I picked this book off The New York Times’ 10 Best Books of 2018 list, after seeing one of my favorite reads ( Educated) included. “t has become clear that there has never been a time in American history in which companies or governments weren’t trying to make money from other people’s captivity” (6). At a high level, Bauer also demonstrates with key anecdotes the recurrence of human subjugation for capital gain over the past two hundred years and its inherent racist ties, giving credence to his thesis: This profit-mindedness becomes evident in Corrections Corporations of America (CCA)’s strategies to cut cost - constant understaffing, the dismantling and neglect of programs intended to support inmates, and the blatant disregard for the physical and mental well-being of inmates in need of medical attention. In American Prison, Bauer illuminates the machinery of the modern private prison industry: the outsourcing of convict incarceration and “maintenance” to third parties whose bottom line is profit. Bauer’s book reveals the harsh realities of life for both prison guards and inmates within the walls of the Winn.
Bauer, a reporter at Mother Jones, works undercover for four months as a prison guard at Winn Correctional Center, a privately run prison in rural Louisiana. Shane Bauer’s American Prison is an impressive feat of investigative journalism.
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