In the Belly of the Beast: Letters From Prison

abbott describes the experience of being repeatedly imprisoned throughout his life (beginning in childhood). he also expounds on philosophy and comments on various social ills (violence, racism, capital punishment). it's tough to read (emotionally) but very interesting. ( )

I think this is the book that scared my Penology prof. She doesn't scare easily. I was a little worried about reading it because of that. I'm not going to say that some of it isn't scary, but more of it is thought provoking, at least to me. I think my favorite chapter was the one about Racism in America and Behind Bars. I also really liked the chapter right after that, called Foreign Affairs. Don't misunderstand, I enjoyed the rest of the book as well, those were just the one's I liked the best.

I wonder how anyone who doesn't know about the American Justice system react to this book when they read it? None of it really shocked me that much. ( )

This disturbing work is a collection of letters written by Abbott, a man who spent most of his life in prison, to Norman Mailer. Mailer was writing The Executioner’s Song at the time and crusading for prison reform; Abbott initiated a correspondence with Mailer and offered to tell him about life inside a maximum-security prison. The resulting letters are a strange mixture of rants, complaints, anecdotes, and political discussions, all from the mind of a possibly deranged criminal.

This book is very hard for me to evaluate. While I was reading, I found myself biased against Abbott and reluctant to believe anything that he said. Some of the claims he makes are patently false. However, he is also a good writer and obviously an intelligent person, and some of his insights are (in my opinion) surprisingly accurate. I’m almost positive that anybody who reads this will find something offensive about it, yet it’s certainly a fascinating read. If you’re into prison literature, I would highly recommend this, but be warned that it’s quite disturbing.

Fascinating. ( )