Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen, and Their Kind [Paperback]

Howard Engel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

In Lord High Executioner, Howard Engel produces a wonderfully wise and witty social history of the men and women who represent our agents of death, and who have done our dirty work over the centuries.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Engel, an award-winning mystery writer, has written a scholarly history of executions and executioners, with an emphasis on England and the Commonwealth countries. Notable beheaders' and hangmen's lives are presented with their thoughts and beliefs on how executions should be carried out. Engel briefly discusses capital punishment in Europe and the United States. In so far as he states that he is in favor of abolishing executions but has attempted to be unbiased, he fails. In his discussion of the death penalty in the United States, he uses cases that were causes celebres among opponents of the death penalty: Barbara Graham, Caryl Chessman, Ted Bundy, etc. Nevertheless, academic libraries should consider this title because it contains material that is rarely covered: capital punishment in Canada and women who have been sentenced to death. Unlike Engel, Farrington, a writer and ex-Fleet Street journalist who worked for several years at London's Central Criminal Court, has written a concise survey of "justice" through the ages. The punishments and tortures discussed, seen as barbaric today, were once considered appropriate for the particular time. Heavily illustrated, this book is not for those with a weak stomach. The major drawback is the use of red pages with black words and black pages with white words, which makes the text difficult to read. In addition, there is no bibliography. Despite these flaws, this is a good purchase for popular true crime and history collections.?Michael Sawyer, Clinton P.L., Ia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Key Porter Books; 1ST edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550137867
• ISBN-13: 978-1550137866
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #979,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Facinating, November 19, 1999

By 

Edward Groh (Linthicum, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen, and Their Kind (Paperback)

Mr.Engel gives us an enlightened account of the history of the personalties who haunt our nightmares: the executioners. He is generally objective in his treatment of that morbid fraternity but cannot resist the temptation to editorialize on the humanity and efficacy of the death penalty. I, for one, join Mr. Engle in opposing it and I am thankful for his frank and honest treatment of the subject.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and biased, January 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen, and Their Kind (Paperback)

Howard Engel's treatment of the history of executioners is both entertaining and biased (as he readily admits). The book begins well with many an ironic turn of phrase and gallows humor but by the end, Mr. Engel's political bias has taken over. He seems to have a particular obsession with Fred Leuchter. How anyone could link so-called holocaust denial into a book which purports to give an overview of executioners is beyond me. The first half of the book is an entertaining read; the second half a hackneyed polemic.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A vibrant & witty approach to the science of execution, May 25, 2001

By 

Bannefin (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen, and Their Kind (Paperback)

Not only does this book take you through the long drop, the short drop, and the always crowd-pleasing beheading, it takes you through the lives of the death bringers themselves. Some who were truly masters of their craft, and humerous tales of those who would need four hits with a sharp axe in order to take the head. Not nearly as dry as most books written on the subject, has good illustrations and would be an excellent research tool for any writer. Begins with an intensive focus on England, especially the infamous "road to Tyburn" and continues onto focus on the hanging methods in Canada, and lastly the evolution of death in America. The volume also gives a brief note to the only documented female headsmen that I have yet to come across. High marks! Where most history books run by numbers, names, and locations, this one takes the time to give you an intense look at the method of execution and the personal character and life of each on of its subjects. Very well researched and I cannot praise the quality of the writing enough.