Overview

Prison Nation is a distant dispatch from a foreign and forbidden place--the world of America's prisons. Written by prisoners, social critics and luminaries of investigative reporting, Prison Nation testifies to the current state of America's prisoners' living conditions and political concerns. These concerns are not normally the concerns of most Americans, but they should be. From substandard medical care the inadequacy of resources for public defenders to the death penalty, the issues covered in this volume grow more urgent every day. Articles by outstanding writers such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, Noam Chomsky, Mark Dow, Judy Green, Tracy Huling and Christian Parenti chronicle the injustices of prison privatization, class and race in the justice system, our quixotic drug war, the rarely discussed prison AIDS crisis and a judicial system that rewards mostly those with significant resources or the desire to name names. Correctional facilities have become a profitable growth industry, for companies like Wackenhut that run them and companies like Boeing that use cheap prison labor. With fascinating narratives, shocking tales and small stories of hope, Prison Nation paints a picture of a world many Americans know little or nothing about. In Prison Nation , editors Paul Wright and Tara Herivel have collected the finest pieces of investigative reporting on prisons from writers such as Noam Chomsky, Christian Parenti, Dan Savage, and Mumia Abu-Jamal.

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9780415935371

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Reviews

Prison Nation goes beyond the numbers to show the complex, interwoven reasons that have produced the prison-industrial complex. In every section of the book...readers will find solid reporting, gripping writing and political revelation. -- Ken Silverstein, from the Preface This riveting collection makes a compelling case that the United States has an INjustice system at work, and that it operates its own gulag within this supposedly free society, largely out of sight of its citizenry. The brutalities, cruelties and inhumanity widely prevalent in the way people are put in prison, kept there, degraded and mistreated, as recounted in this book's accounts of racist bias, medical care, prison labor, parole, rape, and the restraint chair, among many other topics, read like something out of Kafka and Solzenhitzyn. This important book is a shocker. -- Edward S. Herman, co-author of Manufacturing Consent An extraordinary collection of essays by some of our most astute observers of the American prison system. What they tell us is shocking and sobering, and their analysis forces to think beyond the cruelties of everyday prison life to the social forces behind those cruelties. This volume makes clear the connection between prisons and poverty, the class nature of the justice system. It is both a treasury of information and a profound examination of imprisonment in America. -- Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States Every American with any concern for justice and democracy ought to read this devastating book--but not right before bedtime. Prison Nation is a true horror story, a profound revelation of what the prison system is doing both to millions of poor Americans trapped in its no-exit nightmare and to America itself. But it is also an inspiring book, bringing together some of the most important work by dozens of dedicated scholars and activists. -- H. Bruce Franklin, John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies, Rutgers University This biography of Hurston is one of the best books I've read in years and I unabashedly highly recommend it. -- Jack Danger, The Portland Alliance Documents a sea change in the criminal justice system that is eroding out democratic and egalitarian foundations. -- Ruminator Review An outstanding new collection of essays by prison activists and social critics writing from both inside and outside prisons. -- Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures Prison Nation goes beyond the numbers to show the complex, interwoven reasons that have produced the prison-industrial complex. In every section of the book...readers will find solid reporting, gripping writing and political revelation. -- Ken Silverstein, from the Preface Every American with any concern for justice and democracy ought to read this devastating book--but not right before bedtime. Prison Nation is a true horror story, a profound revelation of what the prison system is doing both to millions of poor Americans trapped in its no-exit nightmare and to America itself. But it is also an inspiring book, bringing together some of the most important work by dozens of dedicated scholars and activists. -- H. Bruce Franklin, John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies, Rutgers University Documents a sea change in the criminal justice system that is eroding our democratic and egalitarian foundations. -- Ruminator Review

This biography of Hurston is one of the best books I've read in years and I unabashedly highly recommend it. <br>-Jack Danger, The Portland Alliance <br> Prison Nation<br> goes beyond the numbers to show the complex, interwoven reasons that have produced the prison-industrial complex. In every section of the book...readers will find solid reporting, gripping writing and political revelation. <br>-Ken Silverstein, from the Preface <br> This riveting collection makes a compelling case that the United States has an INjustice system at work, and that it operates its own gulag within this supposedly free society, largely out of sight of its citizenry. The brutalities, cruelties and inhumanity widely prevalent in the way people are put in prison, kept there, degraded and mistreated, as recounted in this book's accounts of racist bias, medical care, prison labor, parole, rape, and the restraint chair, among many other topics, read like something out of Kafka and Solzenhitzyn. This important book is a shocker. <br>-Edward S. Herman, co-author of Manufacturing Consent <br> An extraordinary collection of essays by some of our most astute observers of the American prison system. What they tell us is shocking and sobering, and their analysis forces to think beyond the cruelties of everyday prison life to the social forces behind those cruelties. This volume makes clear the connection between prisons and poverty, the class nature of the justice system. It is both a treasury of information and a profound examination of imprisonment in America. <br>-Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States <br> Every American with any concern for justice and democracy ought to read thisdevastating book--but not right before bedtime. Prison Nation is a true horror story, a profound revelation of what the prison system is doing both to millions of poor Americans trapped in its no-exit nightmare and to America itself. But it is also an inspiring book, bringing together some of the most important work by dozens of dedicated scholars and activists. <br>-H. Bruce Franklin, John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies, Rutgers University <br>

This biography of Hurston is one of the best books I've read in years and I unabashedly highly recommend it. -Jack Danger, The Portland Alliance Prison Nation goes beyond the numbers to show the complex, interwoven reasons that have produced the prison-industrial complex. In every section of the book...readers will find solid reporting, gripping writing and political revelation. -Ken Silverstein, from the Preface This riveting collection makes a compelling case that the United States has an INjustice system at work, and that it operates its own gulag within this supposedly free society, largely out of sight of its citizenry. The brutalities, cruelties and inhumanity widely prevalent in the way people are put in prison, kept there, degraded and mistreated, as recounted in this book's accounts of racist bias, medical care, prison labor, parole, rape, and the restraint chair, among many other topics, read like something out of Kafka and Solzenhitzyn. This important book is a shocker. -Edward S. Herman, co-author of Manufacturing Consent An extraordinary collection of essays by some of our most astute observers of the American prison system. What they tell us is shocking and sobering, and their analysis forces to think beyond the cruelties of everyday prison life to the social forces behind those cruelties. This volume makes clear the connection between prisons and poverty, the class nature of the justice system. It is both a treasury of information and a profound examination of imprisonment in America. -Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States Every American with any concern for justice and democracy ought to read thisdevastating book--but not right before bedtime. Prison Nation is a true horror story, a profound revelation of what the prison system is doing both to millions of poor Americans trapped in its no-exit nightmare and to America itself. But it is also an inspiring book, bringing together some of the most important work by dozens of dedicated scholars and activists. -H. Bruce Franklin, John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies, Rutgers University

Author Information

Paul Wright is a Washington state prisoner, jailhouse lawyer, political activist and journalist. Paul is the co-founder of Prison Legal News, a monthly magazine published since 1990 that is prisoner written, edited and published. His last book was The Celling of America. Tara Herivel is a prisoners' rights activist and lawyer who has written for Prison Legal News and other progressive periodicals in the Seattle area.

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