Yanked Into Eternity by Larry Wood, 227 pages

Author Larry Wood, noted chronicler of notorious incidents in Missouri and the Ozarks, delves into a dark chapter of the Show Me State's history: its record of lynchings and hangings. From its territorial days until the late 1930s when executions were moved to the state prison in Jefferson City, the State of Missouri put its official stamp of approval on approximately 300 legal hangings. During roughly the same time period, Missourians resorted to mob violence to carry out approximately 200 extralegal hangings. In Yanked to Eternity, Wood details thirteen of Missouri's more remarkable lynchings and an equal number of its legal hangings.