Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2024
328 pages
Genre: Essays
Publication Information
A powerful critique of mass incarceration by the people who have experienced it
Inside Knowledge is the first book to examine the American prison system through the eyes of those who are trapped within it. Drawing from the writings collected in the American Prison Writing Archive, Doran Larson deftly illustrates how mass incarceration does less to contain any harm perpetrated by convicted people than to spread and perpetuate harm among their families and communities.
Inside Knowledge makes a powerful argument that America's prisons not only degrade and debilitate their wards but also defeat the prison's cardinal missions of rehabilitation, containment, deterrence, and even meaningful retribution.
If prisons are places where convicted people are sent to learn a lesson, then imprisoned people are the ones who know just what American prisons actually teach. At once profound and devastating, Inside Knowledge is an invaluable resource for those interested in addressing mass incarceration in America.
"As this compelling text shows, filling in longstanding silences about what prisons actually do may have far-reaching and desperately needed benefits for those inside and outside the institution's walls. Profound reflections on the unacknowledged inhumanity of the nation's prisons." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"A powerful indictment of American prisons for failing at their ostensible purpose: making us safer. What distinguishes this book and makes it so persuasive is the insight Larson has drawn from thousands of archived essays by the incarcerated themselves. Their testimony is vivid, infuriating, and profound." ―Bill Keller, Founding Editor of The Marshall Project
"Inside Knowledge is a necessity in the conversation on criminal justice reform. Larson builds a critical discourse rooted in the value of "witness" within the carceral state, underscoring the power of the hidden and hushed voice to deconstruct that which can be, at times, indestructible." ―Randall Horton, American Book Award winning author of #289-128: Poems
"Larson offers readers a window into the brutal realities concealed within prison walls by exposing the grim wisdom that incarcerated individuals have for so long carried in silence. In so doing, he illuminates the gap in public perception between the peace that prisons supposedly deliver and the destruction they actually wreak, thereby chipping away at the misconceptions that fuel the machine of mass incarceration." ―Marc M. Howard, Founder and President of The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice
"Provides a devastating and heartbreaking account of the national nightmare of mass incarceration. Drawing on the insightful analysis of those behind bars, the book pinpoints the structural problem of American prisons, while also pointing us in the direction of a more effective―and compassionate―approach to public safety. Policymakers and the public alike need to hear this urgent call for change." ―Marc Mauer, author of Race to Incarcerate
This information about Inside Knowledge was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Doran Larson is Edward North Professor of Literature at Hamilton College. He is the author of Witness in the Era of Mass Incarceration, editor of Fourth City: Essays from the Prison in America, and founded and co-directs The American Prison Writing Archive (prisonwitness.org).
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