American Sherlock with Kate Winkler Dawson

Published: Jan. 21, 2020, 9:27 p.m.

In this episode of Stratfor's Pen and Sword podcast, Stratfor Chief Security Officer and host, Fred Burton, speaks to Kate Winkler Dawson about her latest book, American Sherlock.

This is the story of Edward Oscar Heinrich, and how he pioneered forensics starting in about 1910. A fascinating, complex personality  who had an uncanny ability to find clues, build evidence and solve crimes. "He was this incredible forensic scientist who solved all of these crazy, insane cases," says the author.

"I've always been really interested in the history of forensics. And I felt like I really wanted to dig into what is right with forensics and what is wrong. There's plenty of both, both now and back when it started," Dawson says.

Based on years of research and, according to Dawson, one of the largest personal archives with more than 100 boxes of previously uncatalogued content ranging from diaries to notes on investigations.