Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
From Ben Austen, the critically-acclaimed author of High-Risers, comes Correction, an urgent and intimately human investigation into the crisis of American criminal justice through the lens of parole...
Synopsis
From the critically acclaimed author of High-Risers comes an urgent and intimately human investigation into the crisis of American criminal justice through the lens of parole.
The United States, a single country, locks up a quarter of the world's incarcerated population. More than 850,000 Americans are currently on parole. Yet the parole system is opaque, a confounding process riddled with inequities. Few understand parole as the extraordinary pivot point it is-both in the country's changing conceptions of justice and in the cycle of mass incarceration.
Through its portraits of two men, imprisoned for murder, and the parole board that holds their freedom in the balance, Correction offers a behind-the-curtain look at the process of parole. Austen's engaging storytelling forces a reckoning with some of the most profound questions underlying the country's values around crime and punishment. What must someone who commits a terrible act do to get a second chance? What does incarceration seek to accomplish? An illuminating work of narrative nonfiction, Correction challenges us to consider for ourselves why and who we punish-and how we might find a way out of an era of mass imprisonment.
PRAISE for Austen's previous book High-Risers: Ben Austen's High-Risers is not merely the definitive history of the life and death of America's most iconic housing project, but a clear-eyed assessment of what happened to public housing as a national ideal and why it happened. (David Simon, creator of The Wire)
Synopsis
FROM THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF HIGH-RISERS comes a groundbreaking and honest investigation into the crisis of the American criminal justice system-through the lens of parole. Perfect for fans of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow and Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy
The United States, alone, locks up a quarter of the world's incarcerated people. And yet apart from clich s--paying a debt to society; you do the crime, you do the time--there is little sense collectively in America what constitutes retribution or atonement. We don't actually know why we punish.
Ben Austen's powerful exploration offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process of parole. Told through the portraits of two men imprisoned for murder, and the parole board the holds their freedom in the balance, Austen's unflinching storytelling forces us to reckon with some of the most profound questions underlying the country's values around crime and punishment. What must someone who commits a terrible act do to get a second chance? What does incarceration seek to accomplish?
An illuminating work of narrative nonfiction, Correction challenges us to consider for ourselves why and who we punish-and how we might find a way out of an era of mass imprisonment.
Synopsis
NYT EDITOR'S CHOICE - WASHINGTON POST BEST NONFICTION OF 2023 - FROM THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF HIGH-RISERS comes a groundbreaking and honest investigation into the crisis of the American criminal justice system-through the lens of parole. Perfect for fans of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow and Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy
"Correction ranks among the very best books on life inside and outside of prison I have ever read." ―Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted
"Correction provides a revelatory lens for examining mass incarceration." -The Washington Post
A Most Anticipated Book of 2023: Chicago Review of Books, The Chicago Tribune, The Next Big Idea Club
The United States, alone, locks up a quarter of the world's incarcerated people. And yet apart from clich s--paying a debt to society; you do the crime, you do the time--there is little sense collectively in America what constitutes retribution or atonement. We don't actually know why we punish.
Ben Austen's powerful exploration offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process of parole. Told through the portraits of two men imprisoned for murder, and the parole board that holds their freedom in the balance, Austen's unflinching storytelling forces us to reckon with some of the most profound questions underlying the country's values around crime and punishment. What must someone who commits a terrible act do to get a second chance? What does incarceration seek to accomplish?
An illuminating work of narrative nonfiction, Correction challenges us to consider for ourselves why and who we punish-and how we might find a way out of an era of mass imprisonment.