Execution: A Guide to the Ultimate Penalty

by Geoffrey Abbott

Execution' is a gruesomely fascinating account of methods of judicial execution from around the world and through the ages, and includes such hair-raising categories as death by cannibalism, being sewn into an animalOCOs belly and a thousand cuts. In his own darkly humorous style, Geoffrey Abbott describes the instruments used and their effectiveness, and reveals the macabre origins of familiar phrases such as OCygone westOCO or OCydrawn a blankOCO, as well as the jargon of the underworld. From the preparation of the victim to the disposal of the body, 'Execution' answers all the questions you are ever likely to ask, and some you would never want to imagine."

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2014

About the author

Geoffrey Abbott served for many years as a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London. Author of nineteen books and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica/, he has made numerous television appearances. He lives in London.

Reviews

[CK · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book at the library because I thought it would offer some insight into the history of the death penalty and how various methods of execution affected the condemned's physiology. Someone before me wrote "what a load of crap" on page 147, at Pvt Eddie Slovik's death by firing squad, and exposed a factual error in the book which really threw the other "facts" presented in this book under question as well. Not to mention that this book offered nothing but gore, it was like a bad slasher film with no substance, only offering shock value, which is fine if that's what you're into. But overall it offered no insight, questionable research and very little value, I have to agree with the previous anonymous reviewer, what a load of crap!
Oh, and if you're wondering about the factual error, Slovik was executed by M1 rifles and not M16 as stipulated in this book, M16 wasn't even invented back then.