The Society of Captives
Subtitle: A Study of a Maximum Security Prison (Princeton Classic Editions)
Contributors: Bruce Western (Introduction)
Edition: New Ed edition
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: March 12, 2007
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 204
ISBN-13: 9780691130644
Subjects: Offenders; Prisons; Social Science; Sociology; Penology; Social Science / Violence in Society; Violence in Society; Case studies; History; New Jersey; Prison administration; Prisoners
Description: "The Society of Captives, first published in 1958, is a classic of modern criminology and . . . [an] important book . . . about prison. Gresham Sykes wrote the book at the height of the Cold War, motivated by the world's experience of fascism and communism to study the closest thing to a totalitarian system in American life: a maximum security prison. His analysis calls into question the extent to which prisons can succeed in their attempts to control every facet of life--or whether the strong bonds between prisoners make it impossible to run a prison without finding ways of "accommodating" the prisoners. Re-released now with a new introduction by Bruce Western and a new epilogue by the author, The Society of Captives will continue to serve as an indispensable text for coming to terms with the nature of modern power." -- Publisher's description