Customer Reviews

The History of Torture

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An extensive overview of torture, containing much photographic and illustrative detail. The sections range from torture in ancient Greece and Rome, the Far East, the Inquisition, the Spanish Inquisition, instruments of torture (such as the infamous Spanish "strappado") torture in the twentieth century, the campaign against torture (spearheaded by the likes of Voltaire and Edmund Burke) and psychological torture -- "the torture of the mind" -- i.e., brainwashing and the like.

This book is not some how to book designed for the S & M fan or a third world dictator learning the ropes, but an interesting look at the use of torture throughout history. It covers the use of torture from the ancient Greece civilization through the Spanish Inquisition right into the UK, all the while showing that at the time these methods of "punishment" were socially acceptable forms of punishment. The authors even look at mental torture and how it is used in societies today.

This book does not give the reader a detailed, analytical account of why societies over the years have resorted to torture or why man can perform such cruelty on his fellow man. That review would probably take a number of volumes to cover. The book just provides what people have done in the past in regards to torture / punishment, which was almost always state sponsored or directed. The book is designed as an overview and the reader looking for deep discussions on any one topic will be disappointed. Overall it provides the reader a good overview of the topic. If you are interested in crime and punishment this will be an interesting book for you.

Mr. Innes has produced a worthy book. His understand and exposition of the methods and the reasons for torture is excellent. He has proved his assertion that torture results from the emotion of fear and he has shown that torture is a tool of "average" people. That makes torture even more frightening because we, the readers, come to understand that torture doesn't have to be done by the stange or abnormal individual.

I hate to repeat myself, but this book covers topics you are familiar with. It is done far better than other accounts of similar subjects covering torture through time in that Innes actually takes one through time. Nice job

The body of "History of Turture" is a mockery of its title. This is no history, merely modern moralizing from the liberal statist media establishment. While any history of mankind's systematic inhumanity is necessarily uncomfortable for the reader, it does not have to be prostituted to current political interpretation. If you wish to understand any aspect of history, such as torture, you must view it from the context and perception of its participants. In this case, this history is over tens of centuries and the motivations and mindsets of participants have both similarities and differences Mr. Innes does not take this analytic approach, and the result is another "me generation" exercise in self-indulgence. I read a paperback history of torture when I was much younger that was a far more objective and complete discourse on the subject. If you want to understand the individual's or society's darkest side (torture), you must be both objective and contextual. Only through understanding the phenomena and atrocity of torture can its mentality and practice be avoided in the future. Do not waste your time and money on this book.

I found this book to be concise summary on the use of torture in our past and present society. It was not overly lengthy in content, but summarized the use of torture both for punishment and 'justice'. The cruelties of mankind toward his fellow man are hard imagine. Often these were undertaken in the name of God. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this subject.

The book is divided in 13 chapters; each of one about one era (inquisition, greece & rome, africa, etc). and explains how the torture was implemented in that era, and the reasons behind it.
I expected an history (that was the title, isn't it?) about how it "grows" and how it becomes "different" since the first ages to modern age.
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El libro est‡ dividido en 13 cap'tulos; cada uno acerca de una ˇpoca (inquisici-n, Grecia y Roma, Africa, etc) y explica como la tortura se implement- en aquella ˇpoca, y las razones que hab'a detras de ella.
Esperaba una historicidad (ese es el titulo, no?) acerca de como evolucion- y cambi- desde la era antigua a la actual.