Forensic Books for High School Students
Patti Nolan Bertino 2.2.13
www.BertinoForensics.com
There are many great non-fiction forensics books that are of high interest to students.
This is just a very small list. As part of my forensics class, I often read excerpts from the
following books. After hearing sections of these books, many students become motivated to read
the rest of the book.
A suggestion for teachers: As you read books, articles, blogs record the topic and page number
in the back of the book or article so that when you want to find that passage again next year, you
can easily locate the reference in the back of the book ex. pg 56 Bones: male vs. female. Add a
stick-em note to that page with the topic on the note.
Forensic Books List
High School Forensic Textbook
Bertino, Anthony, Forensic Science: Fundamentals and Investigations
(our high school textbook)
Blood
MacDonell, Herbert Leon, Bloodstain Patterns Second revised Edition
Bones (Forensic Anthropology)
Hansen, Joyce and McGowan, Gary, Breaking Ground Breaking Silence (Story of NY
African Burial Ground)
Massie, Robert K., The Romanovs The Final Chapter (Romanov investigation)
Maples, William, Dead Men Do Tell Tales (case studies)
Thomas, Peggy, Forensic Anthropology The Growing Science of Talking Bones
Walker, Sally, Written in Bone in Bone (forensic anthropology, story of lives of
colonial Jamestown and Maryland, easy reading level)
Walker, Sally and Owsley, Douglas W., Their Skeletons Speak Kennewick Man and
the Paleoamerican World (easy reading level)
Ubelaker, Dr. Douglas and Scamell,Henry, Bones
Case Studies
Baden, Michael, Unnatural Death Confessions of a Medical Examiner
Baden, Michael and Roach, Marion, Dead Reckoning
Craig, Emily PhD, Teasing Secrets From the Dead: My investigations at America's
Most Infamous Crime Scenes
Erzinclioglu, Zakaria Dr., The Illustrated Guide to Forensics True Crime Scene
Investigations
Evans, Colin, The Casebook of Forensic Detection: How Science Solved 100 of the
World’s Most Baffling Crimes
Hallcox , Jarrett and Welch, Amy., Bodies We've Buried (describes CSI training
academy training)
Kollmann, Dana, Never Suck a Dead Man’s Hand Curious Adventures of CSI (not
appropriate for younger students)
Platt, Richard, The Casebook of Forensic Detection : How Science Solved 100 of the
World's Most Baffling Crimes
Platt, Richard, Crime Scene The Ultimate Guide to Forensic Science
DNA
Massie, Robert K. The Romanovs The Final Chapter
Thompson-Cannino, Jennifer and Cotton, Ronald, Picking Cotton (wrongful conviction
later exonerated by DNA)
Wambaugh, Joseph The Blooding (First case solved through DNA......note it was rape
case, not for younger readers)
Entomology (Insects)
Erzinclioglu, Dr. Zakaria, Maggots Murder and Men
Goff, M. Lee, A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insect Evidence Helps Solve Crimes
Time of Death
Bass, Dr. Bill Death's Acre (Body Farm)
Sachs. Jessica Snyder Corpse: Nature, Forensics and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of
Death
Visit our website at www.BertinoForensics.com for:
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Additional teacher resources
Four Forensic webinars
Forensic apps for IPhone or IPads
Summer Forensic Institute for Teachers
Information about our forensic high school textbook
Forensic Science: Fundamentals and Investigations
Patti Nolan Bertino
nolanp@nycap.rr.com
www.BertinoForensics.com