Executioners

by Phil Clarke, Anne Williams, Liz Hardy

Anglo-Saxon invaders first introduced hanging by the neck as capital punishment to England, and it was used by William the Conqueror as punishment for his conspirators. Other forms of formal execution over the years were carried out by lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad or the guillotine. The Pierrepoints were the most famous family of executioners. They took their job very seriously and were involved in around 800 executions, getting rid of murderers, spies and Nazis. William Marwood, a 19th-century cobbler, introduced the 'long drop' method of hanging which ensured that the prisoner's neck was broken instantly, which removed all the gruesome struggling and convulsions of previous methods.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History

510 pages, Paperback

First published May 24, 2000

Reviews

[Granny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never before given a book a mark this low (I gave it only one star), but this book absolutely deserved it. The history is about 85 to 90% accurate, and the language is overwrought and slanted. The book read as though an excitable teenager had written it.

In addition, the premise of the book seemed incorrect to me. A large section of it is devoted to the witch burning craze. But inquisitors are not executioners. They are investigators; and sometimes judges, but they did not execute the victims with their own hands. If the book was about the witch burnings then these chapters would make sense, but unless there is information on the people who -actually- gathered and arranged the faggots and/or strangled the victims; or in some cases hung them, then they do not apply to a book on executioners.

But there are more difficulties. This is easily the most poorly proof-read book I have ever read. It includes mis-spellings such as alter for altar, sourcery for sorcery, even the fictional character Hannibal Lecter is spelled as Lectar. These are only a few of many mis-spellings throughout the book, and the grammar is easily as bad. With three authors credited; and presumably a proof-reader from the publisher, it is difficult to imagine how so many mistakes made their way to publication. Oh and by the way, the strappado is not a pendulum. Why didn't the authors know this? It's inaccuracies like this which are unfair to the less knowledgeable readers and insulting to readers who have studied enough to know that this is just wrong.

Now I am only a casual reader and my days of diagraming sentences are decades behind me, but these problems did jump out at me as I was reading and interfered with my enjoyment of the book.

All in all, a very disappointing effort.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but disappointing. No real insights into why executioners do what they do, focuses on a few big names but not what drives them. Also badly let down by poor editing - many typos and a lot of bad grammar.

[Stefennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and informative

[John Pearse · Rating 3 out of 5]

A largely sober potted history that details the primary methods of execution throughout history and the people whose duty it was to carry out the sentences. It begins with Stone Age human sacrifice, and continues through to present day controversies over the viability of lethal injections and the degree to which they're humane. There were points where the descriptions became a little too gleeful for my liking, but this issue was minor thanks to the interesting exploration of the executioners' motives and psychology, as well as society's changing attitudes toward murder enacted by the state. It's quite a short book, so don't expect too much, but it does thankfully go beyond simply salivating over gory deaths.

[Connor Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book.

When I first bought the book I expected it to be pure Gore and full of descriptions. However it wasn't. That was great though. It focused on the facts (all well presented) and didn't fart about.

[Simone Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the book. It gives quite a historical background and a range of different execution methods and executors themselves. Although it describes the execution but not that much in detail as once a book I read but can't remember the name of it.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

As stated in previous reviews, this book is poorly written. I couldn't even stomach reading the rest of the book once I made it to the 47% mark (honestly surprised I made it that far, but I hate not finishing a book). This could of been a really interesting read if it was better written.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is probably not well-known, therefore I found it at a used-book store. It was very informative in a not-boring kind of way.
It was not the best book in the world, but it was different.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disturbing book whether you believe in the death penalty or not. I would recommend both read this book.