Evans explores Germany's imposition of its power over capital punishment from 1600 to 1987. This immensely rich and detailed examination of punishment in Germany is remarkably well-written and packed full of examples, songs, and stories, and introduces the reader to a variety of victims - both of crime and of the state's retribution.
Evans began his text by bringing his readers to the seventeenth century where capital punishment was both a popular event and punishment. Evans described how scores of people would travel for miles to attend the public execution of a
convicted felon and how felons could be condemned to death for a variety of crimes including infanticide, arson, highway robbery and murder. Evans explained how during this time, everything from sentencing to the removal of the corpse after the execution was very ritualized and chock-full of symbolism and meaning. For example, the sentencing of the condemned preceded prison time, during which ritualistic dinners were held. One such dinner was a symbolic dinner between the condemned, the judge, his officials and sometimes the executor, who all ate at the same table. The dinner symbolized each party's acknowledged role in the forthcoming execution and was meant to cure the nerves of the condemned.
Honor was the center for much of the symbolism involved in the punishments during this time. Society dictated that each member to accept his honorable station in life, and each level of society, from the peasants to the nobles, was considered a valuable part of the community, with the exception of the executioner. The executioner was charged with all of the dishonorable tasks in the city, from execution to clearing dead animals and eliminating human waste. Because of his dirty jobs in society, it was dishonorable to touch or be touched by an executioner or even drink from a mug he had used in a tavern.
Because honor was so valued in society, it was considered when assigning punishment. Executions which restricted the condemned's movement (such as hanging or breaking on the wheel) were less honorable, while decapitation with the sword was not, because the unbound condemned was required to show self-control to remain still while the fatal blow was given.
Evans provides numerous examples which both prove his arguments and add to the enjoyment of his book; however, at times his examples become so numerous that they hinder the progress of his discussion. Similarly, the scope of his book is simply mind-boggling. The details he provides, especially in the discussions in the Reichstag, could have been omitted (or at least summarized), and readers would have still understood the rest of his argument. However, this book is appropriate for a variety of readers' goals, whether they are seeking a broad overview of capital punishment or specific details since 1600.

This book is a history of the death penalty in Germany. The book starts by describing an execution in 1616. That execution was the breaking of a man by he wheel. What was involved was the tying of a man to a scaffold and using a large wagon wheel to break all of the bones in the body of the condemned man.

The book charts the gradual move away from the use of such punishments by German Civil authorities. The reasons for it were complex. In the 17th Century there were heavy religious overtones associated with executions. This led to them being accepted by the victims and society generally. By the 19th Century one of the major reasons for the end of public executions was the behavior of the condemned. They would mimic the public officials, declare their innocence and the like. There was also concern that the public had started to sympathize with the condemned. (This however does not seem to have occurred to the extent that it did in Britain. Most of the German States were well regulated and authoritarian. The death penalty was generally reserved for more serious matters. In Britain a police force was not created until the 1830's. The death penalty was thus used for a range of comparatively minor offences such as theft. This led to outbreaks of sympathy for the condemned. In Britain public executions had to be moved to secure areas in London and later were carried out in private.)

In Germany after the enlightenment a number of intellectual currents led to changing attitudes which cut down the number of people actually executed. Thus the development of an awareness of mental illness, the realization of the link between crime and the bread prices led to a realization that crime was not the result of a free moral decision.

The book takes the history through the unification of Germany and the NAZI period up to modern times.

The book is well written entertaining and a must for anyone who has an interest in criminology and the history of the criminal law.