The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers

The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers, by Bryan Christy. Imagine The Sopranos, with snakes! The Lizard King is a fascinating account of a father and son family business suspected of smuggling reptiles, and the federal agent who tried to take them down. When Bryan Christy began to investigate the world of reptile smuggling, he had no idea what he would be in for. In the course of his research, he was bitten between the eyes by a blood python, chased by a mother alligator, and sprayed by a bird-eating tarantula. But perhaps more dangerous was coming face to face with Michael J. Van Nostrand, owner of Strictly Reptiles, a thriving family business in Hollywood, Florida. Van Nostrand imports as many as 300,000 iguanas each year (over half the total of America's most popular imported reptile), as well as hundreds of thousands of snakes, lizards, frogs, spiders, and scorpions. Van Nostrand was suspected of being a reptile smuggler by Special Agent Chip Bepler of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who devoted years of his life in an obsessive quest to expose The Lizard King's cold-blooded crimes. How this cat-and-mouse game ended is engrossing and surprising.

Bryan Christy has had a life-long fascination with reptiles and an even greater fascination with the men responsible for smuggling them to the U.S. He graduated from University of Michigan Law School, took a Fulbright Scholarship to University of Tokyo Law School, worked for Senator Bradley, and later in the Executive Office of the President. In 1999, he was asked to become the country's first post-Vietnam War resident legal adviser to the government of Vietnam but turned it down to write. This is his first book.

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When Evil Came to Good Hart

When Evil Came to Good Hart, by Mardi Link. There is an intemporal quality to Good Hart, the kind born of ancient rocks, mature mixed forests, enduring Ottawa legends, and the turquoise waters of Little Traverse Bay. Hovering over this paradise is the dark chapter in the village's past that locals still don't care to talk about: the massacre of six members of the vacationing Robison family in the summer of 1968. In the first nonfiction book about this baffling and still unsolved crime, Link offers up a balanced and absorbing account of this mystery, allowing readers to form their own opinions and leaving them wanting more from this very talented writer. Mardi Link's look at a 1968 case is a stellar example of how a mystery, when well presented, can be even more compelling than one that's been solved. In digging through evidence, reading numerous newspaper accounts from that time, and talking to a score of Good Hart residents, Link doesn't come up with any answers about whodunnit, but she does explore more than just the Robison case. In presenting the facts, she asks questions about the nature of evil, and comments on loss of innocence in many ways, her own, the town's, the era's. Her descriptions vary from melodic and wistful to hard-hitting, a combination that keeps the pages turning fast. For the Robisons, she writes, it was to be their first full summer in Good Hart, a result of business success: "It was a simple but enduring dream, shared by thousands of Michigan families, but one that for the Robisons this summer in 1968, lasted just eight days." Order From Amazon.com Here

The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul, and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles

The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul, and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles, by Don Wolfe. In 1946, Elizabeth Short traveled to Hollywood to become famous and see her name up in lights. Instead, the dark-haired beauty became immortalized in the headlines as the "Black Dahlia" when her nude and bisected body was discovered in the weeds of a vacant lot. Despite the efforts of more than four hundred police officers and homicide investigators, the heinous crime was never solved. Now, after endless speculation and false claims, bestselling author Donald H. Wolfe discovers startling new evidence-;buried in the files of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office for more than half a century.

With the aid of archival photos, news clippings, and investigative reports, Wolfe documents the riveting untold story that names the brutal murderer;the notorious Mafia leader, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and the motive;an unwanted pregnancy resulting from Short's involvement with the most powerful figure in Los Angeles, Norman Chandler. But Wolfe goes even further to unravel the large-scale cover-up behind the case. Wolfe's extensive research, based on the evidence he discovered in the recently opened LADA files, makes The Black Dahlia Files the authoritative work on the murder that has drawn endless scrutiny but remained unsolved....until now.

Hollywood Kryptonite, The Bulldog, the Lady, and the Death of Superman

Hollywood Kryptonite, The Bulldog, the Lady, and the Death of Superman, by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. George Reeves is not unique among Tinseltowners for dying in strange circumstances. What makes his death of greater lasting interest than other dubious Hollywood suicides is his fame, then and still, as star of the lovably low-tech 1950s syndicated TV series, Superman. And it must be admitted, the circumstances are tantalizing. His fiancee gave a nearly perfect account of his death as it occurred, even though they were on different floors of the house. There were three other people in the house when Reeves died, all apparently too drunk to make sense when questioned. And so forth. Kashner and Schoenberger dig deep to re-create Reeves' death and the events that led to it. Their detective work is convincing, and their solution to the mystery plausible. They tell their story entertainingly and bring its characters to life. In evoking the milieu of 1950s Hollywood and providing a provocative perspective on the Reeves suicide story, their effort is truly more powerful than a locomotive. -Mike Tribby, Booklist.

Nancy Schoenberger and Sam Kashner are a married writing team who have co-authored the biography of Oscar Levant (A TALENT FOR GENIUS, recently optioned for film by Ben Stiller and Dreamworks) as well as HOLLYWOOD KRYPTONITE (a source for Focus Features movie HOLLYWOODLAND, starring Ben Affleck and Adrien Brody). Schoenberger's 2001 biography of Lady Caroline Blackwood (DANGEROUS MUSE) was published by Nan A. Talese Books/Doubleday. The couple also contribute articles to Vanity Fair.

Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer

Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer, by Mark Prothero and Carlton Smith. Mark Prothero, co-lead defense attorney who helped save Gary Ridgway from the death sentence, has heard that question many times. Now he's written a book that reveals the true, inside story of exactly how an idealistic public defender, high school swim coach, husband, and dad could bring himself to spend many months of close confinement with a man who brutally murdered at least seventy-five young women, often in the act of sex. Defending Gary shows how Prothero could reconcile these monstrous acts knowing the reality of this unassuming fellow Gary Ridgway, a mild-mannered, church-going, devoted husband, father, and former Navy man, with an IQ of around eighty-two and a longtime job as a truck painter from Auburn, Washington, near Seattle.

Prothero's job was to zealously and ethically represent his client and protect his legal rights. To accomplish this, the author took a harrowing, two-year-long journey into the psychological recesses of a serial killer's soul to find out where Ridgway came from, how he thought, how he got away with the crimes for so long, and why he really did it. Written with the intensity of a thrilling novel, Defending Gary utilizes Prothero's notes, original research documents, transcripts, and photographs that detail the suspenseful story of the author's search for the truth about a man who many people feel represents "the banality of evil."

The Medici Conspiracy

The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities--From Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museums, by Peter Watson and Cecelia Todeschini. A true-life thriller completely exposes the network behind the illegal trade in ancient artifacts--and features a rich cast of rogues and some of the world's most prestigious art institutions. The story begins, as stories do in all good thrillers, with a botched robbery and a police chase. Eight Apuleian vases of the fourth century B.C. are discovered in the swimming pool of a German-based art smuggler. More valuable than the recovery of the vases, however, is the discovery of the smuggler's card index detailing his deals and dealers. It reveals the existence of a web of tombaroli-tomb raiders-who steal classical artifacts, and a network of dealers and smugglers who spirit them out of Italy and into the hands of wealthy collectors and museums.

Peter Watson, a former investigative journalist for the London Sunday Times and author of two previous exposes of art world scandals, names the key figures in this network that has depleted Europe's classical artifacts. Among the loot are the irreplaceable and highly collectable vases of Euphronius, the equivalent in their field of the sculpture of Bernini or the painting of Michelangelo. The narrative leads to the doors of some major institutions: Sothebys, the Getty Museum in L.A., the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York among them. Filled with great characters and human drama, The Medici Conspiracy authoritatively exposes another shameful round in one of the oldest games in the world: theft, smuggling and duplicitous dealing, all in the name of art.

Dr Henry Lee's Forensic Files: Five Famous Cases

Dr Henry Lee's Forensic Files: Five Famous Cases, by Henry C. Lee and Jerry Labriola. Dr. Henry C. Lee is considered by many to be the greatest forensic scientist in the world. His vast investigative experience (over 6,000 cases!) and participation in many high-profile trials have earned him not only the highest respect from the law enforcement community but also widespread public recognition. Here Dr. Lee once again gives avid fans of true crime an intimate glimpse into the real world of crime investigation, combining his unparalleled expertise with a clear and lively narrative. Beginning with the infamous Scott Peterson trial, Dr. Lee vividly recounts his investigation of the case, by focusing on the crucial issue of physical evidence. As a criminalist who examined the remains of both Laci Peterson and Conner, he brings a distinctive perspective and unique voice to the case, and weighs in on the verdict. Next, Dr. Lee considers the much-publicized abduction of Elizabeth Smart from her family’s Salt Lake City home. After a fruitless ten-month search, Elizabeth was found alive in a Salt Lake City suburb with Brian Mitchell and his wife, both of whom appeared to be mentally unstable. Dr. Lee—who investigated this compelling case—demonstrates the importance of physical evidence in reconstructing this crime. He also describes the role of brainwashing and outlines distinct similarities with the Patty Hearst case. In the final three chapters, Dr. Lee examines the case of a novelist accused of murdering his wife–who had also been the suspected link to a similar death in Germany—where a woman also fatally fell down a flight of stairs; the murder of a man’s wife in which both the husband and her lover are considered suspects (with an outcome that is guaranteed to shock!); and the killing of a witness of an accused arsonist shortly before his trial, with a stunning conclusion that derived from Dr. Lee’s intriguing investigative work. In each case, Dr. Lee presents—in addition to an engrossing narrative—the scientific details of how law enforcement investigated the crime, using the most recent advances in modern forensic tools. This is a fascinating insider's look by a world-renowned expert into the pursuit of justice in some of the most sensational and intriguing criminal cases of recent times.

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, by Mark Fuhrman. A Simple Act of Murder is the investigation that this case should have had from the beginning. America's most famous detective, Mark Fuhrman -- who has cracked some of the best-known and most puzzling crimes in American history -- cuts through the myths and misinformation to focus on the hard evidence. He examines the ballistics and medical records, scrutinizes photographs from the crime scene and the famous Zapruder film, and weighs the testimony of hundreds of witnesses. Filled with vivid photos, informative diagrams, and original drawings by Fuhrman himself that show the evidence in a new light and make complex forensic matters clear and easily understood, this book is the visual record of the JFK assassination. In this gripping and highly personal account, Fuhrman unveils a major clue that had been ignored for forty years -- a breakthrough that will change the debate over the assassination.

Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers

Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers, by Michael Connelly. From #1 bestseller Michael Connelly's first career as a prizewinning crime reporter--the gripping, true stories that inspired and informed his novels. Before he became a novelist, Michael Connelly was a crime reporter, covering the detectives who worked the homicide beat in Florida and Los Angeles. In vivid, hard-hitting articles, Connelly leads the reader past the yellow police tape as he follows the investigators, the victims, their families and friends--and, of course, the killers--to tell the real stories of murder and its aftermath. Connelly's firsthand observations would lend inspiration to his novels, from The Black Echo, which was drawn from a real-life bank heist, to Trunk Music, based on an unsolved case of a man found in the trunk of his Rolls Royce. And the vital details of his best-known characters, both heroes and villains, would be drawn from the cops and killers he reported on: from loner detective Harry Bosch to the manipulative serial killer the Poet. Stranger than fiction and every bit as gripping, these pieces show once again that Michael Connelly is not only a master of his craft, but also one of the great American writers in any form. Michael Connelly is a former journalist and has won every major prize for crime fiction. He lives in Florida.

Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay

Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay, by Kenneth Walton. It was the golden age of eBay. Optimistic bidders went online to the world's largest flea market in droves, ready to spend cash on everything from garden gnomes to Mercedes convertibles. Among them were art collectors willing to spend big money on unseen paintings, hoping to buy valuable pieces of art at below-market prices. EBay also attracted the occasional con artist unable to resist the temptation of abusing a system that prided itself on being "based on trust." Kenneth Walton -- once a lawyer bound by the ethics of his profession to uphold the law -- was seduced by just such a con artist and, eventually, became one himself.

Ripped from the headlines of the New York Times, the first newspaper to break the story, Fake describes Walton's innocent beginnings as an online art-trading hobbyist and details the downward spiral of greed that ultimately led to his federal felony conviction. What started out as a satisfying exercise in reselling thrift store paintings for a profit in order to pay back student loans and mounting credit card debt soon became a fierce addiction to the subtle deception of luring unsuspecting bidders into overpaying for paintings of questionable origins.

In a landscape peopled with colorful eccentrics hoping to score museum-quality paintings at bargain prices, Walton entered into a partnership with Ken Fetterman, an unslick (yet somehow very effective) con man. Over the course of eighteen months they managed to take in hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling forged paintings and bidding on their own auctions to drive up the prices. When their deception was discovered and made international headlines, Walton found himself stalked by reporters and federal agents while Fetterman went on the lam, sparking a nationwide FBI manhunt. His elaborate game of cat and mouse lasted nearly three years, until the feds caught up with him after a routine traffic violation and brought him to justice. In this sensational story of the seductive power of greed, Kenneth Walton breaks his silence for the first time and, in his own words, details the international scandal that forever changed the way eBay does business.

Fundamentals of Forensic Science

Fundamentals of Forensic Science, First Edition, by Max M. Houck and Jay A. Siegel. Unlike other introductory textbooks on the topic, Fundamentals of Forensic Science presents a complete look at the forensic sciences, emphasizing the biology, chemistry, and physical sciences that underpin forensic science. By covering the principles that are central to forensic science, and by discussing topics that are typically excluded from generalized discussions of criminalistics, this book provides a depth and breadth of information that no other textbook contains. Written by two of the leading experts in forensic science today, Fundamentals of Forensic Science approaches the field from a truly unique and exciting perspective.

Ranging from traditional topics such as crime scene investigation, spectroscopy, and DNA analysis, to the less-commonly covered --but just as essential-- topics of pathology, entomology, and anthropology, Fundamentals of Forensic Science is everything a student or practicing professional needs. Organized along the timeline of a real case, it begins with an introduction and history of forensic science, covers the basic methods of analysis used in most forensic examinations, addresses the biological, chemical, and physical elements relevant to the field, and concludes with an examination of how forensic science intersects with the law.

Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer

Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer, by Stephen Singular. To all appearances, Dennis Rader was a model citizen in the small town of Park City, Kansas, where he had lived with his family almost his entire life. He was a town compliance officer, a former Boy Scout leader, the president of his church congregation, and a seemingly ordinary father and husband. But Rader's average life belied the existence of his dark, sadistic other self: he was the BTK serial killer. The self-named BTK (for Bind, Torture, Kill) had terrorized Wichita for thirty-one years, not only with his brutal, sexually motivated crimes, but also through his taunting, elusive communications with the media and law enforcement. In 1974, BTK committed his first murders -- torturing and strangling four members of the Otero family -- and wrote the police an audacious letter declaring his responsibility for the Oteros' deaths and labeling himself, for the first time, BTK. Thus he established a pattern -- stalking and killing a series of ten victims, then bragging and claiming ownership of his crimes -- that ended in 1991 but left law enforcement confounded and the public with deeply troubling memories. Until, that is, he resurfaced in 2004 with another string of letters that would finally lead to his arrest.

Drawing from extensive interviews with Rader's pastor, congregation, detectives, and psychologists who worked the case, and from his unnervingly de-tailed thirty-two-hour confession, bestselling author Stephen Singular delves into the disturbing life and crimes of BTK to explore fully -- for the first time -- the most dangerous and complex serial killer of our generation and the man who embodied, at once, astonishing extremes of normality and abnormality. In Unholy Messenger, Singular recounts the year prior to Rader's arrest, in which the BTK killer reemerged, and the aftermath. Woven throughout are the details of his crimes, elaborate schemes, and bids for public attention, and the wrenching impact his deception had on his family, church, and heartland community.

The result is a chilling story of a man considered a "spiritual leader" by his pastor and congregation, who turned out to be the devil next door. More than just true crime, Unholy Messenger is a powerful, thoroughly engrossing examination of the intersection between good and evil, and of the psychology and spirituality of a killer in whom faith and bloodshed converged.

Booked: The Last 150 Years in 366 Mug Shots

Booked: The Last 150 Years in 366 Mug Shots, by Giacomo Papi. Why are we so fascinated with seeing celebrities arrested? Is it the guilty pleasure of seeing the mighty fall? Or the voyeuristic appeal of witnessing people at their seemingly most candid and vulnerable moments? Using a dazzling selection of mug shots that are arrestingly raw in their starkness and strangely eloquent in their simplicity, this absorbing, humorous, often bewildering collection sheds a whole new light on our rebellious century. From A-list celebrities Hugh Grant and 50 Cent to political icons Martin Luther King, Jr. and Angela Davis, from serial killer Ted Kaczinsky to the oddly beautiful actor privy to Abraham Lincoln's assignation, from prisoners of Auschwitz to a bearded Saddam Hussein, all of them declare a simple truth: the last 150 years told through police photographs is truly an alternative history. Author Giacomo Papi's brisk and insightful commentary enlightens us with intriguing backstories and little-known facts. A feast for the eyes and the mind, Booked presents an ingenious and utterly unique snapshot of our times.

Giacomo Papi is the author of several books including Era una notte buia e tempestosa (It was a dark and stormy night), an anthology of the best opening lines in world literature, with a preface by Umberto Eco; Papa, a best-selling humorous guide for expecting fathers; and Accusare: Storia del Novecento in 366 foto segnaletiche. Since 2000 he has worked as a journalist for Diario, an Italian weekly newsmagazine.

Money Laundering: A Guide for Criminal Investigators

Money Laundering: A Guide for Criminal Investigators, by John Madinger. With numerous case studies, graphs, tables, and charts, Money Laundering: A Guide for Criminal Investigators gives law enforcement professionals a clear understanding of money laundering practices, legislation, and investigation. This second edition highlights the link between money laundering and terrorist funding. It includes new sections on basic terrorist financing and explores specific terrorist financing schemes, describing in detail methods, applicable federal laws, and examples from real cases. The author also presents up-to-date information on legislation and its impact on money laundering investigation and explains how changes to federal forfeiture law affect money laundering law.

A Death in Belmont

A Death in Belmont, by Sebastian Junger. In the spring of 1963, the quiet suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts, is rocked by a shocking sex murder that exactly fits the pattern of the Boston Strangler. Sensing a break in the case that has paralyzed the city of Boston, the police track down a black man, Roy Smith, who cleaned the victim's house that day and left a receipt with his name on the kitchen counter. Smith is hastily convicted of the Belmont murder, but the terror of the Strangler continues. On the day of the murder, Albert DeSalvo—the man who would eventually confess in lurid detail to the Strangler's crimes—is also in Belmont, working as a carpenter at the Jungers' home. In this spare, powerful narrative, Sebastian Junger chronicles three lives that collide—and ultimately are destroyed—in the vortex of one of the first and most controversial serial murder cases in America.

Pirates Aboard!

Pirates Aboard!: 40 Cases of Piracy Today And What Bluewater Cruisers Can Do About It, by Klaus Hympendahl. In 1895, Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail alone around the world, scattered thumbtacks on the sole of Spray to repel an attack by intruders on Tierra del Fuego. In December 2001, an attack on Sir Peter Blake’s yacht in Brazil resulted in his death. Pirates Aboard! deals with recent cases of piracy studied by author Klaus Hympendahl, who interviewed the victims of about 40 cases. He asks them what lessons they learned from their hostile encounter and what they would suggest others do differently to avoid (or just survive) similar incidents. He then gives an appraisal of which areas in the world are the most dangerous, including Somalia, the Gulf of Aden, Venezuela, Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and parts of Brazil. This invaluable document suggests what preventive measures sailors can take and advises how they should deal with stress, aggression, and fear when faced with a confrontation.

Klaus Hympendahl is a German author and sailor. The former owner of an advertising agency, he has completed a five-year circumnavigation. His novel about the Apollonia case, concerning the disappearance of two sailors on a transatlantic race, won him the 2001 German award for best sailing book of the year.

Citizens, Cops, and Power: Recognizing the Limits of Community

Citizens, Cops, and Power: Recognizing the Limits of Community, by Steve Herbert. Politicians, citizens, and police agencies have long embraced community policing, hoping to reduce crime and disorder by strengthening the ties between urban residents and the officers entrusted with their protection. That strategy seems to make sense, but in Citizens, Cops, and Power, Steve Herbert reveals the reasons why it rarely, if ever, works. Drawing on data he collected in diverse Seattle neighborhoods from interviews with residents, observation of police officers, and attendance at community-police meetings, Herbert identifies the many obstacles that make effective collaboration between city dwellers and the police so unlikely to succeed. At the same time, he shows that residents’ pragmatic ideas about the role of community differ dramatically from those held by social theorists. Surprising and provocative, Citizens, Cops, and Power provides a critical perspective not only on the future of community policing, but on the nature of state-society relations as well. Steve Herbert is associate professor in the Department of Geography and the Law, Societies, and Justice Program at the University of Washington. He is the author of Policing Space: Territoriality and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Race to Incarcerate

Race to Incarcerate, by Mark Mauer. In this revised edition of his seminal book on race, class, and the criminal justice system, Marc Mauer, executive director of one of the United States' leading criminal justice reform organizations, offers the most up-to-date look available at three decades of prison expansion in America. Including newly written material on recent developments under the Bush administration and updated statistics, graphs, and charts throughout, the book tells the tragic story of runaway growth in the number of prisons and jails and the over-reliance on imprisonment to stem problems of economic and social development. Called "sober and nuanced" by Publishers Weekly, Race to Incarcerate documents the enormous financial and human toll of the "get tough" movement, and argues for more humane—and productive—alternatives.

Marc Mauer is executive director of The Sentencing Project. He has served as a consultant to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the National Institute of Corrections, and the American Bar Association. He lives in the Washington, D.C., area. The Sentencing Project is a national organization based in Washington, D.C., that promotes criminal justice reform and the development of alternatives to incarceration.

Beyond Fear

Beyond Fear, by Bruce Schneier. In "Beyond Fear," Bruce Schneier invites us to take a critical look at not just the threats to our security, but the ways in which we're encouraged to think about security by law enforcement agencies, businesses of all shapes and sizes, and our national governments and militaries. Schneier believes we all can and should be better security consumers, and that the trade-offs we make in the name of security - in terms of cash outlays, taxes, inconvenience, and diminished freedoms - should be part of an ongoing negotiation in our personal, professional, and civic lives, and the subject of an open and informed national discussion.With a well-deserved reputation for original and sometimes iconoclastic thought, Schneier has a lot to say that is provocative, counter-intuitive, and just plain good sense. He explains in detail, for example, why we need to design security systems that don't just work well, but fail well, and why secrecy on the part of government often undermines security. A skeptic of much that's promised by highly touted technologies like biometrics, Schneier is also a refreshingly positive, problem-solving force in the often self-dramatizing and fear-mongering world of security pundits.Schneier helps the reader to understand the issues at stake, and how to best come to one's own conclusions, including the vast infrastructure we already have in place, and the vaster systems--some useful, others useless or worse--that we're being asked to submit to and pay for.

Execution

Execution: The Guillotine, the Pendulum, the Thousand Cuts, the Spanish Donkey, and 66 Other Ways of Putting Someone to Death, by Geoffrey Abbott. From the preparation of the victim to the disposal of the body, Execution is everything you ever wanted to know about capital punishment-and a lot you never thought to ask. Cave of Roses: A rare Swedish method of execution in which the victim was confined to a cave full of snakes and poisonous reptiles. Bastinado: Involved the victims being caned gently and rhythmically with a lightweight stick on the soles of the feet until the mental collapse and eventual death of the victim. Sewn in an Animal's Belly: A living person is sewn into the belly of an animal and left to die. The Spanish Donkey: This method of torture consisted of seating a victim on top of a wall that resembled an inverted V with weights attached to the ankles, the weights being slowly increased until the victim's body split in two. Including death by cannibalism, a thousand cuts, and more, Execution is an insightful and interesting look at the grim and gritty history of sanctioned death.