicine, and well water. They have been used to cure diseases as well as incapacitate and kill. They smooth wrinkles, block pain, stimulate and enhance athletic ability. In this entertaining and fact-filled book, science writer Peter Macinnis considers poisons in all their aspects. He recounts stories of the celebrated poisoners in history and literature, from Nero to Thomas Wainewright, and from the death of Socrates to Hamlet and Peter Pan. From cyanide to strychnine, from Botox to ricin and Sarin gas—have you ever wondered about their sources? Where do they come from? How do you detect something that can kill you in a matter of seconds? Macinnis methodically analyzes the science of these killing agents and their uses in medicine, cosmetics, war, and terrorism. With wit and precision, he weighs these questions and many more: Was Lincoln’s volatility caused by mercury poisoning? Was Jack the Ripper an arsenic eater? Can wallpaper kill? For anyone who has ever wondered and been afraid to ask, here is a rich miscellany for your secret questions about toxins.

A provocative tour of the role of poisons in today's world cites their prevalence in the environment, homes and foods, sharing colorful stories about celebrated poisoners in history and literature while identifying the sources of various poisons, the methods used to detect them and the science behind their practical applications and effects. Reprint.

Zľie Adebola remembers when the soil of Ors̐ha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zľie's Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

Australian Backyard Explorer has been recognised on the 2011 White Ravens list for international children's and youth literature. Produced each year by the International Youth Library in Germany, the White Ravens recognise 'books of international interest that deserve a wider reception on account of their universal theme' or 'their exceptional and often innovative artistic and literary style and design'. Australian Backyard Explorer tells the stories of many intrepid individuals who explored the Australian continent in the first 120 years of European settlement. It includes little known explorers as well as the old favourites, such as James Cook, Edward John Eyre, Robert Oe(tm)Hara Burke and William John Wills. There are tales not only of tragedy, conflict and death, but also of loyalty, amazing perseverance and wonder over the new animals and landscapes they encountered.

As a dutiful Victorian daughter, the author was thirty before being freed (by her parents' deaths) to do as she chose. She went to West Africa in 1893 and again in 1895, to investigate the beliefs and customs of the inland tribes and also to collect zoological specimens. She was appalled by the 'thin veneer of rubbishy white culture' imposed by British officials and was not afraid to say so.