Eyewatering procession of modes and means of torture throughout world history, written by an author from the 1930s with a surprisingly modern and radical perspective; he deplores animal torture as much as human, and justifiably criticises bullfights, halal/kosher slaughter and circuses as belonging to the past in the same way the stocks, the rack and the scavenger's daughter do. Interspersed with some incredibly evocative primary source material (the depiction of the auto-da-fe of a French priest, of the Piedmont atrocities and of the Holy Inquisition's sex dungeon were grotesquely fascinating), it serves as a reminder that brutal, violent and highly creative torture is, in fact, part of what might be considered normal and expected human behaviour, and that we are fortunate in the West, at least, to live in times when such acts are not condoned by the authorities. A canonical text for those interested in the dark truths of the human psyche; and written in the considered, precise and largely uncensored English of 1930s Great Britain, perhaps the most pleasing era for written English. Plentiful illustrations of people going about their torturous deeds. ( )

I got this book secondhand because I enjoy history and historical accounts. I did learn something from this book. However, the book was written in the 1940's and I found that the writing style was not as "readable" as a book written today might be. Certain parts were out of date as expected. Also the subject matter was a bit too gruesome for my tastes. I guess I need to shy away from this subject in the future. But I figured I had to try it and see for myself. ( )