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247 reviews for:
Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
Heather Ann Thompson
4.52 AVERAGE
247 reviews for:
Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
Heather Ann Thompson
4.52 AVERAGE
4.5 stars. Impeccably researched and completely disturbing. This was an incredible undertaking by the author and I'm not sure I've ever had my jaw drop so many times during a book. This thing won the Pullitzer for a reason. I won't forget this book anytime soon.
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An infuriating, sickening story from American history that's very thoroughly presented here. There's a serious amount of information here, yet it's made quite clear that there's even more that's been purposely kept from the public. It's plenty to get a person riled up and be flabbergasted by how poorly the state of New York handled anything regarding pre-, during, and post-situation. And that's putting it mildly.
I thought this was going to be a 4-star book, but it lost some points because, in about the last four sections, all the legal proceedings became rather dry and repetitive. There were a bit too many times when an anecdote or detail was shared, and it'd be like, "Okay, yeah, we've heard that five times already" or "We don't need to have re-explained who this very key figure is." So, word economy could have been attended to better, and perhaps some more efficient summarization could have been done.
Instead of the legal battles being so painstakingly laid out, I thought it might have been more useful to give more attention to the legacy of this uprising, which was really only covered in nine pages or so of the epilogue. There's a lot that could have been elaborated on, though, regarding prison reform (of lack of it), modern-day incarceration in America, prisoner rights, etc. and how what happened at Attica in 1971 impacted all of that.
I thought this was going to be a 4-star book, but it lost some points because, in about the last four sections, all the legal proceedings became rather dry and repetitive. There were a bit too many times when an anecdote or detail was shared, and it'd be like, "Okay, yeah, we've heard that five times already" or "We don't need to have re-explained who this very key figure is." So, word economy could have been attended to better, and perhaps some more efficient summarization could have been done.
Instead of the legal battles being so painstakingly laid out, I thought it might have been more useful to give more attention to the legacy of this uprising, which was really only covered in nine pages or so of the epilogue. There's a lot that could have been elaborated on, though, regarding prison reform (of lack of it), modern-day incarceration in America, prisoner rights, etc. and how what happened at Attica in 1971 impacted all of that.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
This is a devastatingly difficult yet essential book to read. I cannot fathom the amount of research and work it took to put together such a thorough and unwaveringly stark and truthful account of the 1971 Attica rebellion. I am truly thankful to Thompson for her work, and the victims will be present in my mind for a long time.
This book is the definitive book on the Attica Prison uprising that occurred in September of 1971. After enduring years of excessive abuse and disregard for basic human rights, 1,300 incarcerated men overtook the prison in an effort to bring awareness to the need for prison reform and basic living conditions. What ensued during the protest was a debacle on the part of state police that led to deaths among prisoners, guards, and staff as well as brutal retaliation and excessive physical and mental abuse. The overtaking of the prison by NYSP also led to a major coverup that likely is still going on today.
Heather Ann Thompson meticulously scoured reports, trial transcripts, notes, papers, files, and conducted many oral history interviews with the people involved, as well as with the lawyers and judges who navigated the court system in an effort to bring justice to those who deserved it and reparations for the abused and families of the deceased.
In great detail, Thompson covers the days leading up to the uprising, the days of the uprising and retaking by NYSP, and the myriad of court cases that followed. I have never read a historical book that was so thoroughly researched and written. It is deserving of its Pulitzer Prize.
The lasting impression of this book is that there is a great need for prison reform.
Heather Ann Thompson meticulously scoured reports, trial transcripts, notes, papers, files, and conducted many oral history interviews with the people involved, as well as with the lawyers and judges who navigated the court system in an effort to bring justice to those who deserved it and reparations for the abused and families of the deceased.
In great detail, Thompson covers the days leading up to the uprising, the days of the uprising and retaking by NYSP, and the myriad of court cases that followed. I have never read a historical book that was so thoroughly researched and written. It is deserving of its Pulitzer Prize.
The lasting impression of this book is that there is a great need for prison reform.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Thompson's meticulous, incriminating research for this book spanned over a damn decade and brought home the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes, which sounds about right only after you finish the tome and can properly appreciate the long tradition of Attica prisoners and hostage families in waiting OVER FORTY YEARS (and!! counting!!!!) for any semblance of justice.
I knew nothing about the name, place, or meaning of Attica until this book came on my radar but let me tell you now — if you read only one history book as a result of social media pressure or curiosity about #8toAbolition and the reasons prison and our incarceration state benefit no one except those who live to make a buck off targeted incrimination, READ. BLOOD. IN. THE. WATER — links to Black-owned bookstores
I lived breathed and raged this book on my thru-hike and am proud to be known as Gal With Lots of State-Sponsored Massacre Book Recommendations because of it and the traumatic legacies of others like it (insert plug for #OnStolenLand and [b:Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West|76401|Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee An Indian History of the American West|Dee Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388209846l/76401._SY75_.jpg|1240262]). Contact me personally for curated disintegrations into required reading content. I simply cannot do Thompson the disservice of reviewing her book, an absolutely exhaustive lifetime effort, without affording myself the dignity of 40 pages of footnotes + doodle pages for the times I was so sick with the images of prisoner torture I had to hit pause, step off trail, and sit for a couple seconds before moving on.
I don't care what you think you know about cops and prison divestment right now or if you read two books on antiracism in June. I need you to read this book, then send it to your white employers, coworkers and family for their birthdays and holidays and donate to Black activists and clap back against your Aunt Becky on Facebook for once if you're feeling frisky. Do what you need to do. Just read this book first.
I knew nothing about the name, place, or meaning of Attica until this book came on my radar but let me tell you now — if you read only one history book as a result of social media pressure or curiosity about #8toAbolition and the reasons prison and our incarceration state benefit no one except those who live to make a buck off targeted incrimination, READ. BLOOD. IN. THE. WATER — links to Black-owned bookstores
I lived breathed and raged this book on my thru-hike and am proud to be known as Gal With Lots of State-Sponsored Massacre Book Recommendations because of it and the traumatic legacies of others like it (insert plug for #OnStolenLand and [b:Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West|76401|Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee An Indian History of the American West|Dee Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388209846l/76401._SY75_.jpg|1240262]). Contact me personally for curated disintegrations into required reading content. I simply cannot do Thompson the disservice of reviewing her book, an absolutely exhaustive lifetime effort, without affording myself the dignity of 40 pages of footnotes + doodle pages for the times I was so sick with the images of prisoner torture I had to hit pause, step off trail, and sit for a couple seconds before moving on.
I don't care what you think you know about cops and prison divestment right now or if you read two books on antiracism in June. I need you to read this book, then send it to your white employers, coworkers and family for their birthdays and holidays and donate to Black activists and clap back against your Aunt Becky on Facebook for once if you're feeling frisky. Do what you need to do. Just read this book first.