Customer Reviews

Last Suppers: Famous Final Meals from Death Row

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Last Suppers captured my attention immediately and I read it cover to cover in less than four hours. I simply could not put it down. This book covers famous final meals from death row and it is stuffed full of fascinating details about everything from who ate what (and why, in some cases) to what landed them on death row. Even more amazing than the sheer size of some of the meals are the jailhouse recipes in mammoth proportions and the fabulous sense of humor that the authors use to deliver the dirt on death row. Even though the crimes that these criminals committed were heinous, the authors relate the facts with grace, humor and objectivity, keeping the reader interested and turning pages. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone with a sense of humor and looking for a great chili recipe for a LARGE family!

I have to admit I was somewhat skeptical about "Last Suppers" before I read it, just because...well, it is a book about inmates' last meals! But once I started reading it, I could not put it down until I had read it all. It is about meals, all right, but there is much more to this book than that. In a very unusual way, it deals with the controversy, created by a strictly American phenomena - the death penalty. And this makes "Last Suppers" quite an interesting reading both to Americans and people like me, who come from countries which have abolished the death penalty. The writing by Treadwell and Vernon, and the design of the book are very good. I strongly recommend reading "Last Suppers" - it is worth it.

A most entertaining read! Not only does it list the often quite entertaining final meals of many death row inmates (inspired of course by the Texas Department of Justice which used to list the final meals on its execution page before sadly taking them down a couple of years ago), but it also provides many fun facts about executions. The book is filled with short little snippets which makes it the perfect bathroom reader. I highly recommend putting one in yours today!

I picked this book up just to thumb through, expecting something dark, disturbing and gruesome, but could not put it down and could not stop laughing! It's a perfect example of truth being much stranger than fiction. The book is well researched with many interesting facts but does not seem to have any message either for or against the death penalty. It's more of a witty and irreverent peek into the inner psyche of some antisocial and mixed up human beings with very strange appetites and surprisingly, it is a VERY entertaining book!

I recently bought this book and have enjoyed it very much. It has alot of information mixed with humor. A Wonderful Coffee Table Book,
I picked it up and basically read it cover to cover very quick. The Authors did a great job, I look forward to reading anything
else they come out with. Everyone who walks in my house picks it up and starts reading.Really A Great Book.Something Very Different I Loved It!

Come on! You know you wondered what Ted Bundy ate before he died. I mean, that's us -- "Inquiring Minds Want To Know!" -- right?

Every morsel of Last Suppers is interesting and fun to read. Because it comes in bite size chunks of information, I think you will benefit first by perusing the table of contents. You see, though this book is about famous final meals at the condemned's death door, it is so much more than that.

Introduction
Inmates (scattered throughout the book)
Recipes
Texas Jailhouse Chili
Raspberry Fritters
Nutra Loaf
Bean Burgers
Chicken and Dumplings
Yucca Salad
What's In a Name?
Death Row: The Safest Place in America
Death Row Volunteers
Frequently Asked Questions
Choose It or Lose It
Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger!
Death Row Dames
Wishful Thinking?
Legal Briefs: Sweden Airs Texas' Dirty Laundry
Tales From the Slop Bucket: The Worst Meals Ever
Zapits Dining Guide for the Discerning Death Row Inmate

"In 1972, the Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional, deeming it both arbitrary and discriminatory, and therefore violating the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits 'cruel and unusual punishment.'

About four years later, the death penalty was reinstated with some states administering executions, and others continuing to believe it unconstitutional.

The United States just cannot seem to agree or decide upon the most appropriate action for extremely violent criminals... "Do we kill them, or do we let them live a lifetime in prison?" But one thing all the states incorporating the death penalty do agree on is a one "last supper." Some states going so far as to let the future corpse not only choose his last meal, but order it from any local area restaurant.

Treadwell and Vernon not only bring us honest-to-God real life last supper information, but they share it in such a way, that putting this book down is nearly impossible.

Last Suppers is just one of those "one sitting" books. You can't help it. We not only want to know, but we have to know about the "Illinois Man Voted Least Likely to be Invited to a Family Reunion," or about the horse from Utah that was put to death for its crime.

The most interesting aspect of this book are the recipes. An unexpected added bonus. Former Texas Prison Director Dr. George Beto supplied an excellent chili recipe.

The recipes alone transform this book from one like your other true crime books -- hidden away in a box in the closet, or shoved to the deepest darkest corners under your bed -- into an interactive book. Yep, this book has more than one use.

Death row inmates do say the darndest things! It's a little scary, reading about all the heinous crimes committed by the convicts listed in this work. It's surprisingly clear, however that a good laugh can be had at their situations. This book is a wacky mix of gruesome crimes, funny quotes, and recipies. Sort of Martha Stewart meets John Wayne Gacy.

An in-depth examination of the last meal, a long held tradition for those meeting their final reward at the hands of the criminal justice system. Peppered with death penalty history and jail-house recipes this book details the last suppers of some of the United States most infamous criminals. A humanizing glimpse of the modern `monster'.

Such fun reading this was! I have never thought much about the final meals of the people on death row before. It was truly fascinating to read of their journey to that place in their lives..then to see just what they picked to end it with!

I really enjoyed the style of writing...it made me want more. Let's have even more receipes if there's a Last Suppers II!

Tactful and tastefully written. Funny as all get-out! Peculiar subject? Maybe. The news media would never give us this kind of information, nor would they deliver it as cleverly as these two writers have. I checked out the web site too and apparently this book is getting a lot of media coverage. You need to read this book!

Leisa Carey
Atlanta, GA