Death Defying

Capital punishment, renounced as archaic and barbaric by almost all Western countries, is an increasingly hot topic. We watch, bewildered, as a parade of wrongly convicted inmates are freed from death row. Death Defying is a life-embracing, uplifting, and thoughtful argument against the death penalty and a handbook for all who oppose it. Elevating her subject from grim to engrossing, Pam McAllister draws on sources ranging from pop culture to the fine arts, street theater to opera, Harry Potter to Hamlet, and addresses complex issues of violence, racism, revenge, and forgiveness - particularly in the age of terrorism in which we live. This book is sure to galvanize readers with its myriad inspiring ideas on how to break the cycle of violence.

Pam McAllister is the author of ten books, including three others in Continuum's Bedside, Bathtub &Armchair Companion series which she co-authored with Dick Riley, on Shakespeare (2001), Sherlock Holmes (1999), and Agatha Christie (1979). Her other books include Death Defying: Dismantling the Execution Machinery in 21st Century U.S.A. (Continuum, 2003) about ending capital punishment and two books about women's use of nonviolent action for social justice. In 1982, she edited the groundbreaking anthology Reweaving the Web of Life: Feminism and Nonviolence (New Society Publishers), which the Village Voice called "one of the most important books you'll ever read." She currently writes a column for The Progressive Christian magazine.