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Correction

Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change

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Correction

By: Ben Austen
Narrated by: Brett Barry
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About this listen

FROM THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF HIGH-RISERS comes a groundbreaking and honest investigation into the crisis of the American criminal justice system–through the lens of parole. Perfect for fans of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow and Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy.

Correction ranks among the very best books on life inside and outside of prison I have ever read."―Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted

A Most Anticipated Book of 2023: Chicago Review of Books

The United States, alone, locks up a quarter of the world’s incarcerated people. And yet apart from clichés—paying a debt to society; you do the crime, you do the time—there is little sense collectively in America what constitutes retribution or atonement. We don’t actually know why we punish.

Ben Austen’s powerful exploration offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process of parole. Told through the portraits of two men imprisoned for murder, and the parole board that holds their freedom in the balance, Austen’s unflinching storytelling forces us to reckon with some of the most profound questions underlying the country’s values around crime and punishment. What must someone who commits a terrible act do to get a second chance? What does incarceration seek to accomplish?

An illuminating work of narrative nonfiction, Correction challenges us to consider for ourselves why and who we punish—and how we might find a way out of an era of mass imprisonment.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2023 Ben Austen (P)2023 Macmillan Audio
Social Sciences True Crime

Critic Reviews

“Austen brings his skills for unflinching storytelling to take aim at mass incarceration and America’s deeply flawed justice system. This illuminating work of narrative nonfiction challenges readers to consider for ourselves why and who we punish and how we might find a way out of an era of mass imprisonment.”―Chicago Review of Books

"This is everything you could hope for in a book: an engrossing narrative of two men doing hard time, a deeply-researched history of incarceration in America, and a damn good read. Austen’s exhaustive reporting forces us to consider anew the nature of violence, the capriciousness of the justice system, our belief in second chances, and the purpose of punishment altogether. Correction ranks among the very best books on life inside and outside of prison I have ever read."―Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted

"Correction is a marvel of meticulous reporting. Ben Austen has crafted an unsparing, vivid and deeply human portrait not only of the two men at the heart of the story, but the entire system that will determine their fate. If we are to have an honest dialogue about criminal justice in this nation we must grapple with our deeply flawed parole practices. This book should be at the center of that conversation."—Jelani Cobb, Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and dean of the Columbia Journalism School

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