"…an exhaustive statistical analysis of the death penalty over the course of American history … the most complete database of executions in the United States to date." — American Historical Review"…draws from and builds on an extraordinary data set compiled by M. Watt Espy, who gathered information on every execution in American history … a very useful book." — Journal of Southern History"…pure quantitative history at its best … an important contribution to the field." — Journal of American Histo"The authors have made ample (and intelligent) use of the Espy File Executions in the U.S. 1608–2002 at the Death Penalty Information Center, the most systematic database available on the history of capital punishment in the US … Allen and Clubb provide a straightforward statistical portrait of capital punishment in the US from the Colonial era to the post-WW II period. The findings, while not surprising, are important for the simple fact that they rely on a highly respected database." — CHOICE"The long-standing practice of capital punishment in this country has been controversial almost from its inception, and the controversy has been particularly intense in recent decades. A careful analysis of the empirical facts of our historical practices is tremendously important, and the authors do a great service in collecting and assimilating many partial sources into what looks to be one of the most comprehensive and definitive treatments of empirical information on the use of capital punishment in the United States throughout its history." — Carol S. Steiker, coauthor of Criminal Law and Its Processes: Cases and Materials, Eighth Edition