Famous Prisons

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Kerrigan covers his topic in detail, from the beginning of time, taking into account secular and religious laws and rules of conduct, and the various means people have employed to punish those who violate the laws, including corporal punishment, imprisonment, capital punishment, and rehabilitation efforts. Lock takes readers on a tour of famous U.S. prisons (Alcatraz, Sing-Sing, San Quentin, Statesville), as well as one in England (Dartmoor), and another in Ireland (Mountjoy). She includes a history of each one, and the conditions over time, as well as interesting stories about each prison, and some of its famous inmates. Rabiger concentrates on the U.S. prison system and gives readers a close-up and grimly realistic view of living in one. This volume is definitely the most sobering. All three books provide no-nonsense, straightforward, gritty information, accompanied by good-quality, full-color photos, reproductions, and illustrations.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.