The History of Punishment - Lewis Lyons

The non-fiction book I have been reading the last week is 'The History of Punishment' by Lewis Lyons.
It basically covers judicial penalties from ancient times to the present day - biblical - medieval - Sharia Law - development of prisons - death penalty - and modern forms of punishment (i.e. open prisons, community service and the reintroduction of shaming.
It is clear and well written with the artworks and photographs making a good accompaniment to a good book on a subject of much fascination and argument.

Even if you have only a passing interest in this subject - this book is very much worth the read without becoming laborious.