"In Beating the Devil's Game, Katherine Ramsland traces the development from thirteenth-century Chinese studies of decomposition rates through the flowering of science during the Renaissance and its veritable explosion during the era of Newtonian physics in the nineteenth century, up to the marvels of the present day and beyond. Along the way, she introduces us to fascinating forensic pioneers such as Spain's Mathieu Orfila, the father of toxicology; Eugene Francois Vidocq, the criminal-turned-detective who founded the Parisian Surete; and current trailblazers like William Bass, whose fully integrated program in entomology, anthropology, and pathology at the Forensic Anthropology Center has galvanized the field. These are visionaries who have persisted in raising investigative standards - and whose efforts keep us just steps ahead of increasingly sophisticated criminals."--BOOK JACKET.