Meals to Die For

by Brian D. Price

A chilling compilation of last meal requests of Texas penitentiary death row prisoners, by the resident chef. The book has stirred a great deal of interest on both sides of the Atalantic and the author is a sought-after interviewee.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2004

Reviews

[Nate Hendrix]

Brian spent 10 years preparing the last meal for death row inmates in Texas. The book was a dissapointment. It was mainly a catalog of excuted inmates, what they did, their last meal and their last words. I was looking for more of what it feels like to be in that environment and what goes into making the meal and serving it. The facts can be found anywhere, what I want is what it feels like. He adds little notes here and there, but it is not enough. I would not recomend this book. I have read better, more interesting books on prison life.

[Charity]

I've been over-interested in the history of the death penalty in America (I am anti-death penalty for the record) so I picked up this book hoping to get a different perspective of the process. The author, Brian D. Price, was an inmate himself in Texas and oversaw the preparation of 10-years' worth of death row last meals. I'm not sure of the number but it's carried-out death sentences in Texas so, ya'll know it's a lot.

The book is just over 500 pages in total. In the first 150 of those pages, Price writes, with a little depth, about some selected prisoners, their crimes and last meal requests. He also includes some commentary on the death penalty (he doesn't seem to commit one way or another, which is OK) and some photos of protests, etc.

After that, there's THREE HUNDRED solid pages of mostly single-paged index entries (like an encyclopedia entry) of prisoners who were put to death, why and what they chose to eat before leaving this earth. Informative? Yes, but again, I was looking for a little more commentary and maybe more of the human aspect I thought the author would add given his unique role.

The last part of the book, however, is what really left me, I don't know, aghast, maybe? The last section was called "Meals to Die for: The Cookbook." I thought it was a little strange that the author would include prison recipes (there's only so many ingredients available in the first place, right?) but I read on. The first handful of recipes were named after "Old Sparky," which is the name of the electric chair in most of Texas. It was generic enough but still kind of distasteful. I didn't know what was coming, though...The reader is then treated to recipes like: Casket Casserole, Murderous Mashed Potatoes, Gallows Gravy, Uh Oh, I'm Dead Meat-Loaf, Obituary Onion Rings, Last Lasagne, Guillotine Goulash, Postmortem Potato Soup, Body Bag Baked Beans and my LEAST favorite, Crematory Chicken. *That's NOT a complete list, by any means.

I guess I just had a hard time reconciling the author's plea to the reader to think, in depth about the execution process and the pain it causes, with recipes like "Last Wish Fish." Because he does, in fact, ask the reader to concern himself or herself with what it would be like to be the family of a murdered loved one, watching an execution and hoping to find peace, etc. Or, what it might be like to be the family of the prisoner being executed because no matter that person's crime, he or she is still someone's son, daughter, husband, brother, sister, grandchild, etc. I wish I could've walked away with that message in my mind as opposed to feeling disgusted by the ill attempt at humor (or something?) at the end.

[Bob Mendelsohn]

There must have been a better way to write about the scores of criminals whose crimes are recorded and then follows the formula.

The formula includes the capture (often with stupidity of the crim), the final meal requests, any final commentary to family of the murdered, and how long the state paid to keep the bad guy on death row.

My continual response was similar to the one I have with most murder/ investigation shows on television. Are that many people murdered every week in the same area?

The book was written by the chef who prepared the meals which more often than not were composed of burger and fries.

I don’t know what I hoped the book would be or say but it was fairly trite. Or maybe after reading so many dark stories of murder and outright evil I was hardened from caring. Either way the book is far from commendable.

[Donna]

Just finished reading “MEALS TO DIE FOR” by BRIAN D. PRICE. Brian D. Price served 14 years in the Texas prison system. For 11 of those years he worked as a cook in the Huntsville Corrections Center where those on death row were brought for execution. He prepared their last meal requests. This book tells a gripping but poignant tale of men and women being put to death. It includes crime details, last meal requests and last words for 46 Texas death row inmates. It definitely makes you see both sides of the death penalty debate.

[FQ AreMyInitials]

I read the entire book, however when it came to the conclusion, I only briefly read it. Not all of it.
It's a very interesting read on what goes on behind executions, the last meals, what crimes took place that lead to the death penalty, final statements and even pictures of the people that were sentenced to death.
The book was written by the man who prepared the final meals for the prisoners.

[Carol]

Fascinating look behind prison walls and the crimes that put these men and women on death row. Suffice to say this book makes me double-check the locks on my doors at night. Written by the prison chef who prepared meals for prisoners on death row, the book gives a summary of each person's crimes, their last statements and their last meal requests. Aside from a nearly universal desire for cheeseburgers in the last hours of their lives, the common thread linking most of these criminals is a lack of education. Now that's some food for thought.

[Rowan MacBean]

I read about a quarter of this book before giving up. I couldn't take the sentimental claptrap. I wanted facts so I could draw my own conclusions. I didn't need to hear about what a nice day it was or how pretty the clouds were on the day the crimes took place.

[Jennifer]

Received this as a birthday gift from my best friend. On par of another one of our perennial favorite- "The Evil 100". This one did make me a little sad though.

[Crystal]

my review is on the comments, I messed up. 1 star. only paid 25cents and see why.