Listen free for 30 days

  • From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime

  • The Making of Mass Incarceration in America
  • Written by: Elizabeth Hinton
  • Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
  • Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime cover art

From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime

Written by: Elizabeth Hinton
Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.82

Buy Now for $22.82

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

In the United States today, one in every 31 adults is under some form of penal control, including one in 11 African American men. How did the "land of the free" become the home of the world's largest prison system? Challenging the belief that America's prison problem originated with the Reagan administration's War on Drugs, Elizabeth Hinton traces the rise of mass incarceration to an ironic source: the social welfare programs of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society at the height of the civil rights era.

Johnson's War on Poverty policies sought to foster equality and economic opportunity. But these initiatives were also rooted in widely shared assumptions about African Americans' role in urban disorder, which prompted Johnson to call for a simultaneous War on Crime. The 1965 Law Enforcement Assistance Act empowered the national government to take a direct role in militarizing local police. Federal anticrime funding soon incentivized social service providers to ally with police departments, courts, and prisons. Under Richard Nixon and his successors, welfare programs fell by the wayside while investment in policing and punishment expanded.

©2016 The President and Fellows of Harvard College (P)2016 Tantor
Public Policy Poverty & Homelessness Criminology Sociology Law United States
Show more Show less

What the critics say

"The book is vivid with detail and sharp analysis. Stretching beyond the typical scope of an academic text, Hinton's book is more than an argument; it is a revelation." (The New York Times)

What listeners say about From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.ca reviews

Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for RandomAccount007

A book everyone should read

Trenchant and appropriately critical of the law enforcement policies enacted throughout US history. One of the greatest books I’ve read. Great narration as well.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!