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Chargement... First World War Trials and Executions: Britain's Traitors, Spies and Killers 1914 - 1918par Simon Webb
Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.  atticusfinch1048 | Jan 10, 2016 |  aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Between the beginning of the First World War in the summer of 1914 and the armistice in 1918, 51 men were executed in Britain. The great majority, over 80%, were hanged for murder, but in addition to this, 11 men were shot by firing squad at the Tower of London. One traitor and one spy were also hanged. Traitors, Spies and Killers tells the story of the most interesting and noteworthy of these executions and the crimes which led up to them. Most books about true crime focus upon the crimes themselves and the trials which followed them. In this book, Simon Webb explores in detail the fates of the condemned men, examining what happened to them after their trials and the circumstances of the executions. This makes occasionally for harrowing reading. Trends in murder are also examined. For instance, a third of those executed for murder during the First World War had used cut-throat razors to dispose of their victims; a type of crime unheard of today. Others used pokers and axes, which are also exceedingly uncommon murder weapons in the twenty first century. This is a book which will fascinate and horrify those with an interest in crime and the death penalty. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)345.4Social sciences Law Criminal Law EuropeClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (4)
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First World War Trials and Executions: Britain's Traitors, Spies and Killers 1914 – 1918 is a well researched book from the historian of Simon Webb. The book as it says in the title investigates all those the state put to death for various reasons and gives a short picture of the reason why and how they were executed.
What Webb does tell us that during World War 1 the number of executions fell, and that in all a total of 51 men were executed in England. Most of those executed were hanged, 80% of those were for murder, and a small number shot for espionage. Only one spy and one traitor were hanged during this period.
The book neatly brings those with similar crimes together in one chapter, so those that used cut-throat razors for example, seven men, told who they were, who the crime is committed against and where their execution was carried out. They do this for all the chapters, so you are able to dip in and out of the book.
There are also short chapters about the Executioners which is rather interesting and how they came to the position and why they left. For those of a gorier bent there is also a chapter on The Mechanics of Hanging.
This is an interesting, short history book that has been well research, well written and an ‘entertaining’ read that you can consume quickly. A book for all those interested in historic crimes and how things used to be. (