Reviews - American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey Into the Business of Punishment

469 reviews for:

American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey Into the Business of Punishment

thinking about mass incarceration and how it harms everything it touches except the corporations that profit from it. it harms people who are incarcerated, it harms people who work in carceral settings, it harms entire communities. we all deserve a better way forward.

whtbout2ndbrkfst's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

cab_reads's review against another edition

4.0

challenging informative

maludee's review against another edition

5.0

The author went undercover to work at Winn, a private prison in Louisiana for four months. He brought in recording equipment and hidden cameras, so was able to directly quote his colleagues, inmates, and bosses for the most part. There were so many moments in this book that were completely jaw dropping.

In between the segments about Bauer's experience in the prison, there's also a good overview of the history of prisons and especially private prisons in America that is well-researched and adds important context to the story.

I also didn't realize before starting this book that Bauer was one of the three Americans held in Iran for two years after getting caught hiking too close to the Iraq / Iran border. That added an extra layer to the story because Bauer had first-hand experience being imprisoned, and so was able to empathize with the inmates in a way that someone without that experience wouldn't have been able to. On top of the insanity he was observing in the prison, there was also a layer of tension as he struggled to balance the different components of himself - the prison guard, the undercover reporter, and the former inmate.

briannaburks's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

jthamilt's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

A very detailed exposé that reveals not just the obvious faults in the private prison industry but also the transformation and emotional toll a job such as the author’s can have. His experience mirrors other similar types of authority positions and is highly useful for anyone who is considering such a postion. I would have preferred he make a single section of the book a “background” chapter, as the current folding of one his experience and one background makes the book very choppy.