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

True tales of sanctioned executions—beheadings, stabbings, chokings, electrocutions, and more—ripped from the annals of history by master mystery author Howard Engel
 
In his first work of true crime, award-winning mystery writer Howard Engel traces the hangman’s tradition from medieval England and early Canada to the present-day United States. Throughout “civilized” history, executioners employed on behalf of the kingdom, republic, or dictatorship have beheaded, chopped, stabbed, choked, gassed, electrocuted, or beaten criminals to death—and Engel doesn’t shy away from the gritty details of the executioner’s lifestyle, focusing on the paragons, buffoons, and sadists of the dark profession.
 
Packed with all-too-true stories, from hapless hangings to butchered beheadings, this historically accurate look at the executioner’s gruesome work makes for a thoroughly gripping read.