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sbahour's review
5.0
You WILL NOT be able to put this book down until you finish reading it. A damning peek into the U.S. justice and corrections systems.
marc_lucke's review against another edition
3.0
Most of this book feels like a cross between a thesis and a historical document: documenting an event for posterity while simultaneously constructing an argument for an alternative narrative. Unfortunately, this results in a dense and frequently dry read.
Lynd diligently builds his argument, exhaustively detailing all of the supporting evidence. Honestly, I often found myself skimming some of the depositions, sworn statements, photographic evidence and court transcripts while muttering "okay, I'll take your word for it."
However, in chapter seven he makes a passionate and deeply moving plea for a recognition, not only of the prisoners' inalienable humanity, but also for the lessons which we can take from the prisoners' example. The extent to which inmates—who had previously defined themselves almost exclusively by A) race and B) affiliation to violent race-based gangs like the Aryan Brotherhood—collaborated across racial lines is astonishing. This chapter alone makes the book a worthwhile read.
Lynd diligently builds his argument, exhaustively detailing all of the supporting evidence. Honestly, I often found myself skimming some of the depositions, sworn statements, photographic evidence and court transcripts while muttering "okay, I'll take your word for it."
However, in chapter seven he makes a passionate and deeply moving plea for a recognition, not only of the prisoners' inalienable humanity, but also for the lessons which we can take from the prisoners' example. The extent to which inmates—who had previously defined themselves almost exclusively by A) race and B) affiliation to violent race-based gangs like the Aryan Brotherhood—collaborated across racial lines is astonishing. This chapter alone makes the book a worthwhile read.
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