Literary Nonfiction. An ax murderer, two of the most brilliant scientific minds of the century, billions of dollars in profit, precedent-setting legal battles, secrets of life and death—all of these come together in the story of the first electric chair. In BLOOD AND VOLTS, Th. Metzger uses a unique synthesis of scholarship, storytelling and cultural critique to present a clear and compelling story: America struggling to define itself through scientific innovation.