Whack job

Whack job A history of axe murder

Rachel McCarthy James

Book - 2025

"A brilliant and bloody examination of the axe's foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture. For as long as the axe has been in our hands, we have used it to kill. 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. Whack Job sheds brilliant light on this familiar implement, this most human of weapons. This is a critical examination of violence, an exploration of how technology shapes human conflict, the cruel and sacred rituals of execution and battle, and the ways humanity fits even the most savage impulses into narratives of the past and present"-- Provided by publisher.

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Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor New Shelf 364.1523/James (NEW SHELF) Due Nov 14, 2025
Subjects
Murder > Case studies.
Murder > History.
Axes > History.
Axes, Prehistoric.
Axes.
Murderers.
axes (tools)
Informational works.
Genres
Informational works
Published
New York, NY : St. Martin's Press 2025.
Language
English
Main Author
Rachel McCarthy James (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
viii, 258 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9781250276735
  • Introduction: Nothing Could Be Simpler
  • Stone Hand Axe
  • 1. Cranium 17 and the Pit of Bones
  • Type G-VII Egyptian Battleaxe
  • 2. The Smited King
  • Yue
  • 3. Cascade of Blood
  • Pélekys
  • 4. In Truth, an Enemy and a Man of Violence
  • Iron Shipbuilding Axe
  • 5. Freydis, Woman of the Forest
  • Executioner's Axe
  • 6. Pigmen, Gargoyles, Blundering Youths
  • Tomahawk
  • 7. You Are Not Dead Yet, My Father
  • Cooper's Side Axe
  • 8. I Suppose You Know What I Am Doing
  • Roofing Hatchet
  • 9. Five Axes in the Cellar, One Axe on the Roof
  • Shingling Hatchet
  • 10. A Fuller Measure of Life and Truth, at Any Cost
  • Boy's Axe
  • 11. "Whoever Comes Over, I Give Anybody Candy"
  • Felling Axe
  • 12. Candy
  • Fire Axe
  • Epilogue: Crime and Difficult Situations
  • Acknowledgments
  • Selected Additional Sources
  • Notes
Review by Booklist Review

In 1892, Lizzie Borden was accused of the shocking murders of her father and stepmother, their brutal deaths attributed to numerous blows from an axe. The macabre aspects of the Borden murders would linger in newspaper coverage into the twentieth century any time a homicide was committed via the sharp and bludgeoning instrument. But the use of the axe as a method of execution dates back much further. In Shang Dynasty China, the axe was seen as a symbol of power and was brought out for sacrifices to honor leaders like Fu Hao. When Henry VIII wanted to rid himself of a perceived disloyal spouse (such as Catherine Howard) or an unreliable advisor (like Thomas Cromwell), punishment was delivered with an axe's blow. Whack Job is an engrossing historical analysis of how the axe has evolved as an instrument of change, retribution, and menace. In this exceptional book, James (coauthor of The Man from the Train, 2017) cites cases famed and obscure involving the axe, which will both inform readers and occasionally unsettle them.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this gleefully grisly cultural history, true crime author James (The Man from the Train) focuses not on a single incident, but on an instrument of murder: the axe. She begins with the weapon's ancient origins, first as a crude stone tool circa 1.6 million years ago, then as the more refined battle axe. From there, she examines the axe's role in various civilizations, from the enameled axes enshrined in the tombs of Egyptian royalty to the Vikings' use of axes as a symbol of power. The history is breezy and informative, but James really flexes her narrative muscles in the book's back half, where she recounts more contemporary axe murders. Particularly lurid is the case of two suburban Texas housewives--Betty Gore and Candy Montgomery--whose fight over a man ended with Montgomery whacking Gore in the head more than 40 times, then getting acquitted after pleading self-defense. Also entertaining is the section on the legendary Lizzie Borden, whom James posits may not have been an axe murderer at all, since her murder weapon was never found. Little here feels revelatory, but James keeps the pages turning. It's a bit of macabre fun. Agent: Laura Usselman, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

While the book's title might entice those looking to learn more about gruesome crimes, true-crime writer James (The Man from the Train) offers more than that. Though there's a healthy amount of grisly axe-murder details, the book intends to foster an appreciation of the pragmatic purposes of axes while also noting the tool's fall from societal worth after the introduction of newer technologies that made the axe an afterthought. Writing in a genuinely reflective tone with sporadic hints of humor, James outlines an intriguing historical perspective of the axe, from its purely primitive use as a tool of survival and necessity to its silent yet notable societal symbolism in films (The Shining; So I Married an Axe Murderer), cartoons (Peanuts), and infotainment (commercials). VERDICT This book is an informative one-stop shop that is sure to provide a little something for a wide range of readers.--Thomas O'Brien

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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