
Whack Job
A History of Axe Murder
Rachel Mccarthy James(Author)
St Martin's Press
Published on 13. May 2025
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-250-27673-5 (ISBN)
Description
"Much like the wheel, the boat, and the telephone, the axe is a transformative piece of technology--one that has been with us since prehistory. And just as early humans used the axe to chop down trees, hunt for food, and whittle tools, they also used it to murder. Over time, this particular use has endured: as the axe evolved over centuries to fit the needs of new agricultural, architectural, and social development, so have our lethal uses for it. Whack Job is the story of the axe, first as a convenient danger and then an anachronism, as told through the murders it has been employed in throughout history: from the first axe murder nearly half a million years ago, to the brutal harnessing of the axe in warfare, to its use in King Henry VIII's favorite method of execution, to Lizzie Borden and the birth of modern pop culture"--
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 147 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
345 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-250-27673-5 (9781250276735)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2025
St. Martin's Press
€18.99
Available for download
Person
RACHEL MCCARTHY JAMES was born and raised in Kansas, the daughter of baseball's Bill James and artist Susan McCarthy. She graduated from Hollins University in Roanoke, VA, where she studied writing and politics. Her first nonfiction book, The Man from the Train, was written in collaboration with her father and published in 2017. She lives with her husband Jason and pets in Lawrence, KS.