BOOKS: The Last Gasp: The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber

The Last Gasp: The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber details the his­to­ry and devel­op­ment of the gas cham­ber as a method of exe­cu­tion in the United States. Author Scott Christianson explores con­nec­tions between the gas cham­ber and the eugen­ics move­ment, as well as new evi­dence about Hitler’s adop­tion of gas cham­ber tech­nol­o­gy devel­oped in the United States. Charles Lanier, Director of the Capital Punishment Research Initiative, said, ​“Scott Christianson has used his exten­sive expe­ri­ence as an inves­tiga­tive reporter, crim­i­nal jus­tice offi­cial, his­to­ri­an, and schol­ar to probe one of the dark­est and most neglect­ed regions of American death penal­ty his­to­ry — the sto­ry of the gas cham­ber. This book opens new doors and charts new ter­ri­to­ry in its grip­ping his­tor­i­cal tale doc­u­ment­ing the devel­op­ment and use of lethal gas as a method of exe­cu­tion in the United States.”

(Scott Christianson, ​“The Last Gasp: The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber,” University of California Press, July 2010). Posted June 3, 2010. See Methods of Execution. Click here for more Books on the Death Penalty.