Torture has lately become front page news, featured in popular movies and TV shows, and a topic of intense public debate. It grips our imagination, in part because torturing someone seems to be an unthinkable breach of humanitytheirs and ours. And yet, when confronted with horrendous events in war, or the prospect of catastrophic damage to one's own country, many come to wonder whether we can really afford to abstain entirely from torture. Before trying to tackle this dilemma, though, we need to see torture as a multifaceted problem with a long history and numerous ethical and legal aspects -- Amazon.

Part I. A triumph over torture, told by a survivor -- One. Tales of terrorism and torture : the soft vengeance of justice / Albie Sachs -- Part II. Psychological perspectives on torture -- Two. The many faces of torture : a psychological perspective / William Gorman and Sandra G. Zakowski -- Three. Stoic equanimity in the face of torture / Nancy Sherman -- Four. Gender performance requirements of the US military in the war on Islamic terrorism / Mary Anne Case -- Part III. Torture in historical context -- Five. The fragility of evidence : torture in ancient Rome / Kathleen M. Coleman -- Six. US torture of prisoners of war in historical perspective : the role of delegitimization / Christopher J. Einolf -- Seven. Police interrogation and coercion in domestic American history : lessons for the War on Terror / Richard A. Leo and K. Alexa Koenig -- Part IV. The ethics of torture -- Eight. The ticking bomb hypothetical / Marcia Baron -- Nine. Torture and method in moral philosophy / Jeff McMahan -- Ten. Torture, self-defense and fighting dirty / David Sussman -- Eleven. Torture as unjust means of war : to squelch the Sirens' singing / Scott A. Anderson -- Part V. Torture in US law and policy -- Twelve. Torture and positive law : jurisprudence for the White House / Jeremy Waldron -- Thirteen. In defense of lawfare : the value of litigation challenging torture / Lisa Hajjar -- Fourteen. Tortured prosecutions : holding private military contractors accountable / Garrett Ordower.