What's Prison For?: Punishment and Rehabilitation in the Age of Mass Incarceration
- Downloads：5078
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-11 19:21:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Bill Keller
- ISBN：B09SCZXCF1
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Martine
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3。5/5This book is a solid overview of some of the issues facing the incarceration system in the United States。 The primary focus is the lack of rehabilitative access for those spending time in prison。 The book benefitted from the well-researched and thorough descriptions of programs around the world and the country where some of these issues are successfully being addressed。 I did appreciate the discussions about how COVID-19 has impacted rehabilitative programs in prisons， as well as general ef 3。5/5This book is a solid overview of some of the issues facing the incarceration system in the United States。 The primary focus is the lack of rehabilitative access for those spending time in prison。 The book benefitted from the well-researched and thorough descriptions of programs around the world and the country where some of these issues are successfully being addressed。 I did appreciate the discussions about how COVID-19 has impacted rehabilitative programs in prisons， as well as general effects on prison safety arising from the pandemic。 Overall， this book is a strong work of journalism that can be used as a good introduction to a series of incredibly complex problems。 I did feel that this book failed to hit some topics within the narrow scope of the project。 In particular， the book largely glossed over the stigma of a criminal record。 It mentioned "ban the box" and had a few specific anecdotes about housing issues， but may have benefitted from a stronger section about how these issues then lead to incarceration。 In other words， more discussion about the cycle of incarceration could have been helpful to readers。 Additionally， the book touched on several parts of prison life that could give people trauma but did not fully explain what trauma means for people either while still in prison or once released。 These are a few things that came to my mind while reading。 I'd definitely recommend this book to someone looking for an easily understandable first reading about American mass incarceration。 。。。more
Dona
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。。。[D]ecades of studies identify four main conditions that foretell violent behavior: shame， isolation， exposure to violence， and a diminished ability to meet one's economic needs。 。。。Those are defining characteristics of life in American prison。 p30WHAT'S PRISON FOR？ is very well done， but it's a difficult read。 It's short， precise， and brilliantly researched， but I needed almost a month to finish it。 That's because it's dense in the way that I felt in my own chest。 No matter where one comes do 。。。[D]ecades of studies identify four main conditions that foretell violent behavior: shame， isolation， exposure to violence， and a diminished ability to meet one's economic needs。 。。。Those are defining characteristics of life in American prison。 p30WHAT'S PRISON FOR？ is very well done， but it's a difficult read。 It's short， precise， and brilliantly researched， but I needed almost a month to finish it。 That's because it's dense in the way that I felt in my own chest。 No matter where one comes down on the issues of mass incarceration in the US and the political maneuvers throughout US history that have fueled and funded it， it's not likely you can consider the information included in this book without feeling empathy for the prisoners， the guards， their families， even administrators tasked with meeting ever conflicting demands。One of Keller's primary purposes for WHAT'S PRISON FOR？ is to argue that inmate rehabilitation should be prison's primary function。 To support his idea， Keller provides ample evidence through reports from European prison models and special programs run in sections of US prisons。 In these kinds of programs--which include therapy， addiction treatment， parenting classes， education like GED and college prep programs as well as college courses--prisoners can find ways to change their behaviors and belief patterns， instead of reentering society "。。。so accustomed to being compliant that they had lost the ability to make elementary choices--how to organize your day， let alone your life" p69。 Keller does an excellent job of presenting this difficult subject from a number of perspectives， while always keeping in view his all important goal of relieving the existing hardships of the most overlooked and disenfranchised population in the US: convicted prisoners。 This requires both extraordinary delicacy and careful and thorough research， which make this book both readable and fascinating， if not necessarily a page-turner。Thank you Netgalley for my ARC。Trigger warnings below。Rating 4。5 stars， rounded upFinished August 2022Recommended for fans of journalistic nonfiction， progressive themes， social justice themesTriggers: prison， jail， arrest， police and guards， and mention of the following: violence， SA， physical and emotional abuse， alcohol and drugs， child abuse and neglect， I couldn't list them all probably*Follow my Instagram book blog for all my reviews， challenges， and book lists！ http://www。instagram。com/donasbooks * 。。。more
Danielle
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This is a short and to the point view of our mass incarceration problem in America。 It was really impressive because it has very recent information， not statistics that are already old by the time they’re published。This is an important topic， especially at a moment when one side of the political aisle actually believes there is an under-incarceration problem。 We don’t give people who are struggling many options here。 People with mental health problems or those suffering from addiction are thrown This is a short and to the point view of our mass incarceration problem in America。 It was really impressive because it has very recent information， not statistics that are already old by the time they’re published。This is an important topic， especially at a moment when one side of the political aisle actually believes there is an under-incarceration problem。 We don’t give people who are struggling many options here。 People with mental health problems or those suffering from addiction are thrown in the clink， the same as someone who’s committed a violent crime。 This takes you through the history of incarceration。 What it was meant to be and what it’s become through fear-mongering politicians and overcrowding， in part due to lack of access to adequate legal representation。 It’s always wild to me hearing a prosecutor brag about their “flawless” record， knowing it means they’ve locked up some innocents and that we pay them with our tax dollars to convict us of crimes they can’t reasonably think we committed。 Many are tricked into accepting bad deals from the fear of prosecutorial bullying and biases of juries。 There is a lot of information in a small package here。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review。 。。。more
Boo
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As someone who has read a lot about the prison crisis， I found this book laid out the recent history of the system in a very digestible way that would be very useful if someone had never read about the copy before。 It did a good job at including more recent data and speaking to individuals who had been in the system
Janalyn Prude
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What’s Prison For by Bob Keller， it’s a discussion and text about what is the point of prisons and what do we hope to gain by locking people up？ I was happy to see that Mr。 Keller put all opinions in this book and although I think it was a parent which side of the lane he stood， Both sides were represented。 Although I didn’t agree with most of the opinions I do realize that getting a detention system that works is a very delicate dance。 We can’t make them too comfortable and enjoyable because th What’s Prison For by Bob Keller， it’s a discussion and text about what is the point of prisons and what do we hope to gain by locking people up？ I was happy to see that Mr。 Keller put all opinions in this book and although I think it was a parent which side of the lane he stood， Both sides were represented。 Although I didn’t agree with most of the opinions I do realize that getting a detention system that works is a very delicate dance。 We can’t make them too comfortable and enjoyable because then people will be getting arrested just a nice place to live and food to eat， but then again most of the people in prison deserve another chance in these mandatory senators is a cookie-cutter policy that isn’t working。 I also think private prisons are ridiculous people invest money to make money and they make money off the backs of humans to me that is a form of slavery。 It’s a throwback to the Jim Crow days when white and black men were arrested to make chain gangs to make money for wealthy businessman。 I want to say that I know according to the race charts the prisoners are mostly brown and black and I think that is a side effect of a bigger problem。 It stems from stereotyping and how people think about the world around them。 If you think the world is only as big as a street you live on you’re going to live accordingly， but I think if you get to see the world has a bigger place your whole attitude changes。 I also think if we could catch children with their very young and not focus on our differences but the things we have in common no sympathy and empathy would grow。 We fear the unknown and embrace The familiar。 I think it is child abuse when you teach a child to hate when you neglect them they have to come up with opinions on their own。 OK… I’m going to step down from my soapbox I apologize。 I think this book is worth reading it should be mandatory for college students。 I was given this book by Nick Galli and Bob Keller the author and I I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any errors as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own。 。。。more
Pauline Stout
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*** Free copy given in exchange for an honest review ***This book is an exploration of the American prison system。 It goes into a brief history of jails/prisons and how they work and function。 It talks about the reasons that people are put into jail in the first place and whether or not the current system is effective at achieving any of those。 It shows some positive aspects of several Europe prison systems and how those positive could be brought to the States to make out system better。 It takes *** Free copy given in exchange for an honest review ***This book is an exploration of the American prison system。 It goes into a brief history of jails/prisons and how they work and function。 It talks about the reasons that people are put into jail in the first place and whether or not the current system is effective at achieving any of those。 It shows some positive aspects of several Europe prison systems and how those positive could be brought to the States to make out system better。 It takes about how education and rehab services could help ease peoples entrance to mainstream life after they leave jail/prison。 It looks at the differences between and men and womens prison/jail。 It briefly dips into how Covid affected the penitentiary system。 And it also talks about how the job affects the officers that work there。I absolutely loved this book and blew through it in a day。 It’s very well written and feels well researched。 There are points that you are going to get angry/frustrated because it does such a good job showing how frustrating the American penitentiary system can be。 It’s interesting to dip into the European systems but the book sees them with rose colored glasses。 It only talks about the positives and no negatives。 It does a good job of humanizing the people that it talks about。 Overall I highly recommend this book for nonfiction readers and people that like reading about the penitentiary system。 。。。more
josie
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rated: 4 starsas an australian with little to no understanding of the cruelty of the american prison system， this was an incredibly eye-opening read。 there is some really deep expertise in this book， and one of its strengths was that the experts that it used to talk about prison reform were mostly people who had been incarcerated themselves and were now working in the area professionally。 there was no shying away from the idea that the prison system needs reform， and the wide variety of viewpoin rated: 4 starsas an australian with little to no understanding of the cruelty of the american prison system， this was an incredibly eye-opening read。 there is some really deep expertise in this book， and one of its strengths was that the experts that it used to talk about prison reform were mostly people who had been incarcerated themselves and were now working in the area professionally。 there was no shying away from the idea that the prison system needs reform， and the wide variety of viewpoints of just how far that reform needed to go， stretching all the way to abolition， was really interesting to read and learn about。 the one thing i think that was missing from this book was exploration， or even just reasons， of what the negatives of the nordic prison systems are。 it was great to see examples of how prison reform internationally had worked and how passionate activists were using that， but i struggle to believe that there is a perfect system for incarceration， and am now very curious about what these flaws could be。overall， i think this was a great entry read into understanding america's incarceration system， and learning about this from the viewpoint of how can we reform it was a really strong way to introduce me to what the underlying problems of the prison system in america are。 I got an advanced copy of this book from Columbia Global Reports through NetGalley。 。。。more
Andréa
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