Library Journal - Audio
06/10/2024
In this true-crime thriller, award-winning journalist Katwala (The Athletic Brain: How Neuroscience Is Revolutionising Sport) offers a detailed history of the polygraph, showing how it has been used—and misused—since its creation. In the early 1920s, San Francisco police chief August Vollmer was genuinely interested in new and innovative ways to improve policing. When he read about experiments in which blood pressure changes indicated a person was lying, he recruited John Larson to build a "lie detector." Larson, unlike most police officers of his era, had attended college, earning degrees in both physiology and psychology. Larson constructed a machine that successfully tracked blood pressure measurements on paper, but this flawed device almost immediately showed reliability issues, despite Vollmer's claim that it was a "breakthrough." Narrator Paul Bellantoni strikes the perfect conversational tone—with just a dash of noir detective—drawing listeners into the details of the 1920s crimes and criminal investigations while also clearly presenting Katwala's extensive research. VERDICT While the technology has changed, modern policing still relies heavily on scientific evidence. Katwala's fascinating history of this unreliable device is a cautionary tale that will likely appeal to those interested in criminal justice and true crime.—Beth Farrell
Publishers Weekly
★ 01/09/2023
In this fascinating look at the history of lie detectors, Wired reporter Katwala (Quantum Computing: How It Works and How It Could Change the World) explores how American law-enforcement came to place its faith in them. In 1921, San Francisco police chief August Vollmer learned of experiments to detect lies by measuring blood pressure. He recruited officer John Larson, who had degrees in physiology and psychology, to build on those experiments. Aided by Leonarde Keeler, Larson invented a device that translated blood pressure measurements into written lines, to be analyzed after a subject was asked a series of questions. It was seized on by Vollmer as a breakthrough, but as Katwala shows, it led to significant false conclusions, as there “is no way for an examiner to be sure whether a change in blood pressure is due to fear of getting caught or anxiety about being falsely accused.” More recently, lie detection technology has expanded to include processes “powered by brain scans and artificial intelligence” that have been “greedily adopted by police forces and governments, drawn in by the false promise of a machine that tells the truth.” 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. Agent: Kris Dahl, ICM Partners. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
SHORTLIST, 2023 CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION
Praise for Tremors in the Blood:
“[A] fascinating look at the history of lie detectors . . . Katwala has real storytelling chops.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A lively, engrossing combination of true crime, biography, and history.”
—Booklist
“Katwala’s fascinating history of this unreliable device is a cautionary tale that will likely appeal to those interested in criminal justice and true crime.”
—Library Journal, audiobook review
“Brightly written and well-researched, this book will appeal immensely to true-crime fans.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Rollicking true-crime . . . fast-paced and elegant and fun.”
—WIRED
“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
“Gripping . . . I was hooked.”
—Sirin Kale, feature writer for The Guardian
“Katwala manages to bring history alive.”
—Chris Stokel-Walker, author of TikTok Boom and YouTubers
“A gripping, forensically detailed account that reads more like a mystery than history.”
—Angela Saini, author of Superior and Inferior
Library Journal
02/01/2023
The lie detector machine has been an object of debate since its 1921 inception. The use of the machine, and any other lie detection method, has been questioned by the public, the media, and the judicial system, and it has become inadmissible in many courts due to the lack of scientific evidence that it accurately works. Journalist Katwala's deep dive into its history focuses on the people and the cases that influenced its initial use, starting with a woman's murder and the police investigation into whether her husband was to blame. 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. VERDICT True crime fans will likely want to read this book, especially those interested in the history of criminal science.—Leah Fitzgerald
