American Furies

In this disturbing yet elegant expos of U.S. penitentiaries and their surrounding communities Sasha Abramsky shows how American prisons have abandoned their long-held ideal of rehabilitation often for political reasons. After surveying our current state of affairs-life sentences for nonviolent crimes appalling conditions for inmates the growth of private prisons the treatment of juveniles-Abramsky argues that our punitive policies are not only inhuman but deeply counterproductive. Brilliantly researched and compellingly told American Furies reveals the devastating consequences of a society that believes in lock ''em up and throw away the key.