Murder in the Adirondacks:An American Tragedy Revisited is a must read. It captures and holds a readers attention while teaching them alittle bit about Central New York History. Through the book, a reader begins to "meet" the parties who were involved in this historic case, which was played out so many years ago. And then after getting to know the people, the reader is captivated by the trial and the events which surrounded Mr. Gillette's life immideatly after the verdict. All in all, a great read. I escpecially loved it as a Cortland County resident.

This is a great book about the Chester Gillette murder case of 1906. Gillette took his girlfriend up to Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks and drowned her. He was later tried and executed. His story was turned into the novel 'An American Tragedy' and several movies. I am reading 'American Tragedy' now and it's interesting to see the parallels between the actual case and the fictionalized story.

I had thought I was well acquainted with the case but discovered many errors in my previous readings after reading this book. The author dispelled many myths about the case, but did not attempt to prove any position without solid facts. Recommend it to my fellow amateur "criminiologists."

It is difficult to find a comprehensive history of the electric chair. And short of reading a copy of "Agent of Death," written by state executioner G. Elliott, much of the discussion of the technology of execution by electrocution is either too vague or too inaccurate to be of value to someone studying this bizzare and unlikely method of state killing.

Brandon's book promised to shed new light on the technological marvel-turned torture device that was and is the electric chair. Unfortunately, the book fails to deliver. There are many inaccuracies (the youngest person electrocuted in the U.S. was 14, not 17 as Brandon indignantly states; Fred Leuchter was prosecuted not because of a book he never wrote -- he wrote a report -- but because he testified in a Canadian criminal case that the Holocaust never occurred; Elliot hardly protected his execution techniques as "trade secrets" -- they're stated plainly in his book, "Agent of Death"). The book is much to "thin" (257 pages of text) for the high price of almost $40.

Professor Brandon's in-depth research provides a fascinating account of the economic and historical background which led to the development of the electric chair. The ever-controversial topic of capital punishment finds additional fuel in this well-documented history. I highly recommend this book to those who consider important the social and moral issues surrounding capital punishment.

Brandon did an excellent job of reviewing the voluminous historical documents and putting them into a fast paced story. This is not a tiring ponderous tirade against capital punishment but a rare objective history story.