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Title: Inside Rikers : Stories from the World's Largest Penal Colony by Jennifer Wynn ISBN: 0-312-26179-9 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 25 July, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Inside Rikers - A Roller Coaster Ride
Comment: In the book, Inside Rikers, the author combines statistics with insightful stories of inmates she met while inside Rikers Prison. The stories of inmates are highlighted with social commentary and emphasize the need for social and prison reform.
A compassionate advocate for prison reform Wynn writes from the perspective of her experience while teaching at Rikers Prison and while visiting the homes and neighborhoods of the inmates, whose stories she tells. These stories are well written and come across as genuine.
The roller coaster ride of those caught up in the drug cycle, poverty, crime, and arrest is oppressive and disturbing. I especially appreciated insight the author provided into the Methadone "Keep Program". This is only one area of great concern and needed investigation Wynn exposed. The success stories of those who were able to rise above the circumstances are both inspirational and encouraging.
Another insight I received was the tendency for a total lack of conscience experienced by the criminal mind.
I was sorry to come to end of the book. I was stirred to want to take action. I could only wish the author had given more specific suggestions for steps members of the community can take to accomplish some of the reform needs she advocates. The extensive bibliography at the end of the book may be the starting place for finding this help.
I recommend this book to be read and reread by everyone in a position of influence that can affect high-risk neighborhoods and communities.
Rating: 3
Summary: A little too "bleeding heart" for me.....
Comment: Although extremely well written, Ms Wynn simply can't shake that "do good" naivete that permeates the privleged - that there's always a little good in everyone. Sorry Jennifer - Downright evil DOES exist - I've seen it during my own stint in Rikers Island(1979, 81-85 HDM, C-95 Clinic)as a medical professional. The corrections policy is far from perfect but, until we find the right approach, sociopaths MUST be kept from my family and yours.
Rating: 4
Summary: NYC-specific book about a countrywide dilemma
Comment: Insider Rikers is about the island jail that services NYC, and although much of Wynn's material is NYC-specific and her original evidence is all anecdotal, her stories of inmates trying to get out of the oppressive cycle of poverty, crime and conviction should be of universal concern. Her stories are eye-opening: Convicts consistently trying but often failing because of the temptations of addiction, pulling one over or earning a quick buck in an environment where jobs are scarce and ill-paying. Halfway through this book, it felt like she was preaching to the choir because I was utterly convinced of the problems of US jails. What was refreshing and hopeful about this book is that unlike with most social critics, Wynn's material comes from an author who is out there making a difference. Rather than writing from the lofty towers of academia or the safety of a full-time news writing gig, Wynn's stories are from her own experience in a program that is designed to help inmates reform. Wynn's stories that come from this program are sometimes heartbreaking and sometimes hopeful, but her overall portrait of the current prison system is bleak indeed.
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Title: Behind Bars: Surviving Prison by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Stephen C. Richards ISBN: 0028643518 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 07 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Hot House : Life Inside Leavenworth Prison by Pete Earley ISBN: 0553560239 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 February, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Newjack : Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover ISBN: 0375726624 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: You Got Nothing Coming: Notes from a Prison Fish by Jimmy A. Lerner ISBN: 0767909186 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 12 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Doing Time: 25 Years of Prison Writing-Aspen American Center Prize ... by Bell Gale Chevigny ISBN: 1559705140 Publisher: Arcade Books Pub. Date: 08 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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