A Prison Anthology

A chronicle of three years as experienced by the prisoners of the 113-year-old Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. A relic of the convict-lease system, Brushy's sordid history was brought to a close in 2009. But not before men on the inside produced a publication that outlasted the prison and has been preserved here for your review.

You will learn how prisoners:
• Navigate security and gangs
• Manufacture leather goods
• Produce art and literary works
• Maintain their health
• Conduct organizations
• Celebrate holidays
• Educate themselves
• Worship
• Construct buildings
• Make donations to causes
• Hold sporting events
• Learn musical instruments
• Do legal research
• Communicate with the outside
• Find simple entertainment

You will also learn impressive facts about Brushy Mountain, nicknamed by Tennesseans "The Alcatraz of the South." Yet the prison's record was not nearly as impressive as its namesake. The book reports on 156 felons who fled the TDOC, as well as Brushy's most famous escapee, James Earl Ray.

Other news items include:
• Terrorist recruiting from prison populations
• Prison guard shortages
• Government experimentation on prisoners
• Stats that effect recidivism rates
• Execution protocols
• Juveniles in adult facilities
• Solitary links to suicide
• Death row inmates halt appeals
• Claims of sexual attacks in prison
• False conviction stats
• Arrest deaths tied to drugs
• Private prison funding
• Prison and jail population stats

Since this book was written by men inside the system, many of the feature articles focus on problems that cause arrest rates to soar and prison to fill to overflowing. There are also numerous self-help articles written by the employed (at 50 an hour) prisoner staff, which apply both inside and outside of prison.

You'll find these feature articles in inside:
• American Addiction
• To Spank or Not to Spank: An Argument
• Life in the Fast Lane
• Tour of An American Prison
• Is Juvenile Justice Black-and-White?
• The Religious Politician, the Declining Superpower and the Powerless Church
• Do Our Television Choices Effect What We Say, Do and Think?
• Money Matters: Self Analysis
• Continuing Education While Incarcerated
• The Brain
• Amazing Facts About Your Heart
• God vs. State
• Making Amends
• Nature's Nasty Nature?
• The Bottom Line

And of course, no book written by prisoners would be complete without some "jail-house religion." But don't be too quick to question the commitment of some of these authors; many of these articles are well-researched and well-written:

Spiritually-focused compositions include:
• A Change In Direction
• Are "All Things" Good for God's Children?
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