The Torture Debate in America [Paperback]

Karen J. Greenberg (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0521674611 | ISBN-13: 978-0521674614

Widely acclaimed as a publishing milestone, The Torture Papers (Cambridge, 2005) constitutes the definitive book of public record detailing the Bush Administration's policies on torture and political prisoners. In the process of assembling the documents, memoranda, and reports that comprise the material in The Torture Papers, a vital question arose: What was the rationale behind the Bush Administration's decision to condone the use of coercive techniques in the interrogation of detainees suspected of terrorist connections? The use of these techniques at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo has sparked an intense debate in America. The Torture Debate in America captures the arguments on torture that have been put forth by legislators, human rights activists, and others. It raises the key moral, legal, and historical questions that have led to current considerations on the use of torture. Divided into three sections, the contributions cover all sides of the debate, from absolute prohibition of torture to its use as a viable option in the War on Terror.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With this superb collection of documents, we can begin to see the contours of our new post 9-11 world." The Washington Post on The Torture Papers

"...a block of granite on the path of any forgetfulness. The book is a true public service, compiled by two U.S. lawyers, which brings the whole twisted story into the public domain, and let us hope into every library and many personal hands." Toronto Globe

"an excellent and thorough introduction ot the legal and institutional arrangements of the contemporary minority rights regime in the Western world. A great value of that book is precisely that it positions questions of minority rights and self-determination right in the analytical propinquity to democracy, and as such it manages to address an important lacuna within the rights-oriented literature of today." - Andrew Goldmsith, Law and Politics Review

Book Description

The Torture Debate in America presents the arguments on torture that have been put forth by American lawmakers, human rights activists, and others. It raises the moral, legal and historical questions that have led the US into today's considerations on the use of torture.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 436 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521674611
• ISBN-13: 978-0521674614
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 6.1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #921,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A discussion of modern torture December 29, 2012

By Thomas A. Powell

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is not an exhaustive or in-depth study of torture. That being said, it does present both sides of the debate over the use of torture and its refined definition during the Bush administration. The book is a compilation of articles by various authors that weigh in on the topic. For my purposes, this book served my need to get an overview of the debate very well. It does cover some of the legal implications of the Bush definition of torture, but doesn't really provide much historical background. Of course, the title does not necessarily suggest it would. I would recommend this book as a source for learning about torture and the moral considerations that are at the center of the debate.

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars critically important intellectual material December 2, 2006

By Bruce D. Wilner

Format:Paperback

Few questions are more relevant to our times than that of the resurrection (as if it had ever actually died!) of judicial torture. No longer safely able to stand tall and insular on its humanistic pedestal, America must face this issue NOW. People think of screws and boots and wedges and coals, but such medievalism is no longer remotely relevant: far more reliable (not to mention quicker) results are obtainable from pharmaceuticals (perhaps--like the death penalty--another issue where the Hippocratic oath is [?] at odds with Dr. Smith's specific actions today). Read, absorb, consider, conjecture, believe.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Book on a Regrettably Current Issue July 7, 2011

By bluewombat

Format:Paperback

Karen Greenberg has done a good job of assembling essays on the issue of torture. It's evidence of the intellectual integrity of this work that it includes pro-torture arguments as well as anti-torture ones: it's important for those of us fighting to rid the U.S. of this medieval scourge (and bring justice to high government officials who have authorized it) to familiarize ourselves with the rationalizations of our adversaries.