The History of Punishment: Judicial Penalties from Ancient Times to the Present Day

by Lewis Lyons

L

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Academic

192 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2003

Reviews

[Erika]

First thing, this book is called The History of Punishment. The Spanish version is titled The History of Torture, which is very misleading. It even has a guy hanging from the wrists, ready to be tortured.
Well, the book is about what it was originally intended to be: an account of how punishment has been dealt to humans, going as far as historical documentation can.
One thing I didn't like about this book is that it felt a bit repetitive. The author explained the same thing over and over again. And sometimes there was too much irrelevant information (such as stating the exact amount of coins a certain criminal should pay for certain crimes, and then the same for nobles, and then the same for slaves).
The last part of the book is about the methods used to punish criminals, listing all sorts of instruments used in ancient times and nowadays.
There are some interesting facts here and there and you learn some about law codes, but that's about it. Nothing new to those that knows their way around killing methods.

[Rob]

Decent information but a few spelling errors that smash me in the face. A few details about certain events also appear inaccurate.

[Ramon]

Un ensayo bastante extenso sobre los orígenes del castigo las normas sociales y las leyes que dieron origen a diversas formas de control y disuasión de las faltas y delitos en la sociedad humana.
De lectura pesada, pero ampliamente descriptiva y con suficientes datos históricos e ilustraciones correspondientes a los temas tratados en cada capitulo.
Recomendado solamente si es un tema que te interese.

[Emily]

I learned about historical legal codes, different punishments and how they were applied, and modern day punishment. As mentioned in other reviews there were glaring copy-writing errors. Overall I'd recommend if you're interested in how people have been thinking about punishment.

[Aliana]

It was very informative, although I'd prefer more photos.

[Geo Gosling]

Good and informative book. While reading this book, one realizes that humans can be extremely cruel to each other and they haven't really changed that much and they probably won't. It kind of boggles the mind to learn what people have done to each other, all with good intentions mind you.

[Anne Marshall]

An intriguing book, filled with a lot of information I was unaware of.