What if a world-renowned professor of psychology at Harvard University, acclaimed as one of the leading intellects of the time, suddenly announced that he believed in ghosts? At the close of the nineteenth century, Dr. William James--a founder of the American Psychological Association--did just that. James joined with two other brilliant thinkers to form the American Society for Psychical Research. This riveting book is about their investigations...

Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley set out to ensure food safety. He selected food tasters to test various food additives and preservatives, letting them know that the substances could be harmful or deadly. The tasters were recognized for their courage, and became known as the poison squad.

By the close of the Industrial Revolution, the American food supply was tainted--by frauds, fakes, and legions of new, untested chemicals--all threatening the health of consumers across the country. Based on the critically acclaimed book by Deborah Blum, it tells the story of crusading government chemist Harvey Washington Wiley, the man who led the pure food movement against the food manufacturing industry in the early years of the twentieth century,...