This concise and engaging book presents a critical perspective on the correctional system and the process of incarceration in the United States. Fleury-Steiner and Longazel emphasize the magnitude of mass imprisonment in the United States, especially of people of color, not by objective statistics and trends, but by the voices and lived experiences of individuals who live their harsh conditions on a daily basis. This is an ideal book for courses in corrections, social problems, criminology, and prisoner re-entry.

Preface / I. Introduction: Penal Oppression / II. Containment / III. Exploitation / IV. Coercion / V. Isolation / VI. Brutality / VII. Conclusion: Desperation / Appendix: Prisoner Rights Organizations

Benjamin Fleury-Steiner is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. For more than a decade, he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on inequality, mass imprisonment, and the death penalty. Fleury-Steiner's recent books include, Jury Stories of Death: How America's Death Penalty Invests in Inequality and Dying Inside: The HIV/AIDS Ward at Limestone Prison (both published by the University of Michigan Press).

Jamie Longazel is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at the University of Dayton. He teaches and conducts research in the areas of crime and punishment, law and inequality, and immigration. His recent publications have appeared in Punishment & Society, Sociology Compass, Chicana/o Latina/o Law Review, and Race & Justice.