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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
An insightful and eye-opening look into how prisons operate and dispense justice around the world. Spoken through the view of an American professor, this book provides a wonderful look into what is being done and what can be done.
Creator of the Prison-to-College-Pipeline, Dreisinger seeks out how other prisons around the world operate in comparison to each other and in relation to how prisons in the U.S. run. There is the emphasis on peace in the previously ravaged by genocide Rwanda. The programs conducted in South Africa and Uganda that support writing and restoration. The workshops for women in Thailand and music programs in Jamaica. Of tough on crime mentality in Singapore, super-max facilities in Brazil, and private prisons in Australia. And of rehabilitation and community in Norway. All of this is covered in this wonderful book that encompasses so much of what is going on in the world and relating it back to U.S. readers who might only have one view on how prisons run. Without a doubt, the U.S. prison system is flawed and has a great many things wrong/unjust about it. Yet, in seeing how other prisons operate, detailing the history of how each nation cultivated their own prisons through influence or history, brought to light how everything interconnects and yet is different in various ways. I found each section fascinating and detailed with Dreisinger's descriptions and humanitarian look at prisons. Without a doubt, there is heart in this author and she displays it as she conducts personal interviews and strives to find all the truth that is held in each prison. It was interesting to read that the U.S. is not necessarily the best when it comes to incarceration, but nor is it the worst. There is a lot that can be learned from each location, a lot that can be gained and removed from each to make a consistent form of rehabilitation for those found guilty of crimes. I found Dreisinger's conclusion at the end uplifting and a vision I can get on board with as sweeping changes need to come to the U.S. prison system.
By learning from others, we can better make ourselves. The endearing voice of the narrator and the voices of those interviewed ring true for that which must be done better.
Creator of the Prison-to-College-Pipeline, Dreisinger seeks out how other prisons around the world operate in comparison to each other and in relation to how prisons in the U.S. run. There is the emphasis on peace in the previously ravaged by genocide Rwanda. The programs conducted in South Africa and Uganda that support writing and restoration. The workshops for women in Thailand and music programs in Jamaica. Of tough on crime mentality in Singapore, super-max facilities in Brazil, and private prisons in Australia. And of rehabilitation and community in Norway. All of this is covered in this wonderful book that encompasses so much of what is going on in the world and relating it back to U.S. readers who might only have one view on how prisons run. Without a doubt, the U.S. prison system is flawed and has a great many things wrong/unjust about it. Yet, in seeing how other prisons operate, detailing the history of how each nation cultivated their own prisons through influence or history, brought to light how everything interconnects and yet is different in various ways. I found each section fascinating and detailed with Dreisinger's descriptions and humanitarian look at prisons. Without a doubt, there is heart in this author and she displays it as she conducts personal interviews and strives to find all the truth that is held in each prison. It was interesting to read that the U.S. is not necessarily the best when it comes to incarceration, but nor is it the worst. There is a lot that can be learned from each location, a lot that can be gained and removed from each to make a consistent form of rehabilitation for those found guilty of crimes. I found Dreisinger's conclusion at the end uplifting and a vision I can get on board with as sweeping changes need to come to the U.S. prison system.
By learning from others, we can better make ourselves. The endearing voice of the narrator and the voices of those interviewed ring true for that which must be done better.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Our criminal justice system needs a substantial overhaul. People receive lengthy prison sentences for nonviolent crimes and first-time drug offenses. It’s rather ridiculous. Death row wastes time and money. Solitary confinement deprives people in a cruel manner. The death penalty itself remains inhumane and barbaric.
Does prison work? Author Baz Dreisinger wanted to answer the question: She decided to examine what works and what does not work in prisons throughout the world. She also wanted to use these varied prisons to compare and highlight what’s wrong with the United States penal system, Dreisinger traveled to Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Jamaica, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, Singapore and Norway to find out what works, what doesn’t work and the state of the prisons throughout the world.
received copy for review from Other Press
--amy steele
complete review here: http://entertainmentrealm.com/2016/03/22/book-review-incarceration-nations/
Does prison work? Author Baz Dreisinger wanted to answer the question: She decided to examine what works and what does not work in prisons throughout the world. She also wanted to use these varied prisons to compare and highlight what’s wrong with the United States penal system, Dreisinger traveled to Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Jamaica, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, Singapore and Norway to find out what works, what doesn’t work and the state of the prisons throughout the world.
received copy for review from Other Press
--amy steele
complete review here: http://entertainmentrealm.com/2016/03/22/book-review-incarceration-nations/
I deeply admire this author, both for her life's work with the Prison-to-College Pipeline project, and the ambitious undertaking that is the subject of this book--a whirlwind tour of prisons in several country's prisons, from a horrific and inhumane supermax in Brazil to a more enlightened and truly rehabilitative prison in Norway. At first, I felt that the chapters for each prison visit, where Dreisinger sometimes taught writing workshops, or talked about education in prisons, were too quick. I wanted more depth, and to get to know more deeply the people she met. And that is a shortcoming of the book, but the cumulative effect of visiting so many prisons is, by the end of the book, an exhausstive testimony to the utter failure of prisons but also a more hopeful vision of what works far better than punishment--actual humane rehabilitation for most of those incarcerated. Ultimately, this is an important book in the global and national conversation of how we should treat people who have committed crimes, most of whom will rejoin society after their prison stays. Dreisinger's writing is fluid and at times eloquent and poetic, and she seamlessly weaves in relevant statistics and background that amplify the personal stories, and demonstrate her deep knowledge and experience in the fields of penology and education.
Not a perfect book by any means and I'd say it's more of a 3.5 -- but I enjoyed the scope of what the book covered and the writers clear passion for her field of work. If
You're worried about it being too dry, I would say this is more of a narrative account of a personal experience than a data/policy driven book.
You're worried about it being too dry, I would say this is more of a narrative account of a personal experience than a data/policy driven book.
Highly recommended if you are interested in mass incarceration on a global scale and the importance of colonialism and slavery in European, African and Asian Countries and their relationship to correctional/punitive systems.
Didn't need a white woman's opinions on countries of color and how she "feels them in her spirit".
Didn't need a white woman's opinions on countries of color and how she "feels them in her spirit".
informative
reflective
fast-paced