Tremors in the Blood

Starred review from January 9, 2023
In this fascinating look at the history of lie detectors, Wired reporter Katwala (Quantum Computing: How It Works and How It Could Change the World) explores how American law-enforcement came to place its faith in them. In 1921, San Francisco police chief August Vollmer learned of experiments to detect lies by measuring blood pressure. He recruited officer John Larson, who had degrees in physiology and psychology, to build on those experiments. Aided by Leonarde Keeler, Larson invented a device that translated blood pressure measurements into written lines, to be analyzed after a subject was asked a series of questions. It was seized on by Vollmer as a breakthrough, but as Katwala shows, it led to significant false conclusions, as there “is no way for an examiner to be sure whether a change in blood pressure is due to fear of getting caught or anxiety about being falsely accused.” More recently, lie detection technology has expanded to include processes “powered by brain scans and artificial intelligence” that have been “greedily adopted by police forces and governments, drawn in by the false promise of a machine that tells the truth.” Katwala has real storytelling chops, and the chilling conclusion about the flawed nature of polygraphs truly hits home. This evocative account complements Ken Alder’s The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession. Agent: Kris Dahl, ICM Partners.

February 1, 2023

The lie detector machine has been an object of debate since its 1921 inception. The use of the machine, and any other lie detection method, has been questioned by the public, the media, and the judicial system, and it has become inadmissible in many courts due to the lack of scientific evidence that it accurately works. Journalist Katwala's deep dive into its history focuses on the people and the cases that influenced its initial use, starting with a woman's murder and the police investigation into whether her husband was to blame. The book's riveting, fascinating details will likely draw readers into the story of how the polygraph affected its creators, the justice system, the media, and the public as a whole. VERDICT True crime fans will likely want to read this book, especially those interested in the history of criminal science.--Leah Fitzgerald

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