This book systematically examines the social roots and historical evolution of cruel tortures implemented from ancient times to the 20th century, covers the East in ancient times, ancient Greece and Rome, the Western Europe in the Middle Ages, the West in the modern and contemporary times, as well as countries and regions in the pre-modern period, such as China, India, Japan and African countries, and lists various kinds of cruel tortures in history that are so horrible that people could hardly bear to look at or have never even heard of before.
