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Jacob Bolles
Interpretation of Literature
Angela Toscano
November 29, 2015
An Analysis of “Whole Art of Detection”
In the textbook, “Whole Art of Detection” by Sherlock Holmes, people can learn how to
recognize people’s habits, trends going on, and how to pick out information going on around
them. Sherlock Holmes, being a world renowned detective, shares his knowledge that he has
gained over his many years of taking down criminal masterminds and solving unsolvable crimes.
If you are a student wishing to pursue a career as a true detective, this textbook is one that you
should make sure to read before you start your journey down the dangerous road of solving
crimes.
To start off this educational textbook, Sherlock Holmes uses personal examples of how
he has mastered the art of detection. He connects these real world examples to textual
information that will be useful on future tests and real world situations. Some of this information
includes how to look out for masters of disguise, how to be prepared for an unexpected attack,
and how connect witness’s stories to actual people. After the first few sections of the book,
Holmes dives into exercises. The readers will have the chance to test what they learned by
filling out shorts quizzes based off crime movies like “The Usual Suspects” and “Seven”. They
will also test their ability to notice subtle details by playing games such as “I Spy”. After these
exercises, the book moves on the some more information on how to become a better detective
and more real world examples are provided by Holmes himself. At the end of the book, the
readers, mostly students, are given a test to see if they have learned everything they have read so
far. This test is an intense game of “Clue” that you play with a few other classmates. This
educational textbook provides many real world examples and then connects them to factual
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information. Students start off with these examples and then have the opportunity to take
quizzes and tests in order to test their knowledge on the art of detection.
After reading “Whole Art of Detection”, I felt that I could be nearly as good of a
detective as Sherlock Holmes himself. The book does a fantastic job of connecting to its
audience, primarily students. The use of real world examples makes all the difference when
trying to obtain such detailed information at such a high level. Also, the information itself is
solid. There is a great balance of advanced terminology along with basic concepts that makes
learning challenging but doable. Getting the opportunity to test my knowledge on quizzes and
being able to play “I Spy” made the real difference. These things truly test the readers and
makes sure they have what it takes in order to be a detective. One negative aspect that I have
about this book is its final test. The game of “Clue” is a solid choice when it comes to testing
student’s skills and knowledge, but I believe a more believable game, such as “Guess Who”
would be a better indicator of a student’s detection skills as a whole. None the less, this textbook
by Sherlock Holmes does a masterful job teaching young, soon to be detectives the art of
detection through detailed examples, extensive knowledge, and challenging tests.
The book “Whole Art of Detection” by Sherlock Holmes is an educational textbook
written for students who dream to become future detectives like Holmes himself. Holmes uses
an abundance of true stories to teach his readers about the art of detection. After reading this
textbook, you should be better at spotting trends, recognizing habits, and picking up on
information. This book is intended for students by anyone who reads it can benefit due to the
great information and useful tests. I would recommend this book to anyone is interested in
becoming a world class detective like Sherlock Holmes.
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Work Cited
Holmes, Sherlock. Whole Art of Detection. London. Phantom House, Inc. 1901. Text.