History of Torture Book

This book contains no contents, chapter titles, or even an index so I'll write a brief overview of what it covers here.

Chapters 1-3: Earliest documented cases of torture in the Ancient world - beginning with the case of the Maccabees and their torture at the hands of the Syrians and ending with the Roman games (presumably drawing on Mannix's other book "Those about to Die").

Chapters 4-5: Early Christian era/Middle Ages. The rise of the Inquisition, and witch-hunting. Special attention is paid to the famous Torquenada.

Chapters 6-7: Examples from the later Middle Ages. Pays special attention to Nuremburg and Franz Schmidt. Also looks at "fake" devices like the Iron Maiden, apparently created solely for the vivid imaginations of tourists.

Chapters 8-11: The trials, torture, and executions of animals (yep!). England from the Tudor period up to about the early 18th century. Tower of London, the Tyburn hill executions, and the life of Jack Ketch (a famous executioner). Matthew Hopkins (the inspiration for the 60s horror film "Witchfinder General") is in here too and apparently had a fittingly ironic death.

Chapter 12: Growing strength of the abolition movement in the 19th century. The end of legal torture for heretic/witch trials. Man traps on private land and flogging in the navy.

Chapter 13-15: Exile as a form of punishment in the 19th century (e.g. to America and Australia). Methods of torture in the east (i.e. China, India, Turkey), the Americas (e.g. native Americans and Aztecs) and Pre-Colonial Africa (i.e. Benin, Kano).

Chapter 16: America. Slavery, lynching, and the "third degree" in the Old West (19th century).

Chapter 17: Nazi death camp at Dachau (20th century).

Chapter 18: Electricity as a torture device. Example of Lombilla in a prison in Argentina (20th century).

Chapter 19: Independence wars (i.e. Colonial Kenya and Algeria) and brainwashing in communist states (i.e. China and Russia).

Chapter 20: Conclusion begins by repeating specific examples that illuminate whether torture is a "deterrent" to crime, and ends by discussing the present day (in the 1960s that is) challenges of criminal rehabilitation and juvenile delinquency.


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Review

I find rating non-fiction difficult. I can't seem to rate them anything other than 4 stars. I'm not exactly knowledgeable to spot any factual errors either so I'm not really qualified to write a review like this.

But anyway! If you want an overview of different cultures that have used torture throughout history (with a focus on Europe) with a sociological bent, then this is your book! Serious academics beware however; this book lacks references and bibliography. That said, Mannix clearly knows his subject, and has done a ton of research. A few passages have the air of sensationalism about them and the level of detail drops as we reach the 20th century, but I was very impressed at the range of examples.

Despite being written in the 60s - which ordinarily might as well be the stone age for a work of popular history - this book delivers the historic and geographical sweep that the ambitious title promises. The best thing, however, is the question it asks:
Does torture act as a deterrent to crime? One thing this book proves to you; our ancestors definitely thought so.