chadstep's review
4.0
Relevant, highly so, now that she's the California Congresswoman. I knew about and experienced a lot of what was described in the book through her time as my state DA and local DA. I'm a fan--as her focus is decreasing recidivism, building empathy and compassion with victims and perpetrators, and accountability and logical consequences to crime. The book's division into the problems and myths we face, along with "smart" answers really brings her philosophy home and makes the criminal justice system in California, at least, have a basis in pedagogy and discipline and seeks to overcome the traditional "get tough on crime" or "wanted poster" approach used to describe the Western approach which, basically, has put more people in jail than we can justify.
civreader's review
3.0
Going to need a while to unpack this one. Many conflicting thoughts. Some interesting ideas, plenty that one can’t disagree with (e.g. the centrality and importance of education). Quite a few issues could be put down to structural/stylistic choices, but also... a fair few WTF moments, not backed up by sufficient evidence or numbers. Inconsistent use of statistics (there really should have been many more).
Also, too much management-speak. Buries the point, often, which makes it harder to see how the “smart” would actually improve situations. I could easily believe this began as a PowerPoint presentation and has been fleshed out.
I hope the author’s latest book is much better.
Also, too much management-speak. Buries the point, often, which makes it harder to see how the “smart” would actually improve situations. I could easily believe this began as a PowerPoint presentation and has been fleshed out.
I hope the author’s latest book is much better.
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