Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Awfully Ancient: Banished, Beheaded, or Boiled in Oil



Awfully Ancient: Banished, Beheaded, or Boiled in Oil 
Author: Neil Tonge
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reviewer: Denise Z.
                                            Cover image for Banished, beheaded, or boiled in oil : a hair-raising history of crime and punishment throughout the ages!
Summary: The history of punishing criminals is a long and gruesome one. In 620 BC, a Greek named Draco wrote a legal code that punished almost every crime with death, except murder! For that, criminals were exiled. Odd facts about crime and punishment like this abound in history. Readers encounter many places and periods, from ancient China to the Victorian era, to learn all about the terrible, gross, and strange ways crimes were punished in the past. A colorful layout full of amusing and informative illustrations reinforce the main content, providing historical context and detail that will keep readers turning pages.

Review: This is an interesting read about history that will captivate the curious while informing the reader about punishment practices throughout time. The author is very sarcastic when he explains about each punishment, which will entertain the young reader. The book is mostly divided by punishment practices in certain countries, but there are also parts of the book that talk about animal and child punishment throughout time. The morbid practices explained in this book leads to more questioning and critical thinking about history and compares punishments then to the punishments of today.