A devastating indictment of the American criminal justice system, this book was difficult to read despite being very well written and researched. Alexander lays out the compelling evidence to argue that the war on drugs has been used to create a racial caste system that never needs to use racial language, and as a result is immune to criticisms of racism. And yet, the media fueled perception of what a drug criminal looks like leads to biased enforcing of laws and the incarceration of staggering numbers of young men of color. An important read that broadens social consciousness of an insidious system of control along racial lines many would argue had been dismantled years ago.