Books like A question of torture by Alfred W. McCoy

Historian Alfred W. McCoy delivers a comprehensive account of the CIA’s covert program of psychological torture over five decades. He examines techniques such as isolation, hooding, prolonged standing, and time manipulation—methods designed to erode a victim’s sense of identity. McCoy documents how these practices expanded globally, from Vietnam to Iran and Central America, and intensified after 9/11 as the CIA adopted psychological torture as its primary tool in indefinite detentions. He also discusses the practice of rendition, sending detainees to countries favorable to torture. Ultimately, McCoy argues that information obtained through coercion is largely worthless, contrasting this with the FBI’s legally sanctioned interrogation methods. The book presents a thorough indictment of inhumane interrogation practices that have undermined U.S. law, military reputation, and international standing.

First publish date: 2005