February 2024 MBR The Social Issues Shelf

The Social Issues Shelf

The Jail is Everywhere
Jack Norton, author
Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, author
Judah Schept, author
Verso
www.versobooks.com
9781804291313, $19.95, PB, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Jail-Everywhere-Fighting-Geography-Incarceration/dp/=
1804291315

Synopsis: Nearly every county and major city in the United States has a jai=
l, the short-term detention center controlled by local sheriffs that funnel=
s people into prisons and long-term incarceration. While the growing moveme=
nt against incarceration and policing has called to reform or abolish priso=
ns, jails have often gone unnoticed, or in some cases seen as a "better" al=
ternative to prisons."

Yet jails, in recent decades, have been the fastest-growing sector of the U=
S incarceration state. Jails are widely used for immigrant detention by ICE=
 and the U.S. Marshals and as a place to offload people that prisons can't =
hold. As jails grow, they transform the region around them, and whole towns=
 and small cities see health care, mental health care, substance abuse, and=
 employment opportunities taken over by incarceration concerns.

If jails are everywhere, resistance to jails is too. The recent jail boom h=
as sparked a wealth of local activist struggles to resist and close jails a=
ll across the United States, from rural counties to major cities.

"The Jail is Everywhere: Fighting the New Geography of Mass Incarceration" =
brings these disparate voices together, with contributions from activists, =
scholars, and expert journalists describing the effects of this quiet jail =
boom, mapping the growth of the carceral state, and sharing strategies from=
 recent fights against jail construction to strengthen struggles against ja=
iling everywhere.

Critique: A seminal and ground-breaking study that will have particular val=
ue to readers with an interest in Criminology, Human Rights Law, and incarc=
eration reform, "The Jail is Everywhere: Fighting the New Geography of Mass=
 Incarceration" is an essential, core, and unreservedly recommended additio=
n to personal, professional, community, and college/university library coll=
ections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, aca=
demia, jail/prison reform political activists, governmental policy makers, =
and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Th=
e Jail is Everywhere: Fighting the New Geography of Mass Incarceration" is =
also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) as well.

Editorial Note #1: Jack Norton is Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice a=
t Governors State University.

Editorial Note #2: Lydia Pelot-Hobbs is an Assistant Professor of Geography=
 and African American & Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky, and=
 author of Carceral Crisis: Punitive State Power, Racial Capitalism, and St=
ruggles for Abolition Democracy in Louisiana.

Editorial Note #3: Judah Schept is a Professor in the School of Justice Stu=
dies at Eastern Kentucky University. He is the author of Coal, Cages, Crisi=
s: The Rise of the Prison Economy in Central Appalachia and Progressive Pun=
ishment: Job Loss, Jail Growth, and the Neoliberal Logic of Carceral Expans=
ion.

We're All Neurodiverse
Sonny Jane Wise
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Inc.
www.jkp.com
9781839975783, $18.95, PB, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Were-All-Neurodiverse-Neurodiversity-Affirming-Neuro=
normativity/dp/1839975784

Synopsis: "We're All Neurodiverse" is an affirming and thoughtful guide tha=
t effectively outlines how and why we need to fundamentally shift our think=
ing about neurodivergent people. We need to accept differences rather than =
framing them as a problem, abnormality or disorder. Welcome to the neurodiv=
ersity paradigm.

At times challenging and radical, with the publication of "We're All Neurod=
iverse" is a framework for understanding human brain function and mental il=
lness. It argues that diversity in human cognition is normal and that some =
conditions classified as mental disorders are differences and disabilities =
that are not necessarily pathological. ", Sonny Jane Wise explores the inte=
rsections of neurodivergence with disability, gender, sexuality and race. T=
hrough interviews, narratives, and the lens of their own raw experiences, t=
hey consider how current systems and structures that impact neurodivergent =
people are rooted in outdated capitalist and racist frameworks, and how the=
se need to change and adapt to be neurodiversity affirming.

Sonny Jane's words are a rallying cry to challenge the pathology paradigm. =
They offer nine principles for facilitating change, reflected in deeply per=
sonal stories from the neurodivergent community. Powerful and persuasive, "=
We're All Neurodiverse" is a clarion call for a kinder and more neurodivers=
ity affirming society.

Critique: Neurodiversity is a framework for understanding human brain funct=
ion and mental illness. It argues that diversity in human cognition is norm=
al and that some conditions classified as mental disorders are differences =
and disabilities that are not necessarily pathological. "We're All Neurodiv=
erse" is a seminal study that will have immense value to both medical/psych=
ology professionals, parents of children with neurological pathologies and =
gender identification issues, as well as non-specialist general readers wit=
h an interest in the subject. Exceptionally 'reader friendly' in organizati=
on and presentation, "We're All Neurodiverse" is especially and unreservedl=
y recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and college/=
university library parenting of children with disabilities collections and =
supplemental curriculum lists.

Editorial Note: Sonny Jane Wise (www.livedexperienceeducator.com) is a non-=
binary, disabled and neurodivergent advocate based in Australia. Sonny were=
 diagnosed as a child and grew up only hearing a deficit narrative. Since t=
hen, their mission has been to change the narrative on neurodiversity and n=
eurodivergence as an internationally recognized public speaker, author and =
creator.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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 (dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal=
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review