What do you think?
Rate this book
American Furies: Crime, Punishment, and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment
In this dramatic exposé of U.S. penitentiaries and the communities around them, Sasha Abramsky finds that prisons have dumped their age-old goal of rehabilitation, often for political reasons. The new “ideal,” unknown to most Americans, is a punitive mandate marked by a drive toward vengeance.
Surveying this state of affairs—life sentences for nonviolent crimes, appalling conditions, the growth of private prisons, the treatment of juveniles—Abramsky Does the vengeful impulse ennoble our culture or demean it? What can become of people who are quarantined for years in a violent subculture? California’s Three Strikes law typifies the politics that exploit the grief of victims’ families and our fears of violent crime. Brilliantly researched and compellingly told, American Furies shows that the ethos of “lock ’em up and throw away the key” has enormous social costs.
“The most urgent book of the season. Sasha Abramsky provides us with an invaluable, if harrowing, audit of the cataclysmic damage inflicted upon American values by American prisons. The lack of compassion in our national life and the gangrened hearts of our politicians pose greater threats to our childrens’ futures than any overseas terrorist conspiracy.” —Mike Davis, professor of history at University of California–Irvine and author of seven books including Planet of Slums and The Monster At Our Door
“A smart, compassionate and tough-minded look at the rise and impact of the tough-on-crime culture that has made America the world's foremost jailer. By showing us how we got into this mess, this revelatory book also holds out hope that we might find our way out.” —Nell Bernstein, former Soros Justice Media Fellow and author of All Alone in the Children of the Incarcerated
"This is by far the most intelligent and haunting indictment of the American prison system that I have ever read. Sasha Abramsky has shone an incandescent lamp on a shadowy underground universe that holds and in all too many cases brutalizes the lives of more than two million Americans. He should be commended for doing so, and his book made required reading for every legislator in the land, bar none." —Simon Winchester, author of A Crack in the Edge of the World and The Professor and the Madman
“It is with an exemplary and multifaceted grasp of the history and modern-day reality of incarceration that Abramsky is able to grasp the full context of why callous negligence and brutality so abound in the American prison system . . . American Furies is a brilliantly crafted piece of creative non-fiction replete with non-dogmatic, accessible, and lyrical prose . . . In the difficult realm of prison reporting, Abramsky is unquestionably among the best and brightest, and American Furies is clear evidence of such.” —The American Prospect
Praise for
“Timely and important. Instead of preaching democracy to the world, the United States should start practicing it at home.” —Eric Schlosser
“The war on drugs, the disenfranchisement of convicted felons, a series of dodgy electoral Republican victories . . . someone had to connect the dots, and Sasha Abramsky has done so with passion, precision, and artistry.” —Barbara Ehrenreich
Sasha Abramsky has written for The Atlantic, The Nation, and Rolling Stone. The author of How Millions Went to Prison, Lost the Vote, and Helped Send George W. Bush to the White House and Hard Time How Politics Built a Prison Nation, he has also reported on U.S. prisons for Human Rights Watch. He lives in Sacramento, California.
Surveying this state of affairs—life sentences for nonviolent crimes, appalling conditions, the growth of private prisons, the treatment of juveniles—Abramsky Does the vengeful impulse ennoble our culture or demean it? What can become of people who are quarantined for years in a violent subculture? California’s Three Strikes law typifies the politics that exploit the grief of victims’ families and our fears of violent crime. Brilliantly researched and compellingly told, American Furies shows that the ethos of “lock ’em up and throw away the key” has enormous social costs.
“The most urgent book of the season. Sasha Abramsky provides us with an invaluable, if harrowing, audit of the cataclysmic damage inflicted upon American values by American prisons. The lack of compassion in our national life and the gangrened hearts of our politicians pose greater threats to our childrens’ futures than any overseas terrorist conspiracy.” —Mike Davis, professor of history at University of California–Irvine and author of seven books including Planet of Slums and The Monster At Our Door
“A smart, compassionate and tough-minded look at the rise and impact of the tough-on-crime culture that has made America the world's foremost jailer. By showing us how we got into this mess, this revelatory book also holds out hope that we might find our way out.” —Nell Bernstein, former Soros Justice Media Fellow and author of All Alone in the Children of the Incarcerated
"This is by far the most intelligent and haunting indictment of the American prison system that I have ever read. Sasha Abramsky has shone an incandescent lamp on a shadowy underground universe that holds and in all too many cases brutalizes the lives of more than two million Americans. He should be commended for doing so, and his book made required reading for every legislator in the land, bar none." —Simon Winchester, author of A Crack in the Edge of the World and The Professor and the Madman
“It is with an exemplary and multifaceted grasp of the history and modern-day reality of incarceration that Abramsky is able to grasp the full context of why callous negligence and brutality so abound in the American prison system . . . American Furies is a brilliantly crafted piece of creative non-fiction replete with non-dogmatic, accessible, and lyrical prose . . . In the difficult realm of prison reporting, Abramsky is unquestionably among the best and brightest, and American Furies is clear evidence of such.” —The American Prospect
Praise for
“Timely and important. Instead of preaching democracy to the world, the United States should start practicing it at home.” —Eric Schlosser
“The war on drugs, the disenfranchisement of convicted felons, a series of dodgy electoral Republican victories . . . someone had to connect the dots, and Sasha Abramsky has done so with passion, precision, and artistry.” —Barbara Ehrenreich
Sasha Abramsky has written for The Atlantic, The Nation, and Rolling Stone. The author of How Millions Went to Prison, Lost the Vote, and Helped Send George W. Bush to the White House and Hard Time How Politics Built a Prison Nation, he has also reported on U.S. prisons for Human Rights Watch. He lives in Sacramento, California.
213 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Sasha Abramsky
24 books65 followersSasha Abramsky studied politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University. He is now a freelance journalist and senior fellow at Demos who reports on political personalities and cultural trends.
His work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, The Nation, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Guardian, and Mother Jones, among other publications.
He lives in Sacramento, California.
His work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, The Nation, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Guardian, and Mother Jones, among other publications.
He lives in Sacramento, California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 30, 2010
Good documentation of the criminal justice system in the U.S., especially over the past 30 or so years. Lays out plenty of evidence showing that the war on drugs, mandatory minimums, and tough-on-crime posturing has got to go. We need to return to a focus on rehabilitation if we want to reduce recidivism rates, if we want to be a decent society. Packed full of anecdotes and stats. In all, a well-researched case for changing criminal justice in the U.S.
January 20, 2010
I was lucky enough to complete an English Composition course at UC Davis taught by Sasha Abramsky. All I can say is that he was an amazing professor and I learned a lot from him. In "American Furies" he thoroughly yet concisely examines the past, present, and future of the prison system in the US. This book forces us to take a look in the mirror and see yet another aspect of our country which is headed in a very disturbing direction.
January 8, 2008
Here's a good, thought provoking book. I had never really thought about prisons and inmates - "send them all to prison!" was my thought. But after reading this book, it gave me a lot to think about.
Are locking people up the best way of rehabilitating them? While I do believe some people should be locked up and the key thrown, there are those who could be rehabilitated and could live productive lives in society. What can be done about it? What's the answer?
Are locking people up the best way of rehabilitating them? While I do believe some people should be locked up and the key thrown, there are those who could be rehabilitated and could live productive lives in society. What can be done about it? What's the answer?
April 21, 2020
If you've taken criminology courses, a lot of the revelations in here might not be surprising, but that doesn't make the substance any less horrifying. The book is a little out of date now, but I can't imagine the system being much better now, if not worse. If you haven't taken criminology and are just curious, the good news is that this book is super accessible and informative.
I really appreciated that Abramsky included quotes and anecdotes from all levels of people in the system, from prisoners, to wardens, and that he kept their idiomatic grammar and phrasing. And while some of those anecdotes are utterly horrifying, they are spaced out, which allows them to keep all of their horror and not act as bludgeoning tools.
I did find that some of the sections meandered a bit and wove back on themselves before they got to the point, and that some of the points were repeated a little too much, but I enjoyed reading this (as much as I could, given the subject matter). It's a good introduction to a very important topic, and I plan on seeking out some of the author's more recent work.
I really appreciated that Abramsky included quotes and anecdotes from all levels of people in the system, from prisoners, to wardens, and that he kept their idiomatic grammar and phrasing. And while some of those anecdotes are utterly horrifying, they are spaced out, which allows them to keep all of their horror and not act as bludgeoning tools.
I did find that some of the sections meandered a bit and wove back on themselves before they got to the point, and that some of the points were repeated a little too much, but I enjoyed reading this (as much as I could, given the subject matter). It's a good introduction to a very important topic, and I plan on seeking out some of the author's more recent work.
April 7, 2013
The more I learn about the US 'justice' system the more I have come to realize how truly barbaric it is. Who cares about justice and rehabilitation when you can have utter vengeance? Never mind that our system is completely racist, classist, and not grounded in what actually works but a race to the bottom to be 'hard on crime'.
May 28, 2008
This is an ESSENTIAL read for anyone looking to grasp the why's and how's of the evolution of our criminal justice system. Abramsky's best work.
December 7, 2009
If you know anything about criminal justice and prison conditions, this book is probably nothing new for you, but it's a well-written synopsis of the awful state of corrections in the US.
February 3, 2013
Nothing new if you're at all familiar with the topic, but a good primer for those who are not.
January 17, 2016
Examines the dramatic increase of mass incarceration in the United States and explores some of the reasons behind it.
February 18, 2026
Read for school
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews