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| Torture Team: Rumsfeld's Memo and the Betrayal of American Values | 
 enlarge | Author: Philippe Sands
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $15.75
You Save: $11.20 (42%)
New (38) Used (16) from $13.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 32942
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0230603904
Dewey Decimal Number: 341.48
EAN: 9780230603905
ASIN: 0230603904
Publication Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 THE DEFINITIVE TEXT June 30, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Philippe Sands, a respected barrister and Queen's Counsel in the Matrix Chambers in England, as well as a Professor of International Law at University College London, writes a comprehensive and well-researched book that permits the reader to understand the process whereby torture became an accepted part of the fabric of the Global War on Terror. By interviewing many of the major players, and having access to many of the principal documents and memoranda, Philippe Sands takes us on a ride through the labyrinth of the Department of Defense that led to the harsh and brutal treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo. The research is factual and surprisingly forceful, and the ability to get many of the architects to open up and give their views makes the book both informative and eminently readable. And yet, despite a walk down a difficult road that leaves the reader with no doubts as to the current Administration's views of the benefits of torture, the author manages to keep the book dispassionate and focused..and the author finds heroes in the Armed Forces who stand out for their courage and commitment to legality. One senses that this book will become required reading for those lawyers who will specialize in human rights whether in the United States of America or in the Europe. Research such as this will form the fabric on which future historians will judge current events and make legal judgments. It should be required reading for all those interested in the study of human rights and its application today.
 More pieces in the puzzle ... May 21, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
We don't yet have a comprehensive account of America's descent into torture under Bush and Cheney. What we do know has to be pieced together from the declassified documents, the work of journalists like Jane Mayer, Dana Priest, and Sy Hersh, blogs like Balkinization, books like "The One-Percent Doctrine" -- and, now, this book.
Indispensable though it is, I would've preferred more analysis. Sands's approach is to follow the narrative of his own interviews, moving from one figure to another. This is effective storytelling and an understandable choice. However, I would've liked a final chapter that tied it all up.
Also, surprisingly perhaps for a book by a noted lawyer, I found the book a bit weak on its legal discussions. Again, I can see the point here -- the publisher probably feared that the legal layman's eyes would glaze over. Still, extensive endnotes or appendices could've touched on these issues in greater detail.
None of this should dissuade anyone from reading the book, but just remember that this is not "THE book" on American torture post 9/11. That book remains to be written -- and whoever writes it, will cite heavily to Philippe Sands among others.
Sands Has Done the Work for Prosecution by International Court June 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
After seeing Sands on Moyers, I ordered this book. The detail he brings to the possible prosecution of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Yoo/Haynes/Feith for war crimes is remarkable. His interview with Dr. Abigail Seltzer in evaluating whether the treatment of Detainee 063 constituted torture is unsurpassed. His summation in Chapter 25 lays out the case with assistance from Lord Wright, who chaired the United Nations War Crimes Commission. Such a fine read!
torture team June 18, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
A great read. Gives you the inside story and the truth regarding the top level involvement of government officials like Don Rumsfeld, Willion Haynes, Dick Cheney in the formulation of our current torture policy in violaation of international law.
MASTERFUL,TRAGIC, AND DEPRESSING June 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This case is closed. Phillipe Sands has executed an extraordinary work of investigation and reporting. I was constantly amazed by the statements of individuals so intimately involved in the process. There is dark criminality here, and it is truly depressing to know that our post 9/11 trauma and fear has been so successfully exploited that the perpetrators acted with impunity. History will show that these fools, who thought they were the Jack Bauer answer to terrorism, were in fact deeply if not fatally compromising the war on terrorism.
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