Whack Job

A History of Axe Murder

By: Rachel McCarthy James

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A brilliant and bloody examination of the axe's foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture.

For as long as the axe has been in our hands, we have used it to kill.

Much like the wheel, the boat, and the telephone, the axe is a transformative piece of technology—one that has been with us since prehistory. And just as early humans used the axe to chop down trees, hunt for food, and whittle tools, they also used it to murder. Over time, this particular use has endured: as the axe evolved over centuries to fit the needs of new agricultural, architectural, and social development, so have our lethal uses for it.

Whack Job is the story of the axe, first as a convenient danger and then an anachronism, as told through the murders it has been employed in throughout history: from the first axe murder nearly half a million years ago, to the brutal harnessing of the axe in warfare, to its use in King Henry VIII's favorite method of execution, to Lizzie Borden and the birth of modern pop culture. Whack Job sheds brilliant light on this familiar implement, this most human of weapons. This is a critical examination of violence, an exploration of how technology shapes human conflict, the cruel and sacred rituals of execution and battle, and the ways humanity fits even the most savage impulses into narratives of the past and present.

©2025 Rachel McCarthy James (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"In Rachel McCarthy James's Whack Job, the story of axe murder is the story of so much more. While first and foremost this is a book about the axe and its most nefarious uses, it's also a book about gender, class, and the machinations of power in human society. From the (likely) first prehistoric axe murder, to the myth of George Washington's cherry tree, to Jack Nicholson in The Shining, McCarthy James has provided her readers with a thorough yet entertaining epic of the simplest of tools. Whack Job is a brisk and lively history that mines surprising conclusions from the humble axe." —Danny Caine, author of How to Resist Amazon and Why

"In Whack Job, McCarthy James leads us through half-million years of human life, from the Middle Pleistocene to the present, chronicling ever-changing societal and technological advancements—all through the prism of one of civilization's earliest-known weapons. Whack Job is an entirely fresh perspective on global history, and also accomplishes the neat trick of being an entertaining delight." —Elon Green, author of Last Call