This book represents the farthest "leftist" thought process of academia. Dayan presents her account of how she believes the 8th Amendment should be interpreted. She stretches to make an allegation that since slavery was abolished, Americans have moved onto legalizing another form cruelty and punishment: waterboarding terrorists. It is her opinion that we are of the most violent nations on the planet and enjoy treating humans as inhumanely as possible. Her arguments are riddled with holes, her research biased, and her work, genuinely un-American. If I could give this less than a star I would. This is a book I recommend buying used in hopes she will not collect an extra penny of proceeds.For those who are interested in slavery's ever-present specters, this book offers a haunting precursor to Dayan's _White Dog_ bricolage.This was a great book that explored the influence slavery continues to have on the laws and enforcement of the laws in the United States has. It's a fairly short book and I think a great preface to deep study of race relations, prisoners rights and human rights in general.