Mr. Smith Goes to Prison

September 1, 2015

The Shawshank Redemption meets Orange Is the New Black in Smith's memoir, which enlightens readers on the particularities of America's prison system. Smith, a former senator from Missouri, recounts his year-and-one-day in Kentucky's FCI Manchester prison after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice for campaign malfeasance. Mr. Smith enters FCI Manchester, a medium-security federal prison housing mainly nonviolent offenders, unprepared for life on the inside. A man of small stature, Smith quickly discovers the nuances of prison culture in order to remain unscathed but not ostracized. Candid stories shared throughout offer rare insight into a population that remains invisible: prisoners. Smith portrays himself, prison staff, and fellow inmates honestly, allowing better comprehension of socioeconomic issues plaguing America's prison system. The current congressional outcry for a more productive, cost-effective corrections system is echoed in the final chapters with corroborative data from indexed sources. VERDICT A highly readable account of prison life for those interested in social justice, prison life, prison reform, and sociocultural issues. Naomi Murakawa's The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America may be of interest for a more policy-based account of America's prisons.--Angela Forret, Clive P.L., IA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2015
In 2004, the author was almost elected to Congress. A few years later he became a U.S. senator from Missouri. Two years after that, in 2009, he pleaded guilty to a crime connected to his congressional campaign. Hoping forif not entirely expectinga suspended sentence, he was convicted and imprisoned for a year and a day. Behind bars, Smith, who was a driven, socially conscious man (the 2004 episode was of the one bad decision variety, not part of a criminal pattern), became deeply interested in prison reform. In this outspoken memoir, he pulls no punches, saying outright that the prison system (in fact, the justice system, in general) is deeply flawed, racially and socially unbalanced, in desperate need of not just a few tweaks but rather a serious overall. His well-reasoned book should help extend the dialogue on this important topic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)