Anatomy of Torture

Ron E. Hassner is Chancellor's Professor of Political Science and Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His books include War on Sacred Grounds, Religion in the Military Worldwide, and Religion on the Battlefield.

• 1. How Little We Know about Torture2. Three Myths about the Spanish Inquisition3. Learning to Torture: Ciudad Real (1484-1515)4. Correlates of Torture: Toledo (1575-1610)5. Exploratory Torture: Mexico City (1589-1591)6. Corroborative Torture: Mexico City (1594-1601)7. Lessons from the Spanish InquisitionEpilogue: The Ethics of Studying Torture

"[A]n admirable and worthwhile enterprise... his humility comes across as refreshing, and his statistical analysis of the demographics, methods, and results of Inquisition torture yields results that even specialists of the period or subject matter will find compelling and possibly groundbreaking." - Journal of Military History "Hassner has leveraged a fascinating dataset for his study in Anatomy of Torture...having analyzed hundreds of cases, he reaches a shocking conclusion: '"Torture works," he writes,"but not the way you think it does."" - Der Spiegel "Hassner rightly calls for more research, especially archival research, on interrogational torture. As the first political scientist who has explored such material to examine torture's efficacy, he has advanced that agenda by demonstrating the difficulties that lie on the road ahead." - Perspective on Politics "Invaluable for both ethical and policy reasons, Hassner has done academics and policymakers a great service. He dared to ask whether torture worked, despite his philosophical abhorrence for it, which he strongly hints at in the epilogue. Anatomy of Torture dares us to ask questions that make us and others uncomfortable. It is in these forbidden interstices that science presents the power to uncover greater truths." - Human Rights Quarterly