Earlier this month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can take a peek at the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some local people, places, and things that we thought clearly won 2025. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November.

Lawrence-based writer Rachel McCarthy James spent the last few years digging into the history of a singular object, and what her Indiana Jones-style research turned up is an object of extreme and terrible power—i.e., a must-have for your bookshelf and easily the best stocking stuffer our book writers will recommend for this holiday season.

Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder is the story of the axe: tool, weapon, and status symbol of culture

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