{"title":"Gary Dobbs","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"dark-valleys-foul-deeds-among-the-south-wales-valleys-1845-2016-book-gary-dobbs-9781473861787","title":"Dark Valleys: Foul Deeds Among the South Wales Valleys 1845 - 2016","description":"Dark Valleys collects together more than a century of murders that took place in and around the valleys of South Wales. These horrific crimes shocked not only Wales, but also made national headlines. Although treated with compassion and sensitivity by the Welsh author and crime historian Gary M. Dobbs, these true stories are often gruesome and harrowing, with no details spared in chronicling what were truly terrible events. The reasons behind such violent crime are explored, and we see the changing attitudes of society to crimes fuelled by alcohol, poverty, passion or, increasingly so in modern times, drug abuse. The book also highlights the changing procedures of both the police and the courts in dealing with such crimes. It contains stories of hardship and incredible poverty, and of ordinary lives suddenly transformed by brutal and sickening violence. Many of the killings contained within these pages remain unsolved, such as the 1862 Tyntyla Farm Murder and the 1993 execution style killings of Megan and Harry Tooze. The latter case remains one of South Wales' most infamous unsolved murders.Along the the way we look at the case of Rhoda Willis, the first woman to be hanged at Cardiff Prison, and many, many more gruesome but fascinating cases. In all cases the author has painstakingly collected together every available piece of evidence to provide as clear a picture as possible. Gary Dobbs' carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the darker side of history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49560760221969,"sku":"GOR010635616","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49735303692561,"sku":"NGR9781473861787","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50916177543441,"sku":"GOR014121550","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51521865220369,"sku":"GOR008634604","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473861780.jpg?v=1751445643"},{"product_id":"cardiff-and-the-valleys-at-war-1939-45-book-gary-dobbs-9781473864610","title":"Cardiff and the Valleys at War 1939-45","description":"When Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, Cardiff and its surroundings, like every other city, town, hamlet and village in the country, sent forth large numbers of young men to fight against the oppression of Hitler and the Nazis. This is a story not only of the war itself, but of the way war affected those far away from the battlefields, and of how a nation stood together in the face of a seemingly unstoppable force.  The book pays particular attention to the way Welsh society changed during the war years, far reaching changes that are still felt in the country today. The book details the enormity of the human sacrifice paid by the people of Cardiff and its surrounding areas, but also contains many examples of the way ordinary people stood proud, defiant in their determination to bring about the downfall of the Nazis. Lavishly illustrated with over fifty original and modern-day photographs, this book is essential reading for anyone interest in military and social history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49587018596625,"sku":"GOR010323162","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53591960912145,"sku":"GOR011484294","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473864615.jpg?v=1751371210"},{"product_id":"date-with-the-hangman-book-gary-dobbs-9781526767400","title":"A Date with the Hangman","description":"It is a sobering thought that until the closing years of the twentieth century, Britain's courts were technically able to impose the death penalty for a number of offences; both civil and military. Although the last judicial hangings took place in 1964, the death penalty, in theory at least, remained for a number of offences. During the twentieth century, 865 people were executed in Britain, and of those only 3 were ever posthumously pardoned. This book details each and every one of those executions, and in many cases highlights the crimes that brought these men and women to the gallows.  The book also details the various forms of capital punishment used throughout British history. During past centuries people were burned at the stake, had the skin flayed from their bodies, been beheaded, garrotted, hung, drawn and quartered, stoned, disemboweled, buried alive and all under the guidance of a vengeful law, or at least what passed for law at any given period. This book spares no detail in chronicling these events and the author has painstakingly collected together every available piece of evidence to provide as clear a picture as possible of a time when the law operated on the principle of an eye for an eye.  The author, Gary M. Dobbs, is a true-crime historian and has spent many hours researching the cases featured within these pages to bring the reader a definitive history of judicial punishment during the twentieth century, and this carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the darker side of history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49589800730897,"sku":"GOR011910708","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53564262482193,"sku":"GOR014962638","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526767406.jpg?v=1751275372"},{"product_id":"cardiff-and-the-valleys-in-the-great-war-book-gary-dobbs-9781783463558","title":"Cardiff and the Valleys in the Great War","description":"Looks at the Cardiff Pals and other local regiments who fought in the Great War and how the experience of war impacted on the area, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German Kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Cardiff were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. An important place for Coal export this book looks at how the balance between working and fighting was achieved by the Dockyard workers  The Great War affected everyone. At home there were wounded soldiers in military hospitals, refugees from Belgium and later on German prisoners of war. There were food and fuel shortages and disruption to schooling. The role of women changed dramatically and they undertook a variety of work undreamed of in peacetime. Meanwhile, men serving in the armed forces were scattered far and wide. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49594249478417,"sku":"GOR008164785","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1783463554.jpg?v=1750832901"},{"product_id":"date-with-the-hangman-book-gary-dobbs-9781526747433","title":"A Date with the Hangman","description":"It is a sobering thought that until the closing years of the twentieth century, Britain's courts were technically able to impose the death penalty for a number of offences; both civil and military. Although the last judicial hangings took place in 1964, the death penalty, in theory at least, remained for a number of offences. During the twentieth century, 865 people were executed in Britain, and of those only 3 were ever posthumously pardoned. This book details each and every one of those executions, and in many cases highlights the crimes that brought these men and women to the gallows.  The book also details the various forms of capital punishment used throughout British history. During past centuries people were burned at the stake, had the skin flayed from their bodies, been beheaded, garrotted, hung, drawn and quartered, stoned, disemboweled, buried alive and all under the guidance of a vengeful law, or at least what passed for law at any given period. This book spares no detail in chronicling these events and the author has painstakingly collected together every available piece of evidence to provide as clear a picture as possible of a time when the law operated on the principle of an eye for an eye.  The author, Gary M. Dobbs, is a true-crime historian and has spent many hours researching the cases featured within these pages to bring the reader a definitive history of judicial punishment during the twentieth century, and this carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the darker side of history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49602051735825,"sku":"GOR010756936","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49733732729105,"sku":"NGR9781526747433","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/152674743X.jpg?v=1750925633"},{"product_id":"dark-history-of-whisky-book-gary-dobbs-9781399034067","title":"A Dark History of Whisky","description":"The book you hold in your hands is not a standard whisky book. Of course, it does contain information that can be found in countless other books on the subject, such as tasting notes, distillery histories and the general development of the golden liquid we all adore. A whisky book that did not contain such information would be odd indeed, but the emphasis in the following narrative is very much on the darker history of the drink. Whisky noir, if you please.Within these pages can be found cannibals, ghouls and ghosts - unlikely tales that all have one thing in common; whisky. Not just whisky, though, for we are delving deep into the amber gold and turning over a history that has never been told. Until now.Interspersed with whisky quotes, some well-known, other's more obscure, with this book to hand the reader will never be without an interesting snippet of conversation when sharing a whisky with friends.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51483847098641,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51483847295249,"sku":"NIN9781399034067","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52111154708753,"sku":"NGR9781399034067","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1399034065.jpg?v=1751083028"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-gary-dobbs.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}