1. Introduction
2. Confronting past crimes : transitional justice and the phenomenon of truth commissions
3. Why a truth commission?
4. The five strongest truth commissions
5. Other illustrative truth commissions
6. What is the truth?
7. The truth about women and men
8. Truth and justice : a careful but critical relationship
9. Truth commissions and the International Criminal Court
10. Naming names of perpetrators
11. Healing from the past
12. Truth and reparation
13. Reconciliation and reforms
14. Leaving the past alone
15. When, how, and who : basic questions of methodology and operations
16. Reflections : looking forward.