Guillotine: The Timbers of Justice
£5.66
WONDERFUL---VIVID AND MESMERIZING !!!! - This is a extraordinary book about a fascinating subject. It actually reads more like an exciting novel than the dry academic history book that it could have been . Rather, it offers the reader not only a thorough history of the macabre Guillotine, it is -- as well -- rich in obscure details and fascinating bits of information . I found it riveting and I could not put it down. Reading this book, one begins gradually to experience the eerie feeling that the Guillotine --more than just being a formidable object, a death machine--that one is reading about, is slowly becoming much more---almost an ENTITY ---a PRESENCE in ITSELF! The Guillotine, looming over all those who surrendered to it, operated it and who have been touched by it, remains to this day an undeniable icon of nightmarish fascination and (strangely, somehow),inspiration. Robert Opie has done a masterful job and captures this fascinating subject with skill and aplomb. There is even a complete detailed description of the modern Guillotine, its mechanics and how it is assembled. The amazing collection of 25 photographs is outstanding and completes what truly is, a most satisfying, intriguing and beautifully turned out book. Bravo!
The Widow - Not since Alistair Kershaw s History of the Guillotine (Calder Publishing, 1958) has there been an author who has done as much research as Robert Opie. Tapping into sources unavailable to others he has uncovered secrets that this Widow has unto now kept to herself. He has dived head first into the basket which once contained the bodies of the freshly decapitated victims, rummaged around and there found the stories, mechanics and factual details which were it not for his persistence and determination may have disappeared forever with the bloody wood. If you have ever shown any interest in the guillotine whatsoever (and who hasn t?) then read this book. It dispels with all the myth and fabrication you may have read about in previous publications and presents before you, on the tilting table of death the true history of these Timbers of Justice
sensationally well done 5 STARS - This is a fascinating book, full of rich detail and an astounding collection of rare photos. Beautifully and engagingly written,it is most satisfying read . Mr Opie has really got a handle on his subject and shares many little known and fascinating details with the reader. Guillotines used in Switzerland and Germany and China and Sweden ---Who knew?? This is a riveting and a chilling look at a celebrated icon. I can t recommend it enough!
Gory but good - Great informative book on not only the merits of the gullotine, but also of capital punishment as a whole. It includes its creation, its most famous and significant victims, its operators, and a look into its dark side - does the human head actually live on after separation from the body?I have mixed views on the death sentence, which makes this study a facinating one, if a little grim, but I would reccomend this highly to anyone with an interest in humananity and justice.
Gruesome, but facinating - This is a great book, as despite the macarbe nature of the content, it deals with a symbol of justice and death that was a part of European life up until the 1980 s. The issue of the death penalty is as relevant now as its ever been, and this is provides a brilliantly balanced view of a machine that was originally designed to offer a humane and instant form of death, and yet research conducted over its 200 year history has shown that it may have been a hell of a lot more cruel than existing methods! My own thoughts on the death sentence are mixed, but I would recommend this book to anyone on either side of the fence, as both a historical tool, and an insight into modern systems of justice and retribution.