Posted by A review of “The Instruments of Torture” by Michael Kerrigan, one of my favourite books on the subject: techniques and devices described in detail, period testimonies and illustrations, organised in chapters according to the elements used to torture.
The Instruments of Torture
The book “The Instruments of Torture” was written by Michael Kerrigan and is one of my favourites. Reading it gave me ideas for some of my articles on torture, since it contains information that is hard to find, especially in Italian, the language I read it in.
It describes techniques and instruments in fairly good detail. It also includes extracts from other books, with first-hand accounts from the period of the torture in question.
The book is divided into chapters based on the elements used to torture: prison, stretching, crushing, fire, water, the forces of nature, beating, cutting and piercing, electricity, mental cruelty, capital punishment and the abolition of torture. It was this classification that inspired me when I divided my own book into chapters.
Alongside the detailed descriptions there are also period illustrations, of both the tortures and the instruments.
So far it is by far my favourite book on torture, and I warmly recommend it if you are into the subject: you will not be disappointed!
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