Reviews

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

maxcooper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

saralil's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Police brutality

erickibler4's review against another edition

5.0

An eye-opening report on the history of for-profit prisons in the U.S., half history an half first-person investigative reporting. It's all fairly disturbing. And absorbing.

Bauer's adventure as an undercover reporter working for four months as a prison corrections officer would make a great movie.

ollie_gore's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.0

yeohye's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars

christine642's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.75

brea_by_the_beach's review against another edition

4.0

Excellent investigative reporting from a writer who spent time working as a corrections officer in a state privately owned prison. Part of his writing included chapters devoted to how private prisons developed historically and how people were incarcerated and treated there. The deeply entrenched racism still in existence today which is reflected in the disproportionate incarceration of people of color has historic roots. I was fascinated to see how it began and how even when Slavery was outlawed, it was still effectively practiced through the private prison system.

stuartjash's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

kgmartinez's review against another edition

4.0

Absolutely horrifying that there are for-profit prisons that exist. An eye opening book on so many levels.

wynne_ronareads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0