Description
Book SynopsisHe examines how the machine emerged as a technology of truth, transporting readers back to the obscure origins of criminology itself, ultimately concluding that the lie detector owes as much to popular culture as it does to factual science.
Trade ReviewAny with an interest in criminal justice or general social issues will find this a compelling account. Midwest Book Review To paraphrase Dragnet, there are many histories to tell of the lie detector; this is a good one. -- Ken Adler History of Science Society
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Plotting the Hyperbola of Deception
1. "A thieves' quarter, a devil's den": The Birth of Criminal Man
2. "A vast plain under a flaming sky": The Emergence of Criminology
3. "Supposing that Truth is a woman—what then?": The Enigma of Female Criminality
4. "Fearful errors lurk in our nuptial couches": The Critique of Criminal Anthropology
5. "To Classify and Analyze Emotional Persons": The Mistake of the Machines
6. "Some of the darndest lies you ever heard": Who Invented the Lie Detector?
7. "A trick of burlesque employed . . . against dishonesty": The Quest for Euphoric Security
8. "A bally hoo side show at the fair": The Spectacular Power of Expertise
Conclusion: The Hazards of the Will to Truth
Acknowledgments
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index
