criminal law

Having left behind my interest in genetics in order to pursue tax accountancy, I've always been fascinated by accounts of DNA typing. This book provides a wonderful introduction that is accessible to even the novice geneticist like myself. Much of the information Rudin and Inman give is quite practical; with some help from a friend who works in a medical lab I was able to set up my own electrophoresis gels and PCR. A word of caution to the amateur, however: make sure you practice before drawing any conclusions from the "evidence." My wife, Amy, wouldn't speak to me for a week after I claimed that a stain on our bed linen did not match my DNA. It turned out that she had spilled some ice cream.

Nice figures, photos, schemes, and U.S. tables; lively comparisons show that authors are good teachers. Though technical part of the book outdates fast necessarily (acronym SNP has not been coined in 1996 yet), it is a shame that an interpretation part of the book neglects the current knowledge. Bayes theorem is known since 1763 and, nevertheless, likelihood ratio is not even mentined in the book! Books of Evett and Weir or of Robertson and Vignaux cannot be substituted by this book.

I have a BS in genetics and biochemistry and am looking to enter into a forensics lab. This book is an EXCELLENT resource for an entry-level criminalist, criminal lawyer, or the non-scientist interested in this topic. It was organized from basic genetics to higher-level interpretation issues and included tons of diagrams, pictures, and relevant case studies. This book did an outstanding job explaining complicated and detailed subject matter in an easy to understand and interesting matter.