"The study of the history of prisons and other forms of confinement has attracted over the past decades an enormous number of scholars. This bibliography is a guide to what has been written about this subject. The collection does not pretend to be a comprehensive one, as it provides only works in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish language. It is also limited to the history of civil confinement and therefore makes no reference to studies concerning war captivity and institutions set up following political or racial persecution (political confinement, concentration camps, refugee camps, etc.)."