MARC Record from harvard_bibliographic_metadata

LEADER: 01743nam a2200277 i 4500
001 000795831-5
005 20060705154212.0
008 780825s1978 enk b 00110 eng
010 $a 78311594
015 $aGB***
020 $a0297773895 :$c£10.00
035 0 $aocm04069807
040 $aDLC$cDLC
050 0 $aHV8593$b.R88
082 $a365/.644
100 1 $aRuthven, Malise.
245 10 $aTorture :$bthe grand conspiracy /$cMalise Ruthven.
260 0 $aLondon :$bWeidenfeld & Nicolson,$c1978.
300 $a342 p. ;$c23 cm.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505 0 $aThe abolitionists -- Torture in the ancient world -- The inquisitorial process -- The Albigensian crusade -- The purge of the Templars -- The great witch-hunts -- Neapolitan dungeons and revolutionary brotherhoods -- The Madras revelations -- Stalin and the Russian devils.
520 $aMalise Ruthven's book is the first full-length historical analysis of torture in English. It traces the evolution of torture from Greek and Roman times, through its revival in the campaign against medieval dissent, its abolition in the 18th century and its re-emergence under European colonial rule and in post-revolutionary Russia. More especially, it demonstrates how the practice of torture was, and still is, almost invariably initiated by a weak regime fearful of suspected organized opposition to its rule. The author defines this reaction as the Grand Conspiracy theory. Finally, he points out that the use of torture against rebels (real or imaginary) results in the transformation of fantasy into fact--discontent becomes active dissent.
650 0 $aTorture$xHistory.
655 7 $aHistory.$2fast
988 $a20020608
906 $0DLC