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Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World, by Baz Dreisinger
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Review
“[Baz Dreisinger’s] maternal turmoil when her students are denied parole, rearrested, shot, deprived of opportunity or go missing, as well as her teacherly pride in their successes, is the genuine heart of [this] story…The hopeful note on which this book ends… seems in no small part due to the wish that even our harsh system of punishment can explore connections to the world in ways that can push us for the better.” —The New York Times Book Review“Norway might as well be another galaxy, considering the description offered in Baz Dreisinger’s intriguing new book, Incarceration Nations...The great gift of Incarceration Nations is that, by introducing a wide range of approaches to crime, punishment and questions of justice in diverse countries — Rwanda, South Africa, Brazil, Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, Australia and Norway — it forces us to face the reality that American-style punishment has been chosen. It is not normal, natural or inevitable…To be clear, this is not a typical criminal justice reform book stocked with data, policy analyses and prescriptions for change. Nor is it written by a criminal justice expert…The heart and soul of this book are the stories of the people [Dreisinger] encounters along the way.”—The Washington Post “Incarceration Nations… is a book about hope, inspiration, and new beginnings.”—Huffington Post / The Blog"Dreisinger's refusal to offer sweeping generalizations or simple directives in the name of restorative justice is bold...[Incarceration Nations is] an eye-opening, damning indictment of the American prison system and the way its sins reverberate around the globe." —Kirkus Reviews"Powerful...Dreisinger carries out an incisive inquiry into the standards for a just society’s humane treatment of its prisoners." —Publishers Weekly"[Baz Dreisinger] spent two years visiting prisons around the world--Incarceration Nations is the astounding culmination of her undertaking. Armed with compassion and a vast knowledge of incarceration history, Dreisinger explores facilities from Rwanda to Australia…[and her] zeal to change the penal system is contagious…Incarceration Nations is crucial reading for the world's largest jailer (United States) and the rest of the global population." —Shelf Awareness“[Baz Dreisinger] isn’t coy about her idea of the greater good: She marches to the tune of Angela Davis’s crusade for the abolishment of prison…The work Dreisinger does is vital, occasionally lifesaving.” —Newsday“[Dreisinger’s] commitment is admirable.” —Financial Times“Given the current national attention surrounding mass incarceration, from the wide popularity of Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow, to Kendrick Lamar’s explosive political performance at the Grammys, there’s perhaps no better time for Americans to reflect on their contemporary prison system and its origins. Stepping into the conversation with her new book, Incarceration Nations, author and activist Baz Dreisenger takes the debate the a step further, analyzing the philosophies and legislation behind the various prison and judicial systems across the world…Dreisinger…effectively puts the popular zeitgeist of criminal justice under the microscope, guiding the reader through a deep analysis of the prison system’s history and motives, as well as through popular conceptions of punishment… Incarceration Nations ultimately does what any good manifesto should do: ask its readers to look outside the comfort zone of their long-held beliefs. While some readers may be more swayed by Dreisinger’s calls for prison reform than her views on forgiveness, such views are worthwhile ideals to consider as the people of the world seek to reevaluate the state of their prisons and prisoners.” —PopMatters“Incarceration Nations is an important book, one that pulls back the curtain on a global human tragedy that, for most of us, is hidden from view. The author’s unique ability to draw out the humanity in even the most troubled of souls reflects the passion and understanding she brings to her work. Her Prison-to-College Pipeline program, like her writing class in Uganda and drama workshop in Thailand, is a beacon of light that illuminates a stepping stone on a path to change.”—Woman Around Town"Incarceration Nations is a thoughtful, well-written and distressing look at the problems we face in our nation and in the world. Dreisinger does not claim to have the answers to our problems, but she has reminded us that doing nothing is an unacceptable alternative."—Bookreporter“In a world where mass incarceration has reached levels of near insanity, Dresinger’s stirring work offers new ideas in an area that seems to be starving for them. This book is a more than a cry for massive overhaul in prison reform, it gives voice to the silent millions of men and women who live behind prison walls on every continent, and whose suffering is a reflection of our own inhumanity and fear. Forgiveness, payback, restoration, these are the words peppered throughout this well-written work of redemption and identity. This book is living proof that mass incarceration is a virus that infects us all.” —James McBride, author of The Color of Water andThe Good Lord Bird “Incarceration Nations sheds important light on the ways that justice systems around the world are similar, as well as their unique aspects. It uncovers both their most horrifying and hopeful parts. Offering historical investigation and myriad facts, and complementing that research with personal experiences and stories of human beings, the book captures the reader into more inquiry about this vast and critical subject. This is a great read for both students of criminal justice, as well as citizens of the world.” —Debbie Mukamal, Executive Director, Stanford Criminal Justice Center, Stanford Law School “Despite tacit awareness that the prison crisis is global and that the global prison’s modern form is US-generated, work on incarceration is almost always limited by national context. The work of gaining access and trust, of studying multiple intricate systems and national contexts, of traveling long distances and juggling multiple exchanges—while achieving depth of focus—is surely too great for one scholar. Or so it would seem. Dreisinger’s Incarceration Nations, which documents prisons on four continents, appears to do the impossible. It's a vital work—part memoir, part scholarly excavation—that manages to inspire even as it chronicles some of the world’s most horrific places. Dreisinger’s long history of work with the currently and formerly incarcerated is the perfect background and material for weaving an account that asks all of the right questions, setting us on a path while acknowledging that answers are really just the ground for asking anew.” —Gina Dent, Associate Professor and Chair, Feminist Studies, UC Santa Cruz"In Incarceration Nations, Baz Dreisinger makes a truly important contribution to the discussion of one of America's most notorious exports—prisons. Observing the American penal landscape through the lens of prisons in nine diverse countries, Dreisinger is able to feel sympathy for both victims and prisoners while showing that nations from Uganda to South Africa to Australia expect more than just punishment and warehousing out of their corrections systems. As deplorable as the conditions in some of those prisons are, America can learn a lot from Incarceration Nations about how to tackle our own mass incarceration dilemma." —Vincent Schiraldi, Senior Advisor, NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice“Incarceration Nations is required reading for anyone concerned about the severity of punishment in America, and that should be all of us. Baz Dreisinger traces our legacy of mass incarceration around the globe. She does it with honesty, courage, and humility over the size of the problem, and yet she finds magical possibilities everywhere she goes when the imprisoned are treated as real persons. There are answers. This book says we can find them.” —Robert A. Ferguson, George Edward Woodberry Professor of Law, Literature, and Criticism, Columbia University
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About the Author
Baz Dreisinger is an Associate Professor in the English Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and the founder and Academic Director of the Prison-to-College Pipeline program (P2CP), which offers credit-bearing college courses and reentry planning to incarcerated men. She is also a reporter on popular culture, the Caribbean, world music, and race-related issues for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and NPR, among others, and a co-producer and co-writer of the documentaries Black & Blue: Legends of the Hip-Hop Cop and Rhyme & Punishment. She is the author of Near Black: White to Black Passing in American Culture (2008).
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Product details
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Other Press (February 9, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159051727X
ISBN-13: 978-1590517277
Product Dimensions:
6.6 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.3 out of 5 stars
41 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#262,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
I read this book for my Social Justice class and I had the honor of meeting the author (and having her sign my book).This book was insanely good. Our class had just read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness prior to this and this book out shined it in comparison. The New Jim Crow left me dissatisfied at the end, offering me no real, clear, solution to the problem. This book, however, did and gave me hope for the future. Additionally, her writing style is incredible. It's so engaging and she really takes you on a journey. She has a way of making some big points in really subtle ways.As for meeting her, she is just as wonderful in person and she really is doing so much for prison reform and mass incarceration. She is working on so many new projects. Her optimism is inspiring
Wonderful book - well written, with the perfect duo of academic speak and personal voice. I have two major critiques - Baz openly states she has never been the victim of any major crimes, and I believe this completely obscures her vision of forgiveness, which is my second critique - Baz is a huge believer in victims of abuse forgiving their abusers, something that I fundamentally disagree with her on. Victims of abuse should never be made to feel that they have to forgive their abusers - anger and hatred are a completely normal and reasonable response to being attacked, abused, violated, etc. These are huge critiques that were very hard for me to move past for a while, as I feel that Baz otherizes survivors and victims of abuse who refuse to accept an apology from their abusers - but once I started to tune these words and sentiments out, I saw the incredible value in Baz's research and her interactions with folks in prisons around the world.
An inspiring read by one who has traveled the dark places in our world that are our prisons. Throughout the book, Ms. Dreisinger does illustrate that even in these dark places, the light of human ingenuity is alive and well and faith plays a major part of that. I volunteer with Our Children's Place at Coastal Horizons ([...]) as an Advisory Board member whose purpose is to educate the public on the invisible victims of crime, the children of those incarcerated. This book is a breath of fresh air and a clarion call for all of society to re-examine the wholesale warehousing of men and women. While some are indeed a threat to themselves and others, so many others languish within prison walls who are no real threat and other options must be sought.
Great story. I learned a lot. My city used it for their One Book, One Bakersfield event. I didn't feel it was a balanced story, because when you compare Norway to the United States, it's not the same culture or mix of population. I'd like to hear from some of the prison guards. There's sooo much $ in prisons, I can't imagine the whole thing being undone. One can only hope for reform, but money talks . . . very LOUD!
One of the best books on this topic! Bought it after listening it being read on the local radio (WRBH New Orleans). Beautiful writing style and a great insight into prison systems around the world. I follow the author on Twitter now for those interested- @bazdreisinger
With more attention than ever being paid to the problems of mass incarceration and the Prison Industrial Complex, this book provides a wonderful survey of how other countries around the world deal with the issues of punishment, rehabilitation and reentry into society after incarceration. It is an inspiring book, showing many different avenues and approaches to improving the systems of incarceration that we have in place in America.
Though I vacillated between questioning Dreisinger's methods and admiring her audacity, this book is a really important and accessible addition to the discussion of what a just society looks like.
Fasinating and thought provoking even with anti- American slant. Not fair to compare US to Norway.
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Ebook Free The Children's Bible
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The Children's Bible
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About the Author
In 1942, the launch of Little Golden Books revolutionized children’s book publishing by making high-quality picture books available at affordable prices. More than 60 years later, many of the original Golden Book titles are still wildly popular, with The Poky Little Puppy topping the list of ten bestselling children’s books of all time. Golden Books’ backlist is teeming with classics such as Dorothy Kunhardt’s Pat the Bunny, and features the stories and artwork of children’s book legends Mary Blair, Margaret Wise Brown, Richard Scarry, Eloise Wilkins, Garth Williams, and many more. Today, the Golden Books imprint includes an array of storybooks, novelty books, and coloring and activity books featuring all of the most popular licenses, including Disney, Nickelodeon, Barbie, Thomas & Friends, The Cat in the Hat, Sesame Street, Marvel Super Heroes, and DC Super Friends. Golden Books continues to reissue the best of its backlist in a variety of formats, including ebooks and apps, as well as bringing out brand-new books in these evolving new formats.Jose Miralles is an author and illustrator of children's books. He is a regular contributor to Golden Books and LucasBooks for Young Readers. His illustrations have appeared in The Golden Children's Bible and Anakin's Race for Freedom.
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Product details
Age Range: 3 - 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 2
Hardcover: 512 pages
Publisher: Golden Inspirational; Reissue edition (October 1, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307165205
ISBN-13: 978-0307165206
Product Dimensions:
7.5 x 1.5 x 10.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.6 out of 5 stars
311 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#46,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
This Bible gets the mom of 5 stamp of approval! We have 5 boys ages 9 months to 8. This is our new bible for reading aloud. If you have only toddlers The Jesus Storybook Bible would be better. With our varied age groups this works best for us. This would be too difficult for my boys to read by themselves, but for reading aloud with mom - YES. The pictures are gorgeous. The text is as close to scripture as I have found. This is a big bible. We love it.
Let me just first start off by saying, this Bible is a CLASSIC and perfect in every way.I bought this bible for my fiance's son. He is 10, mother is not very religious but open to whatever her son wants. His father told me his son became curious when he went to church with a friend and wanted to know more. I brought out my 20 something year old version of this Bible. His father (a Catholic man, I was raised a southern Baptist but do not follow that anymore) looked through it and was blown away. I remember reading the stories when I was a child and looking at the pictures. So, he wanted to get his son a children's bible like this one.I didn't really go through it because it was a gift, but the only difference I noticed was that the cover was different than the 20 year old one, and the pictures were more vibrant, although that is probably just due to age. I am thinking about ordering a copy for myself and maybe every 10-20 years get a new one.I would %100 percent recommend.
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For a used book, published in 1965, its in wonderful condition. I am very pleased for the money spent.As to the content of this book, it covers major events and peoples in the Bible in a very truthful way. For each story, it quotes the book and the chapter of the Bible and enable parents or teachers to read more from the Bible themselves. It also quotes psalms and verses and allows young children to taste the wisdom and beauty of the Bible.As to the pictures.... Wa! That's all I can say. They are vivid and in details.This book is priceless. My grandson love this book above all other story books.
After searching for an accurate short-form illustrated story-book Bible, we finally chose "The Children's Bible". It has served us faithfully throughout the early years. We read this with our kids every night for at least 8 years. It is beat up. The cover is broken. Some pages are torn. Lots of tape. We will never part with this old book. It still brings back good memories. Soon, we will start reading it to our grandchildren.
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I bought this for my son who has decided to rebel against the rest of the Atheist family and believe in God. What can you do? I figured he needs to know the stories and at least have some idea of what he is saying he believes in.At first glance, this bible has words that are simple enough for a 7 year old to understand and pictures to keep him engaged. I can't complain.
I had this book when I was a child, I remember the pictures and the way it was written. This is what I remember when I remember reading the Bible as a child.When my children were younger I got them a very simplistic "Bible stories" book that we would read at night. I had no idea just how popular that part of the day would become for them. I decided this Christmas to get them a more grown-up Bible book. After looking at many options this one simply stands out as being most true to the original scripture while presenting itself in an appealing and colorful way as to capture the minds of young children. I look forward to years and years of bedtime Bible reading with this classic.
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Free PDF Playing House in Provence: How Two Americans Became a Little Bit French, by Mary-Lou Weisman
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Playing House in Provence: How Two Americans Became a Little Bit French, by Mary-Lou Weisman
Free PDF Playing House in Provence: How Two Americans Became a Little Bit French, by Mary-Lou Weisman
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Product details
Paperback: 206 pages
Publisher: iUniverse (August 29, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1532025343
ISBN-13: 978-1532025341
Product Dimensions:
6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.9 out of 5 stars
18 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#809,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Playing House in Provence is some 200 pages of sustainable adventure and entertainment, seasoned with historical references as delicious as the author's Tarte aux Tomates. The reader is tickled, cajoled and tantalized through four animated journeys into past and present Provence, cobbled together by a first-rate wordsmith.There are elegant musings throughout; one of my favorites describes vintage ads (painted on ancient plaster walls) that are "bleached by the sun, abraded by winds and time, their colors retreat into the walls, leaving a beguiling penumbra of their former practical selves."Of course, being a career humorist, Ms. Weisman wastes no opportunity to play with words:"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like somewhere else" is her validation for attending festivals in Provence while snubbing them in America;"First we try ear plugs, then we move to gateway drugs" for dealing with the never-ending bells of Goult's church;"Coming from a country where Alcatraz is a national historic landmark, we long for the legitimacy of antiquity" found in Provence;"Little Endorphin Annie," a sobriquet for the exercise-obsessed author;"Insistent living" for assisted living;"We don't like tours, we listen in on yours" without having to pay the fare.Ms. Weisman has added another exceptionally smart and funny book to her repertoire. Thanks to her, I have crossed Provence off my bucket list without having to pay the fare.
I can't think of too many writers other than, say, Nora Ephron and David Sedaris whose essays are not only gracefully written but consistently insightful and laugh-out-loud funny. But as Mary-Lou Weisman impressively demonstrates in page after page of "Playing House in Provence", she is clearly a member of that elite circle.It would be hard for me name my favorite of the 36 essays that collectively provide a “from-the-inside-look†at what it's like to be an American trying to become a little French. But a strong candidate would be “Never Try to Act Out a 'Sausage", Ms. Weisman's hilarious account of the "nightmare of incomprehension" that she and her husband Larry experienced the first time they went shopping in a French supermarket.And here's a taste of the dozens of Ms. Weisman’s wry and often self-deprecating digressions that brought either a smile to my face or a nod of recognition on almost every other page:"I suffer from a fear of finding. Although I have never been in a paper bag, it is likely that I could not find my way out of one.""I was pretty sure the man I was asking for directions was French: I couldn't fit into his shirt.""Our neighbor is a human sundial who loves to sit outside his house, moving his chair incrementally to follow the light.""A Turkish toilet is not a facility that invites reading or crossword puzzling."Looking for more of the same? Buy the book today, and spread the word!
I don't remember ever laughing out loud at a travel memoir until Playing House in Provence . After toying with the idea for years, Mary-Lou Weisman and her husband Larry decide to rent a house for a month in a little village called L'Isle sur la Sorgue. They sign up to improve their French ("Immersion Totale") and begin to imagine themselves already becoming "a little bit French." They make progress. After drinking a mild Provencal rose throughout a meal, Mary-Lou observes that "In Vino we find not Veritas but a soupçon of uninhibited fluency." Mary-Lou bakes a Tarte aux Tomatoes after a new friend assures her that "real French women" unroll their crusts from Pillsbury. Larry makes joues de porc (pork cheeks) with advice from the butcher and suggestions from his customers who are more eager to help than place their own orders.That first month leads to three more stays in medieval Provencal villages and I wish there had been more. I cheered them on for their successes and felt their frustration at the French phrase that just wouldn't come or the faucet that shot two streams of water directly into their faces in that charming but antique kitchen. I bet you would do the same. This is writing with wit and insight and just so much fun to read.
Sunny Provence, markets, wine, beautiful villages and rental houses with various problems, eccentric neighbors--in one sense, this book fits neatly into the sort of travel memoir that has become so familiar since Peter Mayle's book years ago. On that level, it succeeds perfectly well. But what makes this book special is Weisman's voice. She's incredibly funny--I laughed out loud at a number of passages--but she's also very honest and introspective, and I think that's what I appreciated most. This is a great book for anyone who has ever tried to learn French (or might be thinking about it); it's also a great book for anyone who has ever thought maybe the life they were living wasn't the one they ought to be. I suspect that includes most of us.
I never give five stars to a book where I've met the author, in case people think I'm doing the writer a favor. But in this case, I have to admit that I laughed out loud several times as I travelled through Provence (on the page) with Mary-Lou and her husband. Her shrewd and honest eye on the world is also turned on her own foibles every so often, which makes for a good read. I read it on an autumn afternoon, and reluctantly put it down whenever I had to return to the real world. Perfect, and cheering, escape.
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