Locking up our own

This book is very powerful in its ability to put human faces and realities to all of the overwhelming statistics we read about incarceration. It also is unique in its clarity in stating how the United States came to be the world's largest jailor, and how it ended up so obviously discriminatory in who it locks up.
I won't belittle this book's arguments by summarizing them or picking out particular quotes, because although it's packed full of powerful statements, it's the research and stories around those powerful statements that really make the book so important. If race and justice are important to you, read this book. It is clear, concise, and it has permanently changed the way I look at the justice system.