The Book of Execution: An Encyclopedia of Methods of Judicial Execution

I stumbled across this book while touring the Tower of London in 1998 and have reread it several times a year since. (Does that make me sick? Hope not!) This book was clearly written for a British audience since there are many places where an incident (i.e. the Jacobite rebellion) is mentioned without reference to who they were. There are also a few mistakes an American reader would catch, such as saying someone was executed in "Raliegh, North Virginia." However, these do not at all distract from the facination of the book.

This book is fascinating, if morbid. Though it's about the size of a paperback desktop dictionary, The Book of Execution is a true encyclopedia. There are sixty-eight entries in the table of contents, not counting a brief executioner's glossary, entitled "Jargon of the Underworld." The executions described range from the universal to the obscure-ancient times to modern day. The ancient methods are particularly inventive. Along with the well-known crucifixion and stoning to death are some more unusual ones like the brazen bull, cyphon, and scaphismus.The author isn't entirely objective. You will see words like 'vicious' and 'ruthless' in regards to some practices. Overall, however, he describes the execution methods in the context of their relative time periods without being judgmental. He applies dry humor throughout the text, even though the procedures he describes are gruesome. The illustrations in the book comprise mostly of devices used for torture/execution and of outfits worn at different periods.The book seems slanted towards European methods of execution, since many of the accounts Abbott relates took place in Europe. That doesn't mean a given method itself is European. For example, death by the axe occurred in any civilization with axes, not just the European beheadings, etc, represented.If you find yourself remotely interested in this topic, buy this book. It's worth the price for conversations you'll have about it.

this is one of the most imformative, and interesting books I own, and let me tell you I own a lot of books! :) It has practicaly every form of execution there is. It is a very interesting read, and was very hard to put down. And to tell you the truth, I have actually used this book on numerous occations for many differnt reasons! I would highly recommend this book to anyone! It is a fast paced read, and is just as good when read for a second, even third time!

This book gives true accounts on what tourture and execution were and are really like. The details, documents and pictures make this book erie and unable to put down, but I would not reccomend it for those with weak stomachs!

I think this book is magnificent, as it presents all of the means of execution that I can think of (and in graphic detail). It is a real page-turner that is hard to put down once one has started reading!