Angela Davis, an American icon.

My very first introduction to the concept of prison abolition came from an online bookclub that I heard about on Twitter. We read Are Prisons Obsolete? by Davis and it blew my mind. It is a short book, a but over 100 pages, and it sums up the history of prisons, then asks, "If prisons did not always exist, should they always continue to exist? In light of our evolving understanding of humane justice, should we not evolve the way justice is enacted?" I honestly had no idea about any of it, and my ignorance was very much by design.

This book, Abolition, is a collection of essays and speeches over the years. The main argument here is that modern prisons in America are a direct descendent of slavery and have little to do with bringing justice to the community or "reforming" criminals. Critics questioned their effectiveness even before their initiation, and there has been no accountability from the state in the face of overwhelming evidence that prisons are a failure at their stated aims.

The nature of the book means that it is repetitive; reading it straight through kind of gave me a de ja vu feeling. Davis is a powerful writer and able to wrap stories and facts together in a captivating way, and I am glad this book exists. The audiobook is a gift that she reads herself. That said, I wouldn't recommend this book as a starting point just because it isn't structured like a typical book. I would love to see an adapted version with updated stats though! It probably already exists.