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aroberts714's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
sunwapta's review against another edition
4.0
This book is very educational. And i really appreciate that the book focuses on everything before and after incarceration as being the root of the problems. It does spend a little bit on correctional facilities, which are often considered to be the root of the problem behind mass incarceration of black and Brown people.
I do wish the book spent a little more time on success stories in programs, cases, etc that have positively stood against Jim Crow. That would have given more hope in the possibility of change. Instead, the book really focuses on all that went wrong and continues to go wrong. All true but it leaves very hope of real, life-altering changes. And maybe that’s the point - American will likely never be able to treat each other as equals…
I do wish the book spent a little more time on success stories in programs, cases, etc that have positively stood against Jim Crow. That would have given more hope in the possibility of change. Instead, the book really focuses on all that went wrong and continues to go wrong. All true but it leaves very hope of real, life-altering changes. And maybe that’s the point - American will likely never be able to treat each other as equals…
willa_reads_books's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.75
very informative but a little dense simply bc of content. everything is communicated clearly. i would definitely recommend this book
mitskacir's review against another edition
4.0
This is an extremely important and powerful book. Alexander's argument for how slavery evolved into the Jim Crow era which in turn grew into our current era of mass incarceration is expansive and convincing. The majority of the book explains the horrors of mass incarceration and the policies that have made it so, but the final chapter is truly the most powerful as Alexander explains the danger of colorblindness and racial indifference. I learned a lot from this book, both about American history and about how to view it, and now I need to think about what to do next.
jadebananas's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
daumari's review against another edition
5.0
There are plenty of other reviews that go into detail on why this is a worthwhile read. For me, this provided the legal cases, statistics, and laws that have turned mass incarceration into another form of a second class caste. Chapters are thoroughly cited with end notes in the back. Even though this was initially published 7 years ago, not much has changed and unfortunately remains relevant, especially in the age of a president who promises to bring "law and order" specifically to "troubled inner cities".
Not much else to say other than if you don't know much about the impact of the War on Drugs or what happens to citizens after they've been labeled as felons, this is a must read.
Not much else to say other than if you don't know much about the impact of the War on Drugs or what happens to citizens after they've been labeled as felons, this is a must read.
hillmeister's review against another edition
5.0
Michelle Alexander explains how our criminal justice system keeps minorities "caught in a closed circuit of perpetual marginality" and disenfranchisement. Alexander provides a meticulous analysis and highly original framework for understanding the legal structures and policies that allow this system to not only continue, but thrive.