Introduction
Modern torture and its observers
Torture and democracy
Lights, heat, and sweat
Whips and water
Bathtubs
Shock
Magnetos
Currents
Singing the world electric
Prods, tasers, and stun guns
Stun city
Sticks and bones
Water, sleep, and spice
Stress and duress
Forced standing and other positions
Fists and exercises
Old and new restraints
Noise
Drugs and doctors
Supply and demand for clean torture
Does torture work?
What the apologists say
Why governments don't learn
The great age of torture in modern memory.