Lucasville, The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising, 2nd ed.
£8.18
Slaughton Lynd’s powerful story of one of the longest prison uprisings in U.S. history, with a foreword by Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Description
Lucasville examines both the causes of the disturbance, what happened during the eleven days, and the fairness of the trials. Particular emphasis is placed on the inter-racial character of the action, as evidenced in the slogans that were found painted on walls after the surrender: “Black and White Together,” “Convict Unity,” and “Convict Race.”
An eloquent Foreword by Mumia Abu-Jamal underlines these themes. He states, as does the book, that the men later sentenced to death “sought to minimize violence, and indeed, according to substantial evidence, saved the lives of several men, prisoner and guard alike.” Of the five men, three black and two white, who were sentenced to death, Mumia declares: “They rose above their status as prisoners, and became, for a few days in April 1993, what rebels in Attica had demanded a generation before them: men. As such, they did not betray each other; they did not dishonor each other; they reached beyond their prison “tribes” to reach commonality.”
Praise:
“Mr. Lynd is a masterful storyteller and he has a hell of a story to tell. [He] has written a definitive history of one of the longest prison riots in U.S. history and its aftermath. That alone is worth the price of admission… What makes the book unique in the historical sense is the remarkable range of primary and secondary sources; Lynd writes with a lawyer’s pen but a poet’s ear… This book is a reminder that prisoners—even death row prisoners—are human beings, too. Lucasville is a resounding affirmation of our common humanity.”
–Michael Mello, author of The Wrong Man: A True Story of Innocence on Death Row
–Professor Peter Linebaugh, Department of History, University of Toledo; author of The London Hanged and co-author of The Many-Headed Hydra
“Lucasville is one of the most powerful indictments of our ‘justice system’ I have ever read. What comes across is a litany of flaws deep in the system, and recognizably not unique to Lucasville. The detailed transcripts (yes, oral history!) give great power to the whole story.”
–Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States
—Library Journal
About the Author:
Staughton Lynd taught American history at Spelman College and Yale University. He was director of Freedom Schools in the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer. An early leader of the movement against the Vietnam War, he was blacklisted and unable to continue as an academic. He then became a lawyer, and in this capacity has assisted rank-and-file workers and prisoners for the past thirty years. He has written, edited, or co-edited with his wife Alice Lynd more than a dozen books.
About Mumia Abu-Jamal (Foreword):
Product Details:
Author: Staughton Lynd with a Preface by Mumia Abu-Jamal
Publisher: PM Press (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 978-1-60486-224-9
Published: February 2011
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 256
Size: 8.5 by 5.5
Subjects: Penology, Politics
Additional information
| Weight | 0.380000 kg |
|---|
