Inside Knowledge: Incarcerated People on the Failures of the American Prison

Inside Knowledge: Incarcerated People on the Failures of the American Prison - Paperback

$42.75
$42.75
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Inside Knowledge: Incarcerated People on the Failures of the American Prison
  • Inside Knowledge: Incarcerated People on the Failures of the American Prison
Inside Knowledge: Incarcerated People on the Failures of the American Prison - Paperback

Inside Knowledge: Incarcerated People on the Failures of the American Prison - Paperback

by Doran Larson
$42.75
$42.75

Book Overview

by Doran Larson (Author)

2025 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

A powerful critique of mass incarceration by the people who have experienced it

Inside Knowledge is the first book to examine the American prison system through the eyes of those who are trapped within it. Drawing from the writings collected in the American Prison Writing Archive, Doran Larson deftly illustrates how mass incarceration does less to contain any harm perpetrated by convicted people than to spread and perpetuate harm among their families and communities.

Inside Knowledge makes a powerful argument that America's prisons not only degrade and debilitate their wards but also defeat the prison's cardinal missions of rehabilitation, containment, deterrence, and even meaningful retribution.

If prisons are places where convicted people are sent to learn a lesson, then imprisoned people are the ones who know just what American prisons actually teach. At once profound and devastating, Inside Knowledge is an invaluable resource for those interested in addressing mass incarceration in America.

Author Biography

Doran Larson is Edward North Professor of Literature at Hamilton College. He is the author of Witness in the Era of Mass Incarceration, editor of Fourth City: Essays from the Prison in America, and founded and co-directs The American Prison Writing Archive (prisonwitness.org)

Number of Pages: 328
Dimensions: 0.73 x 9 x 6 IN
Publication Date: January 06, 2026
ISBN9781479818051
Author Doran Larson
PublisherNew York University Press
GenreEducation
FormatPaperback
PublishedJanuary 2026
LanguageENG- English
Pages328
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Language Arts & Disciplines Law Nonfiction Social Science

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