Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

No Human Contact: Solitary Confinement, Maximum Security, and Two Inmates Who Changed the System by Pete Earley

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.25

An excellent and engaging study on the isolating life of men in maximum security prisons in the US and how it impacts a human, being kept in lifelong solitary confinement. 
 
Following the life of Thomas Edward Silverstein with candid interviews and evidence that really gives an insight into his life. Silverstein is kept in a basement cell with no human contact in perpetuity, but how did he get here and is there a ‘cause’ that led him along this road, he has undeniably had a life of abuse at the hands of both the prison system and those that were supposed to protect him as a child, regardless of this his incarceration in this manner is nothing less than inhumane and at times torturous. 
 
This book delves into his past, his relationships, changes throughout his life and what he has experienced through spending the majority of his life incarcerated. It makes pulls no punches no apologies for Silverstein’s behaviours, but in turn shines a glaring light on the failures and the extremely problematic systems used within the US Prison system. It was educational, shocking, abhorrent and terribly sad all at once. A fantastically researched piece of writing which kept me engaged throughout. As Silverstein himself said ‘You can’t put us in cages and treat us like animals, not expect repercussions’ 
 
The narrator was excellent and a good pick for this type of book. 
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