Prisons Books

Brennan, sure knows how to keep a reader on thier seat. The entire book I was betting that the culprite was someone else. The sub characters were just as strong as the main characters and it was good to see Nelia KinCaid have a story. I hope we see more of her in future books, and see her reconnect with her family as that leaves only two KinCaids without a main story (Jack and Patrick). Looking forward to her next book, even though March 09 is 6 months away.

Fifteen years ago the assignment was to murder District Attorney Taverton. When he committed to the kill he found the mark in bed with Lydia, the wife of police officer Tom O'Brien, as planned. He killed both and set up the cuckolded husband to take the fall. Tom was framed perfectly for the double homicide, with his then teenage daughter Claire having seen him staring at the two corpses testifying against her father. Tom proclaimed his innocence, but was convicted and sentenced to be executed.

On death row at San Quentin with the countdown in months, Tom is freed by an earthquake. In hiding four months later he informs his daughter that Oliver Maddox possesses proof of his innocence. Wondering if she misconstrued that ghastly scene, insurance investigator Claire and boyfriend Mitch Bianchi plan to visit Oliver; only they are too late as his dead body was just fished out of the Sacramento River. Stunned Claire is convinced her dad had nothing to gain with another homicide. However Mitch hides from Claire why he first introduced himself to her; he is FBI and believes Tom is innocent and both O'Brien's are in danger from the real killer.

The latest Allison Brennan romantic suspense (see TEMPTING EVIL and KILLING FEAR) is a superb thriller starring an estranged daughter who needs to believe in her dad's innocence, but also knows what she saw, which confirms his guilt. Mitch is terrific as a Fed who believes increasingly her dad was framed and is falling in love with her; knowing he has no chance once she realizes who he is. The story line is fast-paced from the onset when a desperate dad knowing the risk pleads with his daughter to help prove his innocence and never looks back. Thriller readers who have not discovered Ms. Brennan are missing out on a top gun.

Harriet Klausner

The historical exegeses are largely superfluous and distract from the points of argumentation.

There are many elaborate dilations of the main propositions which do little more than meander towards the next one(s), as opposed to elucidating their logical-historical connection.

Foucault gives political manifesto content-length propositions that are reasonably insightful, in a basically historical-novelistic theory fiction format. "We are less Greek than we think." --Foucault is more anti-Enlightenment than he realizes and less "Nietzschean" so much as a paraphrastic derivative thinker than he would like to be.

The description of power relations does not necessarily reveal the ideology governing it. In fact, it does much to mythologize an omnipresent non-entity of whom we see and experience only its effects. One suspects there are only effects of power, of ideology; consequences which cannotn be telekeniticized by any localizable 'gaze' but follow materially from human actions.

15. He who does not know how to put his will into things at least puts a MEANING into them; that is, he believes there is a will in them already (principle of 'belief').
(Twilight of the Idols, "Maxims and Arrows" epigram 15)

As Foucault ought to have known, there is no meaning to power except in the feeling of its increase. The only gaze that is belongs to "the Other". In this sense, Foucault has articulated the narcissistic element of power. On the whole however, he identifies with it since he cannot dissociate power from its celebration: the carnival event of discipline and punish, the panoptical voyeurism of the carceral gaze. Naval gazing social theory par excellence (Knowledge is Power and Power is Ideology, therefore Ideology is Knowledge.) The gaze is a fiction unless the alleged 'observed' sees that he is being watched, there is no subject without the choice presented by the Other; the neurosis of the subject hypersensitive to the Other withstands the hermeneutical uncertainty with horror, inevitably directed at himself, --that there is nothing to see. Foucault's text makes ideology power's Echo, when it is really ideology that echoes Power. Ideology is the ignorance and absence of Power that would be the knowledge required to suspend ideology for authentic choices.

The Birth of the Prison is the death of the social, the death of the Other, the fettering of the individual himself to ideology. One must ask, "Where is ideology?" Foucault offers merely the dazed "everywhere and nowhere," as the gaze without eye, the predicate without subject, Donald Rumsfeld's "known unknowns" which are nothing at all. Discipline and Punish does not address the lexical of 'known knowns' because the language of oppression, of ideology requires a counter affirmation of Power. One assumes power or renounces it, and one must be doubly strong for the latter. Given the current state of events, its disavowal is a gesture into a void: one has no power to renounce if one is not the State itself. "Je suis le etat." Since it has been more difficult to define the "Je", the sovereign, one speaks of exploitation as a structural and institutional function. This impotent anthropomorphism of theory merely compounds the problem of ideology. Exploitation is an action committed man against man, and these actions must be identified with what systems enable these impingements on the sovereignty of other men.

"l'ecrasez l'infamie!"

Foucault does not crush the infamy. He does reveal its ankles slightly however this will not titillate, unless one does not already see the pudeurs of the clearly unclothed emperors of the various reigning ideologies. Ideology abhors clarity. Read Foucault, then forget Foucault.

By examining the rise of prison systems in Western culture, Foucault demonstrates the ways modern nation-states exert their power to dominate their citizens. This is a great book for anyone interested in power formations as well as continental theory.

What is whispered in secret may be shouted from the rooftops, but what is done in secret will be watched.

In Discipline and Punish Michel Foucault develops the idea of the transition of God's omniscience into the state's omniscience, and points to interesting nodes along the way: the invention of the table and the Panopticon being the most compelling and far-reaching.

Foucault's thesis of The Panopticon being a physical result of the Protestant conception of the community replacing the All-Seeing-Eye of God is itself the child of the thinking of Max Weber, Jeremy Bentham, Cardinal Richelieu and Jean Calvin. The results of the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, searching for signs of grace in this life as signs of salvation in the next, brought focus to human efforts as primarily economic. The result of such an ethos was that everyone was watching everybody all the time, and this creates anxiety, and the ultimate result of anxiety is release and rebellion. Enter the Panopticon to isolate the rebellious and a method thought to encourage good behaviour: constant watching.

Combine this with Terry Guillam's film "Brazil" and you'll be permanently fearful. Smile like you mean it.

Other reviews have done a nice job of explaining the textual benefits of the book, so let me explain its practical benefit. I'll keep this short and sweet. This is an excellent text to trot out during a sociology or other social science class when you want to egomanically dominate the conversation for a bit. It provides such food for thought that you can really wax poetic on the power of punishment over the body and soul of the individual. I say this with all seriousness. So few people read philosophical texts that, if you enjoy doing so, it almost feels like an obligation to introduce these discussions in the classroom. This is not a light summer read by any stretch of the imagination, but if you enjoy the challenge of unpacking complex concepts, you'll enjoy this read.

This is one of Michel Foucault's most accessible books (though still pretty heavy going). If in Madness and Civilization, Foucault analyzed the birth of insane asylums and in The Birth of the Clinic the birth of the hospital, in Discipline and Punish, it's the turn of the prisons. The book starts with a gruesome description of the public drawing and quartering of failed regicide Damiens in 1757. Then he goes on to quote a benign prison system of the 1830s. What changed between the two dates? While other authors would consider the birth of modern imprisonment as a triumph of progressive ideals (in comparison with what went on before), Foucault saw this instead as one aspect of increasing social and political control. While greatly researched, one immediately asks itself what Foucault wanted? Did he care about any improvement in the social conditions of prisoners? Or did he believed we should do with prisons altogether? And in which case, what about dangerous criminals? I think Foucault never wanted to answer these questions. I think it's telling that towards the end of his life (after this book was written) Foucault was a fan of the repressive and theocratic regime of Khomeini in Iran. In this, he was similar to those communist intellectuals in the West who criticized failings in their own countries but overlook much worse abuses (and crimes) in the Soviet Union. Another quibble is that the book is so French-centric (with some analysis of developments in England): he takes the evolution of imprisonment in France as an indication of the whole world.

The beginning of the book wasn't very encouraging, as Zimbardo describes in graphic details the "rape of Rwanda" in 1994, when the Tutsis were slaughtered by their former neighbors, the Hutus. Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, a former social worker, who was supposed to be the only hope left for the Tutsi village of Butare, had promised food and shelter sent by the Red Cross to the people of the village. Instead, Pauline arranged for Hutu thugs to rape and kill the Tutsis. Pauline ordered the rape of the women before having most Tutsis killed in a massacre that was one of the most barbaric incidents in history. Zimbardo provided a combination of history and social psychology to explain how Pauline turned into a special kind of a murderer and even provides a comment by Nicole Bergevin; Pauline's lawyer which summarizes the fact that all humans are SUSCEPTIBLE to evil under certain circumstances.

I can't help but wondering, how can a person like Pauline who intentionally tricked the Tutsis and planned one of the most savage, torturous and sadistic attacks in history be used as an example of how good people can turn evil under situational pressure? EITHER WORDS HAVE MEANINGS, OR NOT. At this point I had to recheck if Zimbardo was an attorney not a psychologist (to be able to find many unreasonable possibilities for the obvious), but I was wrong, he's for sure not an attorney. I still think, with all due respect though, that Zimbardo can make a great criminal defense attorney.
Zimbardo uses other examples of war where morality is disengaged and barbaric behavior is directed against any body considered to be the enemy, because of the power of situational forces over individual behavior. At this point, I wanted to stop reading but Zimbardo promises to reverse the question at the end of his research, which is asking if we are capable of becoming heroes after analyzing why we can become capable of evil.

I had nearly fixed in my mind my interpretation of this book; I believe that any body can turn into a killer when it comes to protecting loved ones (i.e. in self defense), but the idea that we can become evil just because others are, is beyond me. Even as kids, some kids will set the limits and refuse to gang up with bullies against the weak easy target. Even in war and crisis, people with basic concepts of morality will have mercy on the enemies when meeting as two humans on the battlefield (if that even exist any more), or when it comes to killing civilians.
I believe that good is the rule and evil is the exception, so with the slight hope promised by the author of reversing the question, I was willing to take the risk of spending more time on this book.


Doubtful, but willing to explore, I started reading about Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment:
An experiment Zimbardo conducted in 1971 on some college students, who were asked to play the roles of guards and prisoners
The detailed behavioral analysis of the teams of volunteers, who very quickly turn into abused and abusers, such that the experiment had to be interrupted within a week, was unnecessarily long, but I was still curious.

Personally, the experiment does not sound scientific to me, especially when it doesn't provide any emotional or psychological history of the participants. Also, the idea of a professional, watching and hearing the verbal and semi-sexual abuse that the prisoners experienced is a skate across very thin ethical ice.
At one point in the book, Zimbardo used the results of the Stanford prison experiment, when he was called as an expert witness in the trial of Sergeant Frederick, one of the defendants in "Abu Ghraib" trial. Also, later in the book, Zimbardo's analysis was compared to many documented historical incidents of prison cruelty and other cruel acts committed during wars.

My conclusion is that I'm happy I took the time to listen to the other point of view.
I admire the author for his 30 years of persistence and devotion to the study of a concept in which he has faith. Likewise, I respect his courage in blaming the Bush administration as accomplices for the torture interrogation in Iraq. Also, Zimbardo's brutally honest telling of the Abou Ghraib trial's details supports my belief about the insidious corruption in the legal system

Despite my understanding of the "us versus them" concept, there is no detail in the book of a study that shows examples of a previous good history of these soldiers/people "going bad". ". The Stanford prison experiment itself focused on a number of volunteers with no analysis of their characters. Here I can't help but asking a simple question that also takes us back to Pauline Nyiramasuhuko and the rape of Rwanda: what if these people are actually evil, who just like sadistic individuals simply don't feel the pain of others if it's separated from their own body? Where is the proof that they were good people previous to the new situation???. I don't have any facts to support my theory here, but just like kids who are not joining bullies hurting other kids, I can see other soldiers in Abou Ghraib saying no to the other "bad" soldiers, and others dying on the battle field trying to save some civilian enemy. It's not a result of a physiological research, but a simple romantic hope for goodness in people.

Aside from all my objections, Zimbardo, who fulfilled his promise of reversing the question and provided some instructions to resist the power of social/political pressure and to not join the "herd", did a reasonably good job.

Zimbardo, P. (2008). The Lucifer Effect: Understanding how good people turn evil
I may call this book "the book of Evil and Heroism," but whatever the title, `The Lucifer Effect', is an excellent insightful piece of research in a very needed subject. "The Lucifer Effect' is sceientific, analytical and practical book that give us insights about the roots of evil, namely why, how, and what makes normal people, just like you and me, to act wickedly, maliciously and can easily align with the systems and situations that foster evil, practice torture, and oppress innocent others? The troubling answers presenting in the 16 chapters of this book is that almost any one under certain social situational conditions can be made maliciously evil.
The author of this book is Psychologist Zimbardo who is best known as the creator of the 1971 "Stanford Prison Experiment." That year of the 1971, he used a simulated prison populated with student volunteers, dividing them into two groups: 'guards' and 'prisoners'. That experiment showed us levels of cruelty we would never imagine. Although the 'guards' knew they are involved in an experiment done by the Department of Psychology in a well known university and that the student in the prisoners group had done nothing criminally wrong to deserve their lowly status', he writes in his new book `The Lucifer Effect', ' some ... were transformed into evil doers'. The experiment taught him that 'most of us can undergo significant character transformations if we are subjected to severe social forces'.
You need a good current example validating Zimbardo's theory? Remember Iraq's Abughraib," just recently. The images in the so called "Abughraib Concentration Prison" as picked up by the CNN and the world's media showed the naked Iraqi prisoners stacked in a human pyramid, presided over by grinning US soldiers; with Linda England the young American female soldier leading a naked Iraqi around by a leash; and other prisoners forced to simulate sodomy with one another
It is to answer the question of 'why and how good people turn evil' that Zimbardo has written the Lucifer Effect, a formidable piece of research into the nature of evil and the systems and situations that foster it. The answers presented by `the Lucifer Effect' are shocking in the sense that it raises a fundamental question about the nature of human nature: How is it possible for ordinary, average, even good people to become committed to criminally and morally wrong deeds (including exerting pain on others, and in extreme cases, torturing and even murdering innocent people?).
The Lucifer Effect tells you that you lie to yourself if you believe that you are immune of evil genetically or by your personality and character. All of us, given the right, or the wrong, circumstances, are capable of monstrous acts or to heroism.
Immunity from evil pressure, though difficult to achieve, is, however, possible and can be done following both individual attempts, and social censorship. To my understanding, the comparison between the Stanford Prison Experiment and the social dynamics of the Abughraib prison in Iraq and, in fact for this matter, all other atrocities all over the world including torturing prisoners, political concentration camps, abusing our children and wives in the name of religion, practicing institutional terrorism on political prisoners in the middle East, China, Guantanamo is one of the core messages as rooted in the extended discussion of the situational influences outlined in " the Lucifer Effect."
In a chapter celebrating heroism and calling for greater social bravery to resist the temptation of cruelty, confront, or to the least blow the whistles, the author of "the Lucifer Effect" reminds us that we all are impacted by situational forces; it is the minority, the rare persons, who resists who are considered the heroes. And again he reminds us that it may be a mistake to understand heroism by just focusing exclusively on the inner determinants of genes, personality, and character. He challenges us to reflect on how well we really know ourselves, and how much confidence we have in what we would or would not ever do when put into new socio-behavioral settings.
In 16 chapters, this magnificent book explains to us the sources and seeds of evil; what drives some toward evil; while others resist and prefer instead to condone and look the other way in the presence of evil doers, while others act heroically on behalf of those in need or suffer unjustly. It is vital, Zimbardo argues, for every society to have its institutions teach heroism, building into such teachings the importance of mentally rehearsing taking heroic action--thus to be ready to act when called to service for a moral cause or just to help a victim in distress. With that in mind, Zimbardo was able to give us a winning argument optimism is around the corner and that social peace and rationality can be cultivated by few people who are whistle blowers and thus capable to confront and stand up to more optimistic outcome.
In the final chapter 16, some optimist insights were made to shine. The author reminds us that although most people succumb and give in to the power of situational evil forces, not all of do so. Yes, those who refuse may be few and in fact they are the minority in every setting, but they resist and refuse. How do they resist social influence? What kinds of strategies might help us to become immune against unwanted attempts to conform, complies, obey, and yield? He outlines a 10-step generic program to build resistance to mind control strategies and tactics. He also presents a thought experiment to involve people in engaging in progressively greater degrees of altruistic deeds that promote civic virtue and heroism hat may make some to come to help others in need when situational demands give us that rare opportunity. As a consequence, Zimabrdo began to focus on the positive side of human nature- the heroic side--He bagan new research designed to understand the heroic decision at the time of taking a heroic stand against unjust authority; and also to develop a new web site devoted to celebrating heroes and heroism. Thank you Dr. Zimbardo!!!!

The Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) was conducted over thirty five years ago and still its results reverberate in the consciousness of academics and policy makers. Its relevance to the present can at times appear uncanny; how could an experiment conducted in a conventional, privileged,middle class university environment using volunteer college undergraduates as participants have relevance for the ways in which the people view its President and its armed forces? Zimbardo, who conducted this experiment with passion and insight many years ago, can again take the centre stage and discuss the impact of his work on how a military system can be responsible for what can be seen to be barbaric behavior towards those who are supposed to be helped, through their hearts and minds, to see the United States as a benevolent force for good and justice. This book has been described as tedious and over-long. The descriptions of the conduct of the SPE and of the processes in the military trials are, however, to this reader, essential in getting across the gradual and virulent nature of the processes whereby the situation can gain control over the behavior of people, on both sides, caught in the thrall of the system of the military and justice. This book is essential reading for social psychologists. It is also quite clearly important for journalists, politicians and public servants, all of whom tend to see themselves as somehow immune to the demands of the situation in which they are to behave. Recent criticisms coming from the United Kinbgdom about the theory behind and the results of the SPE are largely irrelevant to the thrust of the argument of this book. Evil can still be engendered in people who seem good but who are unable to escape the powerful forces inherent in any modren system. Whereby the SPE was concerned with essentially mild and non-powerful settings, the organisatiuons of today have far more powerful control over the workers and the citizens. The message from the SPE is not that things are getting better in our understanding of the forces that govern social behaviour; rather they are getting worse.

In the classic Stanford Prison Experiment
Philip Zimbardo took a group of ordinary students
and placed them in a mock prison, guarded by fellow
students. In less than a week, the study had
to be terminated, when the "guards" became
increasingly sadistic and the "prisoner" pathological.
Raising fundamental questions on good and evil.
Apparently most of us can be initiated
into the ranks of evil doers.

The book, the Lucifer effect, explores
how good people becomes bad.

Lucifer has of course done his job over
the centuries. In the middle ages we had
the inquisition. Where Philip Zimbardo
gives us thought provoking examples on how
good becomes bad.
I.e. The Malleus Maleficarum was required reading for
the judges of the inquisition. It begins
with a problem. How can evil exists in a world
created and governed by an all-good, all powerful
God? The answer is (was) that the Creator
allows evil to test the souls of man. Yield
to the temptations - and go to hell. Resist,
and be invited into heaven.
So to do good - evil had to be found and eliminated.
Especially, find witches and heretics and burn
them on the stake. The ardent and sincere desire to combat evil
generated evil on a larger scale than
ever seen before.

To Philip Zimbardo much of it starts when
human relationships becomes "I - it".
Humanized relationships are "I - Thou",
while dehumanized relationships are "I - It",
The misperception of certain humans
as subhuman, bad humans, inhuman, dispensable,
is facilitated with labels. stereotypes and slogans -
and most importantly - when others are treated as "it".
The Stanford prison experiment created an ecology
of dehumanization. It started with loss of freedom,
loss of privacy, and finally loss of personal identity.
It separated inmates from their past, their families etc.
Eventually, external coercive rules and arbitrary rules by guards
dictated the prisoners behaviour. Prisoners who just one week
before had been average students.
Tender caring emotions were absent among guards and
prisoners after only a few days.

"Proof" of sorts that Zimbardos thesis , that
external situations decides much of what is good
and evil, - is in fact true.

If one wants to defend human decency by saying that
the students in the Stanford Prison Experiment
were not average - Zimbardo tells you that
they were exactly that. Average.
Even though noone likes to think of themselves as average.
I.e. In a study - 86 percent of Australians rate their
job performance as above average. And 90 percent
of american business managers rate their performance
as superior to that of their average peer.

Worse - it follows that evil is within everyone:
An inventive teacher, Ron Jones, would teach
his high school students something about
Hitlers Nazi regime. Despite his forewarning to
the class about all of this - he quickly established
a new rigid classroom rule, that should be obeyed
without question.
All answers must be limited to three words or less and
preceded by "sir". When noone challenged this or other
arbitrary rules - the classroom atmosphere began to change.
The verbally fluent students lost their positions and
the less verbal, more physically assertative took
over.
The classroom movement was named the third wave.
Each day there was a new slogan. like - "strength through
discipline", "strength through action", "strength
through pride". And there would eventually be
more than 100 kids attending "a third wave rally"
outside the classroom.
When Jones finally told his students what he had
been up to - and what he wanted to demonstrate -
noone ever admitted to attenting the rally.

Another teacher, Jane Elliott, created third grade hell, when she
divided the class into blue eyed and brown eyed kids and began
telling stories about what blue eyed kids or brown eyed
kids really are like.

In Zimbados words -
Our personal identities are socially situated.
we are what we live, eat, work. It is possible to predict
a wide range of your attitudes and behaviour from
knowing your status factors - your ethnicity, social class,
education, and religion.

But still - not all is said. Occasional
a hero comes along - and can not be bullied
into accepting evil. It might be a John McCain
in Vietnamese prison that will not rat on his
country. Or it might be a Nelson Mandela
that will not answer violence with violence.

Evil does not always have the last word.
and most people eventually know what is right and
what is wrong -
But the immature, it be one prison guard, or an entire nation,
you can apparently always trick into being evil by
creating a "lucifer situation" - where evil is
"ok".

I would have given the book 5 stars had there be
more on teaching us all to be Jedi in the
face of evil - as it is, to me, it only demonstrates
that circumstance plays a big part in making
average people evil. I dont think
Zimbardo is out there to explain away evil and
take responsibility away from the individual.
But he should be far more concrete and have much more
focus on all of this.

-Simon

In 1971 Dr. Phillip Zimbardo joined the likes of Milgram and Munoz as being perhaps one of the most dubious researchers at the edge of psychology. This is because he engaged in a two week experiment to test the reactions of students to being placed in an artificial prison to see what their reactions would be.

Though the project had been scheduled for a mere two weeks, a stunned Zimbardo quickly discovered that he had to bring the project to an early close owing the exceeding brutal nature of the treatment imposed on the randomly chosen "prisoners" by the equally randomly chosen "guards."

What he found was that when the untrained were placed in controlled of the unempowered, terror could result. In this way, Zimbardo heard echoes of Nazi state, Mai Lai, and even Abugarab in the pleas of his "prisoners."

And in this regard his work significantly advances the cause of instructing just societies to establish just penal systems. By carefully comparing the excesses of his "guards" to other brutalizers Zimbardo admirably does a good job of outlining the dos and don'ts of operating a just and safe prison.

However, and this is why I entitled this review Or the Angelic effect?, Zimbardo also goes on to discuss ways in which we might through our public policy encourage that other side of human behavior...the good, the ultruistic and the laudable. Though admittedly Zimbardo walks on less sure footing as to these issues I think perhaps this part of his book may yet be the catalist for important discussions...though frankly I'm not optimistic.

Like Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan or more recently Harvard's Steven Pinker in any of his works but perhaps most notably The Blank Slate, I am not certain social engineering can do much to either encourage or discourage human behavior. In this regard I tend to suspect that in ANY situation, you will find those predictable segments of the population that will either capitalize on the event for personal benefit or alternatively rise and make it an occassion for yet another exhibition of ultruism...the choice being more the product of what's in them than what's outside of them.

However, none of this analysis takes away from the fact that this is a really good book and worth reading.

Monster is an amazing book, because, at least for me, it transports you to a world you don't see every day. One in the courtroom, one in jail, on on the streets. The unique way it was written kept my interest, and made it feel like you were sitting right there. The dialogue was awesome, and it was all written in dialect that seemed realistic. Read this book...you will love it! Or if you don't love, you will at least be fascinated by how the main character's fear is so real, you can feel it.

Monster is the riveting tale of a young man on trial for murder. His attorney stresses that he needs to stand out from the other thugs on trial, as he struggles with his own sense of self. Steve narrates in a unique way, a collection of train-of-though style journal writing and screen plays of the events. He builds it all into a movie in his head, and on paper to help him sort out what's going on around him.

[...]

"Monster" was an outstanding book and should be read by any child that is heading in the wrong direction. Over the years, there were so many students I could have recommended this book to. This story is about a black teen and the inner city, but please do not feel this book could not help a child in the suburbs or Asian/Hispanic/White teens. The main focus of this book is to talk about the consequences any teen can face by associating themselves with the wrong people. So many teens want to be cool these days and fit in with the cool peer group. "Monster" is showing that being cool for a few moments could land you in jail for life, where you could be someone's girlfriend for the rest of your life. This book is an easy read and should not take your child or student long to read this book. The focus groups I recommend read this book are:
-Any teen heading down the wrong path
-Any teen on probation
-Any teen who has been getting into trouble at school
-Drama Club students
-Any teen wanting to fit in
-Any teen who you feel is picking the wrong people to associate with
-Film/ Media production Clubs

"Monster the story of my miserable life." "This film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. MONSTER"

Monster is about a teenage boy named Steve Harmon the age of 16 who is in jail and on trial because was a part of a robbery as a look out, along with his "friends" Bobo and King. Throughout this whole book it takes place in the courtroom except for at night when Steve is writing in his journal. The robbery took place on December 22 at around 4 or 5. Two of Steve's friends Richard Evans (known as "Bobo" on the streets) and James King were the robbers in the store. As the story claims to be in court is, that while they were trying to rob the store the owner, Alguinaldo Nesbitt, pulled out a gun. As King struggles with the owner, a shot is fired.

In my opinion, I think that Walter Dean Myers has a very unique type of writing in this book. He writes the whole book in dialogue. Also, during some parts of the book he writes it in Steve's perspective of what happened during the crime scene. Last but not least, it also has the perspective of other characters and what they had done to lead up to the crime. Finally, he also shows Steve's thoughts at the end of every court day by writing it in Steve's journal.

Synopsis
The novel begins with the main character, Steve, explaining in a journal type format, that the best time to cry is during the nighttime. Steve is in jail awaiting the outcome of his trial after being arrested for felony murder. He was allegedly involved in the murder of a local grocery store clerk. As the book progresses, it shifts between journal entries and a movie script format. As the courtroom drama unfolds other characters are introduced through the eyes of Steven and the lens of a camera.
Evaluation
The title of this book, takes its name from the word that the prosecutor calls Steve in the courtroom. Throughout the novel, the author explores the notion of identity and perception, and how others inform how one views him or herself. Steve, the main character of the book, views himself as a monster, because that is how both prosecutor and defense attorney view him. In the book, Steve is more like a character in a film, because the people he interacts with perceive him as a one-dimensional stereotype verses a complex human being. Myers uses the narrative style of the book to demonstrate this theme, as the journal entries are punctuated by dialogue and movie script formatting. While others view Steve as one-dimensional, Myers portrays all the complexities of a true character as Steve goes back and forth between acceptance and guilt. The realistic and harsh tone of the dialogue allows the reader to truly empathize with the main character in the book. The novel also raises essential questions relating to human nature, the role of the community and one's environment, and the failure of the criminal justice system. Monster was awarded the Coretta Scott King Award, the Michael L. Printz award for excellence in young adult fiction, and was a finalist for the National Book award

I purchased this book for my husband and he had written me several times quoting passages from it and told me he wished I had a copy so we could discuss it together. With that said, I purchased an additional copy and read it in one day. My son walked by and saw and me tearing up and asked what I was reading and I read him the except. We continued reading them together out loud. He too cried. It is an awesome and inspirational book that will make you laugh and cry. It created some bonding time with my son and opened up topics of conversation between my husband and me. Worth every penny and so much more!

I was searching to find a inspirational book for my dad whom recently was sent to prison. He said right away he loved the book and now it is being shared by all his friends in his unit. He cant get enough Chicken Soup books and wants more of them right away !!! 5 stars for sure

prisioners need to have something possitive to read. A bad attutude will carry to there life after they get out and on the other hand so will a possitive one. Smiles to all

Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul was suggested to me by a prisoner. Having worked in the California State Prison at San Quentin in the late 1960s and at other lockup facilities in California and Arizona, I am usually hesitant about inmate suggestions for my reading list. However, this book far exceeded my expectations. It is so powerful, I read only a few chapters at a time. The effect could be overwhelming. So turn off your speed-reading skills, resist any temptation to use this for bedtime reading and expect to get more than your money's worth

I brought this book for a good friend of mine who is currently in prison and he enjoyed reading the book and found it to be very encouraging.

Heart-wrenching and totally mesmerizing. I was completely engrossed, especially because it is all so real, all the mundane details, and all the big historical events. I didn't find a single moment where the story dragged. Completely engrossed by this book--highly recommend.

I remember reading this book years ago in the original French when I was a student, and I find it amazing that such an important primary source on the French Resistance and German occupation of France has taken sixty years to be translated. Agnes Humbert's sheer tenacity in banding together with her comrades to publish and distribute the illegal anti-German newspaper Résistance is a riveting profile in courage, yet Humbert never really draws any attention to her heroism, presenting her actions merely as what was required of a moral, patriotic person in a conflict where there were only two sides: for the Nazis or against them.

I agree with the previous reviewer that the second half of the book detailing Humbert's arrest and imprisonment is more interesting, better written, and overall more compelling than the early sections, which are indeed dry and expository. Which brings me to my only real objection to this very useful addition to the English-language literature on the civilian experience of the war: the publishers should have gone to greater lengths to commission a truly spirited and detailed introductory essay orienting the lay reader (or, more importantly, college students) to the timeline and chain of events in the Nazi takeover of France, the division into Vichy and German-administered provinces, etc. I think there is a great deal of room for confusion here for people unfamiliar or only vaguely familiar with the historical background.

Nonetheless, it's wonderful to know that this book is now available in English (and in a very nice, fluid translation)--a great addition to the reading list for any college course on WWII.

Résistance is the harrowing journal and memoir of Agnès Humbert, a middle-aged art historian in Paris, and her experiences in Nazi occupied France during WWII. When Humbert first hears the rumors of an occupation, she is distraught and numb, but soon finds a strong will of opposition inside her. She begins to contact others who are like-minded and is soon embroiled in producing Résistance, a newspaper filled with propaganda, which she and her colleagues distribute anywhere and everywhere they can. Agnès meets several important contacts and knows that danger is only a heartbeat away, for if the Germans find out about her anti-Nazi sentiments and activities, she will be imprisoned. Though she knows the dangers, she continues with her work, only to be brought in for questioning regarding her activities. Following her eventual trial, Agnès is convicted and sent to prison. What ensues is the heart-breaking story of what she was subjected to after being becoming a political prisoner in France, and later Germany.

The first section of this book was given over to the specifics and details of who and what her group of friends did in opposition to the German invasion. Many were implicated, yet as her journal was never found, Agnès was not the cause of any imprisonments or executions. Unfortunately, many of the people responsible for Résistance were tried and convicted anyway. I found this section to be a little dry and methodical. It almost seemed that this part of the book acted as a type of ledger of information, rather than a chronicle. Many of the people were only briefly mentioned, and I had some trouble in understanding who was who and what part they played in the opposition. While I believe that it was important to know the events that led up to her imprisonment, this section seemed a little too matter-of-fact.

The majority of this book was devoted to the time that Agnès spent as a prisoner and laborer. During this time she suffered many abuses at the hands of the Germans. The tortures that she and her fellow prisoners faced in the prison were terrible, from starvation and beatings to severe confinement. Despite their atrocious treatment, the women were able to form friendships and take joy in the company of others, sharing news and small victories with each other. Many would not recant their political ideology even after being subjected to daily bouts of cruel treatment. I found it hard to believe that things could get any worse for them, but when they were moved to a German work camp, what had come before paled by comparison. In the labor camps, it was obvious that life was expendable and cheap. The overseers' attitudes went beyond the malicious and into the area of savagery. They were worked like dogs, with no care given to injuries or illness, and the living conditions and rations were pitiful. While Agnès and her fellow laborers struggled, inhaling caustic chemicals that gave them temporary blindness and suppurating ulcers, they still found ways to share political information and news among themselves. Sometimes these friendships were cut short, as their overseers didn't like their fraternization, and women would be moved to other areas of the workhouse. Agnès, nevertheless, found ingenious ways to sabotage her work, as it was the only way she could oppose the occupation from inside its confinement. She never let them break her spirit, no matter what was forced upon her. When help finally arrived in the form of American troops in April of 1945, Agnès had been imprisoned for 5 years. Despite her experiences, she immediately took charge and helped the American forces seek out fleeing Nazis and created a temporary hospital for the refugees and Germans alike. She took command of many aspects of this new civilian life, and was greatly esteemed by the Allied forces, fellow prisoners and the community.

One of the most amazing thing about this book was Agnès' remarkable wit and sense of humor. No matter what horrors the day brought her, she had an amazingly beautiful spirit that enabled her to continue laughing. She never showed despair and defeat; rather a cynical cleverness in which she documented the sufferings of herself and those around her. Despite all that happened to her and her compatriots, she never let go of her beliefs and fought in the only way she knew how. Agnès never let herself sink into depression, despite her many injuries or disappointments. I very much admired her courage and strength.

This story was both haunting and inspiring. Among the atrocities committed in WWII, this remains a story that is not often heard but that truly needs to be told. It may enlighten others to the fact that Jews were not the only victims of this terrible war. I found myself feeling maudlin and upset while reading this book, but I am glad that I read it. It is a terrible tale, but behind that tale lurks the spirit of of a woman who would not give up, turning a story that could only be ugly into a thing of beauty.

I think James Frey has incredible talent. And although I felt that "Bright Shiny Morning" showed more maturity, "My Friend Leonard" was an excellent read.

James draws you into his characters and you find yourself sympathizing, hoping and feeling and although his books are thoroughly engrossing some of his style choices are a bit tiresome, but who says you have to read every word.

Would I recommend this book, yes, but be prepared to spend a lazy afternoon on a cozy couch finishing it.

It took me 6 weeks to get through this and that's saying something seeing how thinly structured this book is. If you didn't read the fraudulent predecessor, you'd be lost--or maybe not since it's written on a third grade reading level. Frey pulled a fast one on me a few years ago. I dismissed the writing style then because I thought we were dealing with someone with a fragile state of mind. Here, there seems to be a lack of consistency. What happened to his love of reading from the first book? It changes to drawings and paintings in this book. I'm supposed to believe a struggling screenwriter turns down massive amount of money left to him from a friend that loved him like a father-and what about the strife between him and his parents? It just melts away? I just hated this book. I read it because I bought it before the scandal broke and it was the next book in my TBR pile. Trust me when I say Frey won't be getting another dime from me.

The book is very good written and read, and I also would have a friend like Leonard, he is very good.

I have strong feelings about memoirs. I believe that everyone remembers things their own way, and in Frey's case we cannot expect a drug addict to remember things the way it actually happened. This story is amazing and touching and surprising. I am glad I read it after A Million Little Pieces. I am also glad I grew up in Los Angeles, it helped me visualize the scenes better. Frey's writing style flows like thoughts and it helped me really get the things he was feeling, the way he just let it flow.

In my copy of this book, I couldn't find one notation at all as to where this book is fiction, a memoir or what. So, I read it thinking it was true (it's a little more fun to read that way), but ended suspecting as I did all along that much of this story was made up. But, I'm not sure...my copy just doesn't have any info and what I look up online seems to vary.

Moving on....I really enjoyed this book! In fact, I liked it more than A Million Little Pieces. Probably in part because this was a much happier book, even though a lot of depressing things happen. Also, once you're already familiar with a set of characters, it seems the second time around you enjoy them even more, almost as if they are friends. Either way, I liked the book for the most part.

As with AMLP, Frey's writing style can grate on your nerves. The fact that many of his sentences are run-ons and omitt proper punctuation, it's just annoying. The editor should have fixed this. I don't feel it added anything to this story. What I did like, was how some pages only contained one paragraph or two. This was done I believe to demonstrate a significant event or show a passage of time. Either way, I liked that aspect.

What sealed the deal for me? The last few pages I was in tears. I'm a very avid reader, but this doesn't happen often. I was that attached to the characters and what was written was that moving.

Overall I'd recommend this book to a friend. Although I still don't know if I'd recommend it as fiction or non.

The Gulag Archipelago is a must read for everyone. It is an amazing and jaw-dropping description of madness and destruction of truly epic proportions. Until one has read such an account, one cannot fully comprehend what Russia's dissidents had to live through - the utter madness of it all, the utter destruction of the State and the utter helplessness of the man or woman caught up in its web !

I have the full three volume set of the Gulag that I read years ago. It is the greatest book ever written. In portraying Communism, as he described as man's inhumanity to man, Solzhenitsyn has an exceptional ability while depicting the excessively cruel treatment of human beings in the Gulag to demonstrate his dignity and the dignity of those who suffered at the hands of their oppressors. The entire book is full of stories of the courage of human beings in the face of such evil. In that way, while depicting the horrible conditions of the Gulag, the book ultimately provides an uplifting message that peace and kindness are enduring human traits that can and do shine through despite overwhelming attempts to erase them. Never has there been a more courageous and humane writer.

This is vintage Solzhenitsyn; his brilliant mind shines forth splendidly. A book that is difficult to put down, places one inside his mind to see what he describes, so much from having spent hours memorizing while in the camps so he could later give us a glimpse of the horror that millions upon millions of human beings endured.

For any who have any nostalgia for the Soviet Union, this book should put it to rest. This book is hard to categorize; it is more than one man's opinion, but less than an objective history. It is, as Solzhenitsyn puts it, "an experiment in literary investigation": a combination memoir and dissertation on the evils of Communism and its inevitable product, the forced labor camp. Some have criticized Solzhenitsyn as an anti-Communist/pro-Western polemicist, but that is not an accurate description. He is a realist, showing not only the faults of Communists, but also those of the West and Western leaders. This should be required reading for European and world history classes. Volume 1 (of 3) describes the arrest and interrogation procedures, as well as life in the Gulag.

This is truely one of the best books around for those that deal with inmates, especially those new to corrections!

Great book! I highly recommend this book for anybody in law enforcement or anybody trying to get into law enforcement! It will definitly make you think about what these criminals will do to manipulate you!

This is one of those books that really help you realize that you need to be AWARE. It's hard to do at first, but it teaches you what to look for when you are working with criminals. If you are, then you should buy this book.

This is an invaluable book for any correctional employee. It should be read by all new employees and reviewed by others from time to time.

Having worked in the corrections field for many years, I have seen numerous variations of these 'games'. The authors do a great job of explaining how setups progress from beginning to endgame. They cover many case studies that show various ways that inmates manipulate some staffers into providing contraband, sexual favors, etc. One would like to think that never happens, but it does. This book can be a great aid in reducing occurrences.

I first read this about ten years ago and just reread it. I learned even more the second time through. It is certainly worthwhile to review.

This book can help correctional workers avoid losing their reputations, jobs, and even their lives. If you work in corrections, buy this, read it, and share it with others.

This book should be required reading for everyone. I bought it for my husband who is going into law enforcement, but read it myself. After reading it, I made my teenage son, and my four brothers, and my parents, friends and in-laws read it. It is a wake up call for those of us who go through life thinking the best of people, and assuming that everyone else does too. If you have anyone in your life- unstable ex-mates, out of control teen-age kids, outlaw-inlaws, or any other kind of person that seems to want to use or abuse you, then please educate yourself about their agendas with this book. It makes it much easier to protect yourself, and believe me, not all criminal types are behind bars or come with a warning label.

I was slow to relate to how he ended up in prison. But once there, I could not put it down! Ultimately, the crime was not the highlight but rather the experience...which is graphic and powerful. It still haunts me but makes me want to learn more about the system.

While the story is bizzare, disgusting and pathetic; the apparent fact that this person did not have the "Heart" to fight off his aggressors, does not rationalize the nightmarish environments he had to endure. Talk about a meat grinder: white trailer park trash becomes white sex slave and then finally becomes an apparent healthy male with wounds. I think for me there is this feeling , however slight it may be, that this could happen to anyone of us and the subject therefore should not be so easily dismissed as it has and will be. If you have the stomach for it , this book is a glaring indictment of our less then perfect culture.

Sorry, this is more of an emotional release than a fully fledged review.

What a twisted prison system in a seemingly civilized society!
What a brave young man that has succeeded in beating the odds and coming back from it!
What a beautiful first love story that has an inevitable sad ending like it always does!

I'm not a native english speaker, but I believe the power of any good book is beyond languages.

As soon as I finished reading this book, I went back to the beginning and read it again. I was blown away by Parsell's experiences and his courage to come forth and tell the truth. He made me realize how ignorant I was about life in prison. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed his writing. Highly recommended!

I read a great review of this book on a writer's blog & couldn't wait to read it! It truly is a courageous story and I admire Parsell for sharing such difficult memories. Bravo!