SKU: 3984145651

American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey Into the Business of Punishment

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American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey Into the Business of PunishmentAn enraging, necessary look at the private prison system, and a convincing clarion call for prison reform." NPR. org New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018 * One of President Barack Obama's favorite books of 2018 * Winner of the 2019 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize * Winner of the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism * Winner of the 2019 RFK Book and Journalism Award * A New York Times Notable Book A ground breaking and brave

An enraging, necessary look at the private prison system, and a convincing clarion call for prison reform." --NPR.org

New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018 * One of President Barack Obama's favorite books of 2018 * Winner of the 2019 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize * Winner of the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism * Winner of the 2019 RFK Book and Journalism Award * A New York Times Notable Book

A ground-breaking and brave inside reckoning with the nexus of prison and profit in America: in one Louisiana prison and over the course of our country's history.

In 2014, Shane Bauer was hired for $9 an hour to work as an entry-level prison guard at a private prison in Winnfield, Louisiana. An award-winning investigative journalist, he used his real name; there was no meaningful background check. Four months later, his employment came to an abrupt end. But he had seen enough, and in short order he wrote an expos about his experiences that won a National Magazine Award and became the most-read feature in the history of the magazine Mother Jones. Still, there was much more that he needed to say. In American Prison, Bauer weaves a much deeper reckoning with his experiences together with a thoroughly researched history of for-profit prisons in America from their origins in the decades before the Civil War. For, as he soon realized, we can't understand the cruelty of our current system and its place in the larger story of mass incarceration without understanding where it came from. Private prisons became entrenched in the South as part of a systemic effort to keep the African-American labor force in place in the aftermath of slavery, and the echoes of these shameful origins are with us still.

The private prison system is deliberately unaccountable to public scrutiny. Private prisons are not incentivized to tend to the health of their inmates, or to feed them well, or to attract and retain a highly-trained prison staff. Though Bauer befriends some of his colleagues and sympathizes with their plight, the chronic dysfunction of their lives only adds to the prison's sense of chaos. To his horror, Bauer finds himself becoming crueler and more aggressive the longer he works in the prison, and he is far from alone.

A blistering indictment of the private prison system, and the powerful forces that drive it, American Prison is a necessary human document about the true face of justice in America.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 06/11/2019
ISBN: 9780735223608
Pages: 368
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 1.00d
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SKU: 3984145651

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Starry
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 3
Happy for now but not impressed
Configuration: Fire TV Soundbar
So, I have a insignia fire tv so you would think an Amazon fire soundbar would work perfectly? It was particularly hard to set up, but the issue was that tv speakers wouldn't switch off so I would have an echoing, double effect of audio. The setting said they were off, but they were not. In fact, I couldn't even switch them off normally. Even with nothing connected, I switch them off and still get sound pushed through. I kept trying to fix it. What I had to do was: 1) Settings 2) HDMI-CEC control 3) Switch One Touch Play off 4) Turn off Soundbar 5) Set Volume to 0 6) Turn Soundbar back on That seem to let the soundbar function independently, get rid of the echoing, and get everything to work as described. The downside, the volume will only go up and down at 2 intervals despite what I set it to internally. And, there is no easy way to switch between the TV and sound bar for audio without screwing up the good result I got after working all day on it. Also, make sure you plug into your first HDMI port/Arc port. I had my gaming console set up and didn't realize my intital issue of no sound was the fact that I needed to swap the ports. Frankly, being an Amazon soundbar with and Amazon TV that specifically has a set up for it. I would say the functionality kind of sucks because it it should just work, like it says it should, by following the instructions without having to search up and down for way to keep both audios from playing. Like, the setting say the internal speakers were off despite being a lie and that setting effected nothing. It made it more difficult them it needed to get it to work somewhat normally. I would prefer to set it so volume interval is 1 but I guess to make this usable I am stuck at 2 everytime. And, I better hope that nothing changes and messes it up again in a update to the TV. The sound itself is a improvement, and there is a marked difference between regular and surround sound. It sort of like watching TV versus going to a theater. It terms of the way it fills the room and hits your ear. I can't say that the movie, music, dialogue settings seem to different to me. The size is okay. It just tall enough to not block my screen. The length is just about the size of my dresser. Depth is about 3.5 inches so as long as you have another room in front or to push back your TV, you will be fine. Overall, it is nice but I am not sure if I am total happy I bought it considering it was almost $90 for what I would categorize as works okay. I feel like for that price, and the fact I specifically bought Amazon for the fact I thought it would better with fire tv, that I am not blown away. Happy for now, but not impressed.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2025
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Rocket Man
Boise, US
★★★★★ 5
Pretty good unit for my PC
Configuration: Fire TV Soundbar
Not bad little unit. I didn't buy for my TV but rather for my desktop as I kind of got annoyed with wearing headphones to just either listen to tunes or more importantly watch tutorials or other problem solving methods for my work. Many of the other units I see are super long making them unusable in this situation but this one is nice and short and sounds just as good as others. Unless you're truly an audio perfectionist I feel that the vast majority of sound bars are pretty much indistinguishable from each other. I also like how this unit is relatively easy to use and has the optical audio port I like to use. It's also not super light like some of the really cheap Chinese ones I've gotten over the years. It's only matters to me as if things are too light and cheap they either move or shift super easy which always kind of annoys me. Overall a pretty good bang for my buck. We'll see how it holds up over time. Although being a speaker I expected to almost be immortal.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2026
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RD
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
Sound is great and easy to hook up
Configuration: Fire TV Soundbar
It took a total of two minutes to have this thing powered up and working on my TV. For such a low price, I could not believe the sound that this thing puts out in a large bedroom 18’X21’. With being able to select the different sound on the equalizer, it really helped make the sound sound like a much more expensive unit. I listened to music, movies, and the news and they all sound great. I don’t know why this thing got negative reviews but for the size, price and not having a sub, I have never heard a better sounding one. You will not be disappointed, unless you are a serious audio nerd. I would definitely buy another one if need be.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2026
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H2Odog477
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Asurion worked when needed!
My faithful dust buster broke and the nozzle wouldn't stay attached to the vacuum. I used my Asurion extension and they took care of it quickly with no hassle. Thanks
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Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2026
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Roger I
Boise, US
★★★★★ 5
Great coverage, easy to use, quick response to requests
Great service. Very easy to request and quick to receive a resolution. Their website is a bit confusing, it seems to default to mobile phone inquiries, there is another section to request service on other items. I will definitely purchase protection in the future.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2025

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