Corrections in America: An Introduction

by Harry E. Allen, Edward J. Latessa, Bruce S. Ponder

The 12 th edition of Corrections in America has been the premier text for introductory corrections in the last third of a century. It is the longest continuously published work on corrections in the nation. Its clarity and well-designed learning features continue to make it a favorite of instructors and students alike. Some of the key features - The # 1 book in the market since the 1970s! - The STANDARD of corrections - All SUPPLEMENTS are done by authors - Balanced Approach - current and past research, theory & practice - Systems Approach - exploring each element of corrections as an integrated series of people, programs, & processes - Unbiased presentation of corrections' most controversial issues This is an excellent reference for anyone currently working in the corrections field!

Genres: School, Nonfiction

430 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few textbooks I can honestly say I would enjoy reading for pleasure. The information is well laid-out and fascinating for those with an interest.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the 12th edition. I usually don't give two-star reviews, so I wanted to explain. (I typically don't finish any book that is feeling like one or two stars after 3-4 chapters, and it doesn't seem fair to rate a book I don't finish -- but I'm doing the 52 book challenge this year so I decided to push through this time).

This seemed like a decent primer on the correctional system in America, with a decent Eurocentric history of corrections. But the authors' own agenda was pretty evident at times, which seemed odd whether I agreed with them (e.g. more resources should be devoted to rehabilitation as opposed to punishment and control) or disagreed with them (e.g. private, for-profit prisons are a "promising" venture).

The authors also made strange decisions about which terms they would highlight and define in the sidebar. For example, I didn't need them to tell me what "appeal" or "expunge" means, but they felt no need to explain "certiorari" so I had to Google it. :)

Another thing that irritated me was their list of typical traits of female offenders, which included "deficient parenting skills." This obviously was not present on the list of typical traits of male offenders.

And finally, there were lots of typos considering this was the 12th edition. (I mean, excuse any typos in this post — but it's a Goodreads review, not the 12th edition of an educational text.)

So overall... two stars.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corrections isn't much of a topic of interest to me, but I needed another criminal justice course to complete my minor, and nothing else relevant to forensics was being offered besides the hair & fiber analysis class I also enrolled in.

Anyway, even though this isn't really my thing, it wasn't a tedious book to get through. It's a good overview of different aspects of correctional institutions in the US and the different segments of the inmate population.

If you're interested in corrections, criminal court procedures, or law enforcement, I'd recommend this as an introductory text.