In the United States, less than one worker in five is currently in a labor union, while in Sweden, virtually the entire workforce is unionized. Despite compelling evidence for their positive effects, even the strongest European unions are now in retreat as some policymakers herald the U.S. model of market deregulation. These differences in union power significantly affect workers' living standards and the fortunes of national economies. What explains the enormous variation in unionization ...

In the era of mass incarceration, over 600,000 people are released from federal or state prison each year, with many returning to chaotic living environments rife with violence. In these circumstances, how do former prisoners navigate reentering society? In Homeward, sociologist Bruce Western examines the tumultuous first year after release from prison. Drawing from in-depth interviews with over one hundred individuals, he describes the lives of the formerly incarcerated and demon...

In the era of mass incarceration, over 600,000 people are released from federal or state prison each year, with many returning to chaotic living environments rife with violence. In these circumstances, how do former prisoners navigate reentering society? In Homeward, sociologist Bruce Western examines the tumultuous first year after release from prison. Drawing from in-depth interviews with over one hundred individuals, he describes the lives of the formerly incarcerated and demon...

How to envision a justice system that combines the least possible punishment with the greatest possible healing, from an all-star cast of contributors"An extraordinary and long overdue collection offering myriad ways that we can and must completely overhaul the way we imagine as well as implement 'justice.'"—Heather Ann Thompson, historian and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Blood in the WaterAfter decades of overpolicing and ever-more punit...

With a foreword by Bruce WesternNamed one of the Best Books of the Year by NPRShortlisted, 2024 Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social JusticeThe most comprehensive critique of probation and parole—and a provocative and compelling argument for abolishing both—from the former Probation Commissioner of New York CityImagine if probation didn't exist. And I came to you with $80 million and ...

**How to envision a justice system that combines the least possible punishment with the greatest possible healing, from an all-star cast of contributors“An extraordinary and long overdue collection offering myriad ways that we can and must completely overhaul the way we imagine as well as implement ‘justice.’”—Heather Ann Thompson, historian and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Blood in the Water**After decades of overpolicing and ever-more punitive criminal...

The Society of Captives, first published in 1958, is a classic of modern criminology and one of the most important books ever written about prison.Gresham Sykes wrote the book at the height of the Cold War, motivated by the world's experience of fascism and communism to study the closest thing to a totalitarian system in American life: a maximum security prison. His analysis calls into question the extent to which prisons can succeed in their attempts to control every face...