When I was about half-way through this book, I was fascinated with the whole subject! But much as our hero in the book - Frances Glessner Lee - discovered, she is the only one who maintained the enthusiasm and passion to change police procedures and death investigations. I felt like as Lee beat everyone else's interest in the project she was championing to death, she did the same thing to my interest in her story. Let me back up a bit.

Frances Glessner Lee was filthy rich, but also smart and bored. She was jealous that her brother and his friends got to go to Harvard (Harvard didn't admit women to study there until 1945, when Lee was 67 years old). Instead, she raised her children and followed her interests with no regard to expenses. And she did some cool stuff, for sure. That was some of the fun part of the book. I don't want to give away the fun side-stories of some of the events that Lee ended up involved in, close to, or influenced by. They were my favorite parts to read.

Eventually, no one else was actively helping Lee further her purpose of getting the U.S. to adopt a Medical Examiner system instead of a coroner system to investigate deaths. She still had money left, though, so she kept buying her way into the story. It wasn't a terrible use of her money, but it didn't feel like a realistic option for most of the rest of the universe, right? I did love the descriptions of how she hosted the police training events at Harvard, and of course her fantastic mini-models of potential crime scenes (which I believe the author is currently in charge of).

Overall, the first half of the book was great, but then it started to feel repetitive and less-productive. While just the beginning of Lee's life story would have gotten a higher rating from me, the whole book deserved 3/5 stars in my opinion.

This is a very detailed book about the rise of forensic medicine in America. Starting from English Medieval Coroners, it explains how the craft developed. It seems to be undecided whether it is an exploration of the medical examiners' role or whether it is detailing the life story of Frances Glessner Lee and her role in this. The first quarter of the book deals with her early life, marriage and privileged upbringing. It explains the role of the first medical examiner, Magrath, a friend of Frances' brother and how at quite a late stage in life this woman began to become interested in medical forensic science.

It is easy to write her off as a dilettante, becoming involved because she had little to fill her time. In fact she was much more. Unable to apply for Harvard as at this stage it did not accept women students, she became a wife and mother. However, she was able to use her privilege and money to promote the cause of having a medical examiner who was independent from any political or financial bias.

From here she set up a Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard, and furthered her belief that crime scenes offered many clues that were being overlooked. She established a series of Homicide Seminars at Harvard for serving police officers, so that they could learn these skills, which she funded from her own pocket. She also created a series of dioramas (her Nutshell Cases) to show a series of homicide scenes as teaching aids for the officers.

She sounds an amazing lady, and my only issue with the book was that it could not decide whether to be a biography or a history of forensic medicine. A good read, albeit only looking at the science from an American viewpoint, despite the fact that in Europe the role was not partisan and moving along much quicker.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was exceptionally interesting & informative, though the storyline dragged at times at I found it difficult to follow at certain points. It also became mired in minute details which made the book seem to drag on at times. In all, I enjoyed the story of Ms. Lee's life & pursuit of forensic science, & would recommend it to others.

Frances Glessner Lee was born when women having a career was almost unheard of and although she was very intelligent, she was unable to get into a great school like Harvard. From an early age she was fascinated by the way murders were solved, but always knew there had to be a better way to find out exactly how a crime was committed, or how a person died. She re-created murder scenes using dioramas totally made to scale with every last detail and used these to educate police and medics to search for clues at the crime scenes. She was the forerunner for forensic science as we now know it and some of her early teachings are still used today. A truly remarkable woman.

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics is an extremely well researched and enthralling read. It also is a perfect example of the far-reaching impact one person can have; without Frances Glessner Lee forensic science as we know it would not exist.

Goldfarb gives the reader a brief history of forensic science in America, and touts the works of George Burgess McGrath, MD, the first forensic pathologist in America. Lee, a wealthy socialite and friend of Magrath, found his work so intriguing and important that she became a tireless advocate, educator and financial supporter for the field of legal medicine. This book focuses on her life and contributions to the field of forensic medicine.

It was Lee who created The Magrath Library of Legal Medicine to preserve her friend's work, collecting additional books on the subject at her own expense, making it the largest library of its kind in the world. Among her many other contributions to the field of forensic medicine are:

- proposed a nationwide dental database to help in identification of the deceased (suggestion ignored)
- developed a fellowship and curriculum for training doctors to specialize in legal medicine
- realized the importance of training police officers so that vital evidence not be disturbed and created seminars for them on their importance in forensic science
- made miniature, highly detailed dioramas of various crime scenes to aid in training
- worked with universities, medical schools, the FBI, coroners, police, etc. to advance forensic science

The list could go on and on. Suffice it to say, that this determined, tireless woman in essence created the field of forensic science in America and along the way became one of the world's most astute, noted, and honored criminologists.

Despite my long interest in medicine and forensics, I am ashamed to say that prior to reading this book, I had not heard of Lee. I am so very glad that Bruce Goldfarb wrote this book to give this woman her due!

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

This book is such an informative profile of a woman who was ahead of her time who has had a lasting impact on the lives of so many. Focussing on not only her achievements but also her upbringing, this profile is well written and shows a real interest in sharing the achievements of this remarkable woman. I loved this book and will be recommending it to others. I will also be incorporating what I have learned into our school curriculum. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb wasn't at all what I was expecting, but still it was an intriguing read. It took me a while to really get into the book, I would say the first 25% of the book was slow and hard to get interested in. But after that I read the rest in 2 days and didn't want to put it down. I loved learning about the nutshell cases and wish they were available to the general public to see. I'm not sure that all my True Crime reading friends would be interested in this book, but I would absolutely suggest it to those that like history and forensics.

I had never heard of Frances Glessner Lee before reading this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed author Bruce Goldfarb’s book. There are many elements contained within its pages. Readers are permitted an intimate look at Ms. Lee’s ancestors as well as the events of her earlier life (before the main focus of the book, her tireless efforts to advance the field of modern forensics).

The explanation of the origins of the coroner system was enlightening and one can begin to understand the frustrations Ms. Lee dealt with throughout her life as this system is still employed in many states. The impact of Ms. Lee’s efforts cannot be overstated. The classes she started while at Harvard still continue, with her miniature and lifelike dioramas still being employed. Though some of her work has been swallowed and is almost forgotten (such as the Magrath Library, containing over 3000 books), there are countless reminders of exactly what Ms. Lee accomplished.

It is noted in the book that “18 Tiny Deaths” is the first biography about Frances Glessner Lee. I found it to be a satisfying description of a woman who chose to pioneer a new field, her struggles to bring her dreams to fruition, and the many accomplishments that she was instrumental in bringing about. Recommended to everyone. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an advance electronic copy of this title.

This one is definitely a good read for those who are True Crime enthusiasts. This starts off a little slow, but I found myself fascinated by the end of the book. Goldfarb follows the true story of Frances Glessner Lee who I am just going to say, is the mother of forensics as we understand it in the United States today.

Lee was a wealthy heiress with an interest in medicine which of course was discouraged for a woman living in the time and place that she did (Chicago in the late 1800s). When Lee's father died, she finally was able to take that money and use it to help detectives follow what they should do in order to develop clues to solve murders. I kind of fell in love with the idea of her creating "rooms" in which detectives and others could use to hone their skills. She was pretty much the original creator of "The Escape Room."

The only reason why I gave this 4 stars and not 3 is that it does take a while to get going and a few of Goldfarb's sections just drifted along. I noticed a lot of repetition in places.

As someone who loves True Crime, Forensic Files, and other shows, I could not believe I had never heard of Lee before.

I loved 18 Tiny Deaths. I don't say that often, and I never say it lightly.

Frances Glessner Lee, born into a wealthy family that only became wealthier in the era that really kicked off mergers and acquisitions, pioneered what we now know as modern forensics in a time when women were not even permitted to attend medical school. Lee, with the help of lifelong friend George Magrath, and with the help of her vast wealth, created the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard, and created a seminar for law enforcement so they could be taught that crime scenes should be kept intact for investigations and medical examiners - a very real problem in her time.

The book does not start there, however. It begins with Lee's birth (and that of her brother), and the family's typical activities. We follow the family through the years, with the children - including Lee, not something ordinarily done in that era - introduced to virtually any interest they may have had, and never stopped from indulging intellectual pursuits. The book then follows Lee into a marriage, children, and eventual divorce.

At this point, beyond mentions here and there of Lee, the focus turns primarily to the two Georges (her brother, and a great deal about Magrath, their friend since childhood), and a brief history of the state of forensics at the time: coroners who often were not doctors/pathologists, who received kickbacks from funeral homes, and law enforcement blundering through crime scenes. Causes of death were sometimes dashed off without an autopsy or without any particular observation of the decedent.

In the last third, by chance Lee and Magrath are in the same recovery house, and his discussion of his work sparks something in Lee. This compels her to begin what would be her enduring legacy: a codified approach to forensics. With her passion ignited, and with her wealth behind her, she prodded, poked, and funded the creation of the Department of Legal Medicine and the extensive library contained therein.

She was also in contact with a vast array of people around the country, always, always pushing for the abolition of coroners and the establishment of a proper medical examiner where there were none, or where hybrids existed. When she arrived at the conclusion that law enforcement needed to be trained as well, she then began to push for that, eventually able to get support for two seminars a year, for which she constructed her now famous Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Deaths - tiny dioramas of crime scenes where attendees of her seminars needed not to solve the crime but be observant of the scene and spot clues intentionally placed.

It is in this last third of the book where some may carp about Lee just being a rich old woman who got what she wanted by either paying for it or by threatening to withhold money. This is understandable, but, I argue, an unfounded critique. At a time when almost no one wanted to fund these sorts of offices or provide training, Lee used her knowledge, drive, and wealth to create something both compelling and useful, in both an educational and legal respect. The trail she blazed in her time underpins the things we now take for granted as part of forensic science, and this book is a well written and well researched salute to her.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advance copy.

Review to be posted on GoodReads Feb 4:

A biography of philanthropist Frances Glessner Lee, who though she didn’t even have an official high school diploma went on to be the driving force behind the founding of the Harvard Department of Legal Medicine (what we’d call forensic medicine), proponent for reform of corrupt coroner systems, and one of the first people to set up seminars to teach police officers basic forensic science techniques. Lee is most famous for 18 models she made with a woodworker that allow students to evaluate a potential crime scene, gather clues, and see if their observation of the evidence can lead them to an accurate cause of death; these are called the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.

This was well-written and extensively researched. The author works in the department where the Nutshell Studies are currently housed and has unique access to information about Frances Glessner Lee. I tore through this book. I found it endlessly fascinating. Though I’ve read a number of forensic science books before, I’d never heard of Francis Glessner Lee before. I had also never heard what a mess the coroner system is and why she campaigned so hard for medical examiners to replace them. (I was also shocked to learn there hasn’t been that much change in the US since Lee’s time regarding these systems.) The book also highlights the deep need for more people to go into forensic pathology, making this the perfect read for any high school or college student who may be tossing around the idea of becoming something like a CSI. Lee’s biography is also a fantastic reminder that your influence is not limited by your degree or amount of formal education. She was also admirable for the way she used her wealth and stayed active as long as she could in her old age. If you’re looking for a biography of a woman who was influential in surprising ways, a good forensics history read, or fascinating bits of little-known history, pick this up.

Notes on content [based on ARC]: No language issues that I remember (may have been 1 or 2 minor ones in quotes at most). No sex scenes. There’s one case involving the accidental death of a young man trying to get a sexual arousal by partial strangulation that comes up, but it is only talked about in very technical language. Some other deaths mentioned that were tied to affairs, but absolutely no sexual details. Death is obviously a big topic. The amount of deaths described and cases is actually pretty minimal for a forensics book, but they are definitely in here. One autopsy is described in detail. Lee’s friend who inspired her to get into forensics was an alcoholic and his struggles are outlined in detail.

<i>I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I first learned of Frances Glessner Lee from a short CBS Sunday Morning piece on her work. Her intricate dollhouse-style dioramas were both fascinating and terrifying to me. The amount of detail work - and how these dioramas were used in actual court cases is just the tip of Lee's influence of modern medicine.

18 Tiny Deaths is the story of Frances Glessner Lee's life and how she became the Grandmother of Legal Medicine. From her early days growing up in a house of privilege to her reunion with her old medical examiner friend - we find out the why's and how's of how these forensic masterpieces were used.

This book is heavy and does take a bit to get going. I do wish there were close up photos of the dioramas, but overall, I learned much more about Lee than the 2 minute news piece.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Frances Glessner Lee is such a fascinating subject and a detailed biography is long overdue, so first and foremost thank you to Bruce Goldfarb for recognizing this and taking the time to craft such a detailed and homage-laden book. I first learned about Captain Lee in the book Savage Appetites - a very intriguing collection of brief biographies of four women "obsessed with" (the subtitle's words, not mine) murder. It was a fantastic introduction to Lee and the Nutshells, and it set the hook for my interest in her life. When I saw Goldfarb's biography on NetGalley I immediately requested it and upon approval I couldn't wait to dig in...

Lee is a fascinating character and her story is a marvelous example of how one woman refused to be told no. Her tale is inspirational and her role in forensics is indisputable. Goldfarb does a marvelous job describing her role in the development of the modern field of forensic medicine, covering in equal measure her life and involvement as well as the obstacles that repeatedly popped into her path and her ceaseless efforts to overcome them through generous applications of time, money, and energy.

I must admit, at times the book moved a little more slowly than I wanted. I suspect this is because I knew about the Nutshells and the scope of her role in the Harvard program from the get-go. I knew what I wanted to know more about (if that makes sense) and sometimes the pace of the narrative frustrated me because it was so descriptive and detailed and I just wanted to get to the parts I was most interested in (which largely come later in her life). The details are fascinating and once I realized this was the source of my frustration I reminded myself to slow down and enjoy the ride, and that helped a lot - suggesting that, If I had approached this blind, I wouldn't have had the same issues. The writing is clear and straightforward, and I don't think the amount of detail provided was ever inappropriate - I was just that eager to learn more and wanted to get there as quickly a possible!

This is a marvelous story about the perseverance of one woman and the immeasurable impact that her actions had on the future of modern criminology. It's a tale everyone should hear, and Goldfarb's book is a fantastic addition to the field of criminal justice and a must-read for anyone interested in crime and its resolution.

Oh wow, this was such a fantastic book! It is the story of Frances Glessner Lee, and how she shaped modern forensics. It tells her life, from growing up in a privileged Chicago family to how she got involved in advancing the medico-legal field. If you are interested in forensics & true crime, I would highly recommend this book.

I enjoy reading books about the history of forensic investigations, a science that is sometimes stumbled into serendipitously, as recounted in "Ghost Map" (about the discovery of the underlying cause of cholera), or "The Father of Forensics: The Groundbreaking Cases of Sir Bernard Spilsbury, and the Beginnings of Modern CSI." This book falls into that same category: a well-researched and documented account of the life of Frances Lee Glessner, an American woman who took a keen interest in forensic investigation and promoted education in the field. Glessner is an unlikely advocate -- a daughter of a wealthy pillar of the community, having grown up in a privileged environment, lacking formal education, during a time when women could barely get a look-in, in a male-dominated society.

18 Tiny Deaths refers to miniature 3D dioramas created by Glessner, each depicting an unexplained death, and used for training purposes. She drew on her experience creating dioramas depicting a symphony orchestra, for instance, and her "death dioramas" became an innovative teaching tool.

This was a fascinating story; I had never heard of Glessner before, and enjoyed reading this. What struck me particularly was her persistence in the face of skepticism, rejection, chauvinism.

Death fascinates us as humans: despite its inevitability, we are still shocked, upset, and morbidly curious about it. How? Why? And the unanswerable what next?
And so, science and law has had to come a long way over centuries to help us understand this inevitable phenomenon, particularly for the unexplained and suspicious cases of death.

18 Tiny Deaths paints a compelling picture of Frances Glessner Lee: an inspiring woman, who has dedicated her whole life and a great part of her (seemingly bottomless) finances to the establishment of a reliable medicolegal system in the USA, despite lacking any formal academic education about medicine or law herself. With her endless efforts in educational, political and social spheres, fighting against corruption and condecension, it is no wonder that she can be considered the mother of forensic science in the USA.
And more specifically, she is the creator of “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death”, a set of dioramas depicting 18 cases of unexplained death scenarios.

The book is packed with very interesting facts for true crime lovers, explaining the technical terminology where necessary and sharing curious historical tidbits at others. (Did you know exactly how an autopsy is done? So fascinating! So gross!)

However, the text often gets bogged down with too much information, which makes it difficult to read at times. There are some confusing tangents that seem only partially-related to the subject, and too many names to remember (there is a handy guide for this at the start of the book, though). Nonetheless, it is a wonderful biography of a woman worth learning about.

This biography is a study of a woman involved in interesting ways in crime investigation—and although I was very excited to read the book (due to some previous knowledge about the subject of the biography), the text stayed rooted in detailed minutia--and completely shied away from any connection with the social history of gender and class in the twentieth century. We get the story of her life without any of the historical context that would make the biography important to both historians and to general readers. Although it was written clearly and organized logically, the book was ultimately a disappointment. There is still room for a great context-rooted historical biography of Frances Glessner Lee.

While the story of Frances Glessner Lee is well worth being told, this book takes entirely too long to get going and goes off on far too many tangents for my personal preference. This may be because the author chose to write the story in a narrative style rather than writing a broader history. The first chapter does not adequately set up who Frances Glessner Lee is and why she matters which leaves the subsequent chapters meandering while the reader struggles to follow the story.

This was a great look into forensic sciences and how it has developed. Highly recommend this book for immediate purchase.

Frances Glessener is a rarely heard name outside of the world of true crime. Her creation of small exhibits of actual crimes trained detectives what to look for and how to analyze a crime scene. This book by Bruce Goldfarb shows the life of Glessner, an heiress that changed the way detectives work.