The Big Book of Pain: Torture & Punishment Through History

by Mark P. Donnelly, Daniel Diehl

Overview

Explaining the mechanics of torture—even now a controversial topic—this history questions why so much effort has been put into causing pain to fellow human beings
 
Taking readers into the ancient Roman coliseum, the medieval dungeon, the Inquisitional interrogation, the auto-da-fe, the witch-trial, and the most horrid of prisons, this is an exploration of the systematic use throughout the ages of various means of punishment, torture, coercion, and torment. It is a shocking and compelling study of the shameful methods and motives of the torturer and the executioner, and of the heinous duty they have performed through the ages. Since the earliest times it is an acknowledged fact that anyone can be made to confess to anything under torture, making such confessions inadmissible. This history of pain questions why such practices have continued for so long.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780752459479
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	06/01/2011
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	494,872
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Mark P. Donnelly and Daniel Diehl have coauthored 12 books and more than 100 hours of documentary television. Their other titles include Eat Thy Neighbour: A History of Cannibalism; Haunted Houses: Guide to Spooky, Creepy and Strange Places Across the USA; and Medieval Celebrations.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

Authors' Introduction vii

Section I Torture: Motives, Methods and Madness 1

Section II A History of Torture 25

1 Torture in the Ancient and Classical World 27

2 Torture in the Medieval World 47

3 Torture in the Age of Reason 95

4 Reforms of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 125

5 Torture Around the World 141

Section III An Encyclopedia of Torture 167

1 Torture by Burning and Branding 169

2 Torture by Crushing, Smashing or Breaking 175

3 Torture by Cutting, Piercing, Tearing and Impaling 181

4 Torture by Restraint 191

5 Torture by Public Display, Shame and Humiliation 195

6 Torture by Stretching & Suspension 203

7 Torture by Water 209

8 Torture by Whipping 213

Section IV Conclusion: What Does it All Mean? 223

Bibliography 237

Index 241