Inside
Life Behind Bars in America
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4.3 • 37 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
American jails and prisons confine nearly 13.5 million people each year, and it is estimated that 6 to 7 percent of the U.S. population will be confined in their lifetimes. Despite these disturbing numbers, little is known about life inside beyond the mythology of popular culture.
Michael G. Santos, a federal prisoner nearing the end of his second decade of continuous confinement, has dedicated the last eighteen years to shedding light on the lives of the men warehoused in the American prison system. Inside: Life Behind Bars in America, his first book for the general public, takes us behind those bars and into the chaos of the cellblock.
Capturing the voices of his fellow prisoners with perfect pitch, Santos makes the tragic--- and at times inspiring---stories of men from the toughest gang leaders to the richest Wall Street criminals come alive. From drug schemes, murders for hire, and even a prostitution ring that trades on the flesh of female prison guards, this book contains the never-before-seen details of prison life that at last illuminate the varied ways in which men experience life behind bars in America.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1987, during the height of the Reagan administration's "Just say no" campaign, 21-year-old Santos received a 45-year sentence for his involvement in the distribution of large amounts of cocaine. Now, after nearly 20 years in jail, Santos has devoted himself to making the best out of his incarceration. Having received a B.A. and M.A. from accredited universities, he spends much of his free time reading and writing about the U.S. criminal system. Here, he uses his insider perspective to provide a blunt, often disturbing look at America's prison system. More anecdotal than personal or analytical, his account illustrates the presence of gangs, drugs, prostitution and rape in prison through a series of dramatized stories. Although the dialogue is at times overwrought, the stories themselves are shocking and illuminating. Together they paint a picture of prison culture and its dehumanizing effects on the people who live within it. The book also functions beyond its role as an expos , effectively questioning the efficacy of modern prisons. Santos rejects the idea that the "correctional system" does much correcting, and provides repeated examples of the sense of hopelessness inmates suffer during their sentences.
Customer Reviews
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Inside
Great book! I loved how real it was to the reader made you feel like you were there. I read these types of books because my brother has been locked up for almost 12 yrs off and on and it helps me understand what he has to deal with. I pray for all the men and women in prison maybe God be with them. Don't judge a book by its cover God calls us to love all his children even when they fall short.
Great
I read this book years ago, glad I found it again! Amazing book that satisfies the natural curiosity of what life is like inside the walls of American prisons. Honest and raw experiences of life on the inside by a man sentenced to a 45 year federal prison sentence when just a kid in the 80's for cocaine distribution. A MUST READ for anyone curious about the topic!