Title:  Time as Punishment Author:  Ana Messuti Series:  Contemporary European Cultural Studies Imprint:  The Davies Group, Publishers soft cover 124 pp. USD 18.00 ISBN 978-1934542002 January  2008 In philosophy, one of the most disquieting and profound topics is time. In law, one of the primary objectives is the temporal continuity of the relationships time regulates. For criminal law, it is the measurement of a punishment that has virtually become the standard: imprisonment. And, closing the circle, in philosophy of law one of the most contentious disciplines, one most deserving of reflection, is criminal law. All these perspectives converge upon the human being, whose temporality is indeed his life. Messuti launches her discussion of the relationship of time and punishment with the measurement of punishment, the calculation of the duration of punishment, and progresses to the calculative thought itself so that this manner of thinking may lead us to another kind of thought, meditative thinking. She has made a major contribution in underlining the philosophical dimension of criminal law and the need to ponder the ethical problems it raises. “For there is no doubt that if there is a branch of law directly adjacent to philosophy, one calling out for the illumination of philosophical thought, it is criminal law.” Contents Foreword 1. Time as Punishment 2. Piranesi: Space, Time, and Punishment 3. The Victim and the Non-Subject of Law 4. The Hermeneutic Circles of Punishment 5. The Third Party: an interpretation 6. Some Reflections on Penal Law Bibliography Author Ana Messuti is a lawyer (Buenos Aires) specializing in philosophy of law (Rome) and is a visiting professor at Latin American and European universities. She has written a number of essays on the subject of punishment that have been published in international journals such as Claves de la Razón Práctica, Aquinas  and Ars Interpretandi and has edited several books on criminal law. She has been an international civil servant in Vienna and Geneva. Currently, she is conducting research work at the University of Salamanca.