Here’s the one they did for Tough Justice

May 16, 2011: Wigged Justice

Two things struck me instantly about this book: first, that it details a personal favorite subject of mine; second, that it has a skull with a wig on the cover. You can’t beat being a brutal English lawyer so dedicated to his job that he continues it beyond the grave, and you can’t beat Georgian crime and punishment. True story: I recently finished reading an entire book on the history of 19th century London crime. Not for a class or anything; just because I wanted to.

If you’re like me — or even if you’re more sane than me — you could have fun withTough Justice. It’s chock-full of the history of crime and punishment in a much more brutal time and place than the present. You’ll come away with one piece of knowledge if nothing else: the worst we can imagine is only a door to the worst that we’ve already done.

— Samantha Smith