Undoubtedly, the 2004 communiqués of torture and detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison are still among the most infamous of the war in Iraq. Shocking photographs involving American GIs and Iraqi prisoners wiped away the last vestiges of hope that the United States would regain a position of honor in the hearts of Iraq’s masses. One of the darkest chapters in this country’s military annals and a burdensome reminder of the atrocities of war, this incident questioned everything that was right and wrong about the Iraq war. In a new publication, The Secrets of Abu Ghraib Revealed: American Soldiers on Trial, authors Michael Clemens and Christopher Graveline recount these human tragedies and provide an analysis of the Abu Ghraib inquisition that led to the convictions of more than 10 service members.

Clemens was on active duty in Iraq when the charges were broadcast worldwide. He served as a military policeman and investigator for the Army for more than 22 years before becoming the prosecution team’s special investigator at Abu Ghraib. For his successful fact-finding mission, Clemens received the Meritorious Service Medal and the Legion of Merit, the armed forces’ sixth-highest award, which is given for outstanding service and accomplishment. No longer with the Army, Clemens, a native of New Berlin, Wis., now works as a federal agent in Milwaukee.

The Secrets of Abu Ghraib Revealed: American Soldiers on Trial is a frank look at a disturbing part of our history that probes the minds of the abusers and the scholarship of warfare, and scrutinizes how these unforgettable images have impacted the conflicts of today. Clemens will discuss his book at Boswell Book Co. on Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.