Introduction -- Confronting past crimes -- Why a truth commission? -- Five illustrative truth commissions -- Sixteen less-prominent commissions -- What is the truth? -- Truth versus justice: is it a trade-off? -- Naming the guilty -- Healing from the past -- An eye to the future: reconciliation and reforms -- Reparations for state crimes -- Leaving the past alone -- Truth commissions and the international criminal court: conflict or complement? -- Inside the commission: problems and practicalities -- Challenges and assistance from the outside -- Epilogue: looking forward.