Infernal Device: Machinery of Torture and execution (Hardcover)

by Erik Ruhling (Author)
Key Phrases: iron maiden, barrel pillory, head crusher, French Revolution, Spanish Inquisition (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Erik Ruhling assembles an unmatched array of torture tools invented exclusively for the infliction of pain and the ending of life, each carefully researched with an accompanying full-color, highly detailed rendering. This beautifully presented book features classics like the Iron Maiden and the Guillotine, as well as more rarified connoisseur's fare such as the Scavenger's Daughter and the Ear Chopper. And if the Tongue Tearer is not to your taste, there's always the Breast Ripper or the Drunkard's Cloak.

Erik Ruhling is a graphic designer and the curator of www.occasionalhell.com. He holds degrees in anthropology and English and lives in Atlanta, Georgia, in a house without a dungeon (unfortunately).

About the Author
Erik Ruhling is a graphic designer and the curator of occasionalhell.com. A chronic tinkerer, he has always been interested in all things mechanical and has the leftover screws to prove it. He holds degrees in Anthropology and English and lives in Atlanta in a house without a dungeon (unfortunately).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: The Disinformation Company (November 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932857893
• ISBN-13: 978-1932857894
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #259,457 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wicked little book, February 2, 2008

By	Bill Brent "writer, editor, publisher" (HI and CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Rühling taught himself 3-D rendering in order to create his lovely (and gruesome) little book. This petite yet substantial volume (40 full-color photo pages) deserves some kind of design award. He renders his gallery of torture tools in a stark museum-exhibit style while his text, an impressive feat of condensed scholarship, vividly evokes images of the poor souls who were subjected to their horrors. It's a jarring and effective contrast of the mechanistic and humanistic.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A much needed and very timely contribution to this national discussion , January 4, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

America's involvement with waterboarding, black prisons abroad, the re-interpretation of the Geneva Conventions, and introduction of 'harsh interrogation' has catapulted the issue of torture to the front of America's national political and policy debate. A much needed and very timely contribution to this national discussion is Erik Ruhling's new book "Infernal Device: Machinery Of Torture And Execution", a profusely illustrated and defined collection of torture devices utilized to extract information and confessions over the past two millennia. From the Iron Maiden, the Guillotine, and the Scavenger's Daughter to the Ear Chopper, the Thumbscrew, and the Ducking Stool, "Infernal Device" reveals the fundamental brutality of torture devices and is strongly recommended to the attention of those who are engaged on either side of the current national debate over the complex issues involved with waterboarding and other means of 'harsh interrogation'.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!!, January 10, 2008

By	Kim Miller (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a pretty cool book. Actually much better than the description. It has nugget-size information and pictures of various machines.