04426nam 2201033Ia 450 991078491970332120230725024533.01-282-69765-X97866126976540-520-94561-110.1525/9780520945616(CKB)2670000000034985(EBL)566763(OCoLC)655848189(SSID)ssj0000421776(PQKBManifestationID)11296320(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000421776(PQKBWorkID)10412371(PQKB)10481474(StDuBDS)EDZ0000055948(MiAaPQ)EBC566763(DE-B1597)520515(DE-B1597)9780520945616(Au-PeEL)EBL566763(CaPaEBR)ebr10402705(CaONFJC)MIL269765(EXLCZ)99267000000003498520091214d2010 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrThe last gasp[electronic resource] the rise and fall of the American gas chamber /Scott ChristiansonBerkeley University of California Pressc20101 online resource (342 p.)Description based upon print version of record.0-520-25562-3 Includes bibliographical references and index.Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- INTRODUCTION -- PART ONE. THE RISE OF THE LETHAL CHAMBER -- PART TWO. THE FALL OF THE GAS CHAMBER -- APPENDIX 1: EARL C. LISTON'S PATENT APPLICATION -- APPENDIX 2: PERSONS EXECUTED BY LETHAL GAS IN THE UNITED STATES, BY STATE, 1924 - 1999 -- Notes -- Select Bibliography -- IndexThe Last Gasp takes us to the dark side of human history in the first full chronicle of the gas chamber in the United States. In page-turning detail, award-winning writer Scott Christianson tells a dreadful story that is full of surprising and provocative new findings. First constructed in Nevada in 1924, the gas chamber, a method of killing sealed off and removed from the sight and hearing of witnesses, was originally touted as a "humane" method of execution. Delving into science, war, industry, medicine, law, and politics, Christianson overturns this mythology for good. He exposes the sinister links between corporations looking for profit, the military, and the first uses of the gas chamber after World War I. He explores little-known connections between the gas chamber and the eugenics movement. Perhaps most controversially, he has unearthed new evidence about American and German collaboration in the production and lethal use of hydrogen cyanide and about Hitler's adoption of gas chamber technology developed in the United States. More than a book about the death penalty, this compelling history ultimately reveals much about America's values and power structures in the twentieth century.Gas chambersUnited StatesHistoryCapital punishmentUnited StatesHistory20th century1924.20th century.america.american history.collaboration.controversial.dark.death penalty.eugenics movement.gas chamber technology.gas chamber.germany.hitler.human cruelty.human execution.human history.hydrogen cyanide.industry.law.lethal gas chambers.medicine.method of killing.military uses.modern history.nevada.no witnesses.out of sight.politics.power structures.profit.science.united states.war.world war i.wwi.Gas chambersHistory.Capital punishmentHistory364.66Christianson Scott1463262MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910784919703321The last gasp3672496UNINA