Reference Reviews

Doug’s Student Reference Room

The Torture and Prisoner Abuse Debate, by Laura Finley. 200 p. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008. ISBN 13: 978-0-313-34292-9, ISBN 10: 0-313-34292-x. $49.95.

The introduction to this title, part of the Greenwood Press Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America series, describes the Abue Ghraib prison tortures to set the stage for a deeper probe of torture and includes graphic descriptions of the photos documenting the abuse. Use of this infamous example helps raise interest and frame the debate: should the U.S. engage in torture in pursuit of national security? It may surprise students to learn from this introduction that a near-majority of Americans was in favor of torture immediately following the September 11^th attacks. Subsequent chapters explore the origins and history of torture and the death penalty, as well as the history of torture and other abuses specifically in prisons. The CIA’s torture practices and policies, along with the international agreements constraining this organization, are chronicled in one of this volume’s most interesting chapters. Students will by fascinated by the CIA’s experiments in mind control and hallucinogens and by the detailed description of the Milgram experiment, in which researchers sought to determine how far normal citizens would go in administering increasingly stronger electric shocks to a victim when commanded to do so. This chapter concludes with a discussion of torture employed during the Vietnam War and its acceptance as codified by liberal and conservative administrations alike through the George W. Bush presidency. A chapter on domestic prison abuse complete background for the critical final chapters about the legitimacy of torture and abuse in Guantanamo, Afghanistan and Iraq. The closing chapter sums up the arguments for and against torture. Also included are a timeline of historical events related to torture, suggested readings in print and digital format, a bibliography and an index. This thoughtful work will capture the attention of high school students, teachers and the public alike, offering multiple perspectives in an ongoing national debate. Highly recommended for high school, public and university libraries.