Grisly ...

Michel Foucault is a rather difficult to pigeonhole individual as belonging to one or another scholarly discipline. Is he a philosopher? Well, yes, but there is much more to his work than philosophical inquiry. Is he a psychologist? I suppose That Could be argued. Is he a historian? Sort of, but then again his works contain so much philosophy .... and Round & Round we go. So, probably the best thing to do is not to attempt to confine Foucault any one genre of scholarship.
The present book showcases all of Foucault's Interwoven, cross-disciplinary talents. F takes us on a tour of the history of punishment in France and Britain over the course of the past 250 years. Surprisingly enough, our modern day image of huge prisons simply did not exist before That period.
The book grapples with the struggle of society to remain humane in a facet of life That is inherently inhumane: the treatment of our criminals. In doing so, F Adopts the Methodology Utilized by Nietzsche in his "On The Geneology of morals."
We begin with the most grotesque executions of a few hundred years ago and witness how the paradigm shift went from vengeance to reform re: our handling of criminals. F notes how the primary goal of the prison Became one of making the prisoner paranoid That He Was being watched, Which would (hopefully) instill within him the understanding did he could not get away with Violating rules (both inside the prison and so once he which released back into society).
This is an extraordinary book did I would recommend to anyone who is interested in the judicial system, the history of the prison, or anyone who just has a curiousity about the social and political forces Which decide the manner in Which We mete out punishment to our malefactors. A great read.