The History of Torture (Sutton History
Classics) by Daniel P. Mannix
Fascinating And Terrible
Morality is nothing more than an expression of expediency a notorious
torturer reportedly once replied to objections about his profession. From
the primitive snake pit to sophisticated methods of brainwashing, literally
thousands of techniques have been devised to distort both the body and
the mind - and to satisfy the sadistic needs of those who command,
perform and witness human torture. In The History of Torture, Daniel P.
Mannix examines with honesty and thoroughness every aspect of torture:
the professional torturers, many of them historys most famous men and
women; their theories and techniques; the role torture has played in
history; and the refinements brought to the practice of torture by individual
fanatics, religious groups, the military and entire cultures. The result is
information on the infliction of pain for punishment or coercion from pre-
history to modern times. This remarkable work discusses not only the
history of torture but its moral implications as well. Everyone interested in
the long and difficult course of human rights, personal and political

freedom and in the history of crime and punishment will find the book
fascinating and enlightening.
Personal Review: The History of Torture (Sutton History
Classics) by Daniel P. Mannix
Daniel Mannix has written an extraordinarily detailed and intriguing treatise
on the history and validity of torture, through every culture, era and
continent in the world. From the earliest societies in Greece to modern-day
usage, every aspect of torture is covered in this exhaustive volume. It took
me a while to get through Mannix's book, since I often read it in small
blocks. Too much of this sort of information at once can be an almost
nauseating experience - and I'm not particularly squeamish. However, after
finishing it I found it to be a pretty rewarding venture that really gets you
thinking about some important philosophical and historical concepts. I'll
come back to this.Mannix writes rather tersely and emotionally detached
about the most unthinkable acts of humankind. He covers specific torture
devices - what they were and how they were used - and then often
recounts several specific situations when the device was used and what
the results were. Every society and age has "contributed" something to the
legacy of torture and Mannix leaves nobody out. Whether it's the Aztecs
who once sacrificed 70,000 people in one event, to the Australian penal
colonies, he not only covers it but also relates the differences and
similarities between the devices and methods employed. Just some of the
groups covered are the Native Americans, the Nazis, the Europeans
throughout every century, Africans, South Americans, the North American
colonies, the Inquisition, modern-day police in every major country, Asians
of every era and dynasty, Vikings, African-American slaves, and the witch
trials. He makes careful notes of when a torture device was reused or
modified in some way from society to society.The specific stories he
relates are always shocking and beyond belief, yet they are well-
documented accounts. The ingenuity of torturers is truly staggering,
rivaling some of the greatest inventors of all time. How these monsters
came to devote enough of their minds and time to devising these horrible
instruments is unthinkable. Yet Mannix explores every last deep, dark
corner of these demented minds.There are several areas of the humanities
that Mannix touches upon, sometimes deliberately, sometimes
inadvertently. In general he tries to stick to the facts and avoid inserting his
opinion. On occasion, however, he can't resist and shows his hand with a
carefully written sentence or a colorful adverb. One area that he didn't
specifically touch upon that got me thinking a great deal, is that of the
reparations forced on certain social groups by other social groups for past
crimes. Various races, even in America, consider the atrocities enacted on
their race to be the worst in humankind's history. Reading Mannix's book
will show that this is the result of a very narrow and uninformed view of
history. The brutal decimation of hundreds of thousands of Aztecs, the
mass executions of nearly two million people by Ghengis Khan, the
horrible slave trades of the ancient Romans, the demented torturings of the

Inquisition - in modern times only the atrocities of Hitler seem to directly
compare to these events. While Mannix deftly avoids opinions for most of
the book, he does close his work with a chapter on corporeal punishment
and its effectiveness as a deterrent of crime. This chapter was remarkably
well-written and presents thought-out arguments presenting both sides of
the debate. He gives no-nonsense, logical examples of why in some cases
corporeal punishment can never work, and in other cases where it clearly
has proven effective. It was a surprisingly well-done cap to his book. After
reading hundreds of pages of what the worst of humankind is capable of, it
helped put things in perspective. As a book, it could be a little tighter.
There is no logical flow from chapter to chapter, nor is there an index. As a
result it sometimes feels as though Mannix is repeating himself, and you
are a little lost as to the overall historical context of the situation. The
chapters are also not titled, nor is there an index, so there is no easy way
to go to a specific era or torture device you want to research. This book
also scared me slightly, since it showed me just what human beings are
capable of doing to each other. The Romans killed each other for sport.
They would crucify slaves in the Coliseum and then gamble on who would
die first, die last, etc. There was a time when humans - the same specie
that lives today - considered this entertainment. To be honest, this is one
of the reasons why Reality TV bothers me so much. Aside from putting
completely talentless people on television, it also harkens back to the days
when blood-thirsty fans screamed and applauded the misery of others.
While it's very different to watch a person eating a live cockroach than to
watch a lion eat a person, I believe the same sick desire is at the root of
both audiences. It may seem a very big leap, to go from where we are now
to watching a TV show where someone may die, but five years ago I would
never have dreamt people would be picking a spouse from a game show,
or eating the genitalia of a pig as "entertainment." It happens every week
now on primetime. Even the show Jackass on MTV, while often funny, still
puts these men in situations where they might be killed by several different
methods. Mark my words, it will get worse. In the same way that this book
became easier for me to read after the first fifty pages - as I became
desensitized to it - so will we as a nation become more and more
desensitized to what we consider entertaining. If you doubt we can go so
far as to kill people for entertainment, I only point you to Mannix's book for
a quick reminder of where we once were, not so long ago.
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