''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire'' is a 2010 book by

Robert Perkinson Robert Perkinson is an American historian and Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is the author of ''Texas Tough: The Rise of a Prison Empire'' (2010) which received the 2011 PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award. ...

, published by

Metropolitan Books Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...

. Perkinson, an American Studies professor at

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

,Bergner, Daniel. "The Land of Lock and Key." ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', March 28, 2010, p.16(L). Online: p
1
Retrieved on July 9, 2014. describes the criminal justice system in Texas and how it formed in the context of the post-

United States Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

environment.Abramsky, Sasha. "American Justice." ''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...

'', May–June, 2010, Vol.49(1), p.55(3)

eer Reviewed Journal EER may refer to: * East of England Regiment, a British Army Reserve unit * Effective exchange rate * Energy efficiency rating in the Australian Capital Territory * Energy efficiency ratio, of a cooling device * Engineering education research * En ...

Online: May 1, 2010. Onlin
p. 1

Archive
. Retrieved on July 9, 2014. Perkinson states that, unlike the prisons described in his book, the early prison systems studied by many criminologists are those in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. Perkinson describes the historical system as being punishment-only and primarily motivated to suppress black people when it was no longer possible to legally enslave them without their having committed a crime.Perkinson, Robert: TEXAS TOUGH

Archive
. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', January 1, 2010. Retrieved on July 9, 2014. Therefore, Perkinson perceived this system as a continuation of slavery.Roth, Mitchel P.
''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire'' (review)

. ''

Southwestern Historical Quarterly The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...

'', 2011, Vol.115(1), pp.106-107

- Available at

Project MUSE Project MUSE, a non-profit collaboration between libraries and publishers, is an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books. Project MUSE contains digital humanities and social science content from over 250 university ...

. The book covers the terms of O.B. Ellis and

George Beto George John Beto (January 19, 1916 – December 4, 1991) was a director of the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC), a criminal justice expert in penology, a professor, and a Lutheran minister. He was previously the president of Concordia Luthera ...

as the heads of the Texas prison system, as well as the ''

Ruiz v. Estelle ''Ruiz v. Estelle'', 503 F. Supp. 1265 (S.D. Tex. 1980), filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, eventually became the most far-reaching lawsuit on the conditions of prison incarceration in American history. It ...

'' lawsuit.Lucko, Paul M. (

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

). "Tough on Texas." (Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire)(Book review) '' Texas Books in Review'', Fall, 2011, p.4(2). The author argues that in the post-

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

era in the 20th Century the rest of the country ultimately adopted the punitive Southern attitude towards incarceration.Bergner, Daniel. "The Land of Lock and Key." ''

'', March 28, 2010, p.16(L). Online: p
2
Retrieved on July 9, 2014. The book criticizes the expansion of incarceration and the pro-incarceration political movements.

Background

The book's title originates from an October 2000 report by the

Justice Policy Institute Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

.Abramsky, Sasha.
American Justice

Archive
. ''

'', May–June, 2010, Vol.49(1), p.55(3)

Online: May 1, 2010. Retrieved on July 9, 2014. Perkinson spent over 10 years researching the book; he consulted 30 archival collections, conducted ethnographic research, and used government records. Perkinson also interviewed David Ruiz, the plaintiff of ''Ruiz v. Estelle'';

William Wayne Justice William Wayne Justice (February 25, 1920 – October 13, 2009) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Education and career Born in Athens, Texas, Justice received a Bachelor of ...

, a federal judge; other current prisoners; former prisoners; prison guards; congressional officials; other writers; reform activists; and attorneys.

Reception

Sasha Abramsky of the ''

'' argued that "Perkinson tells a generally compelling (if overlong and occasionally unfocused) story, which blends history, cultural commentary, folklore, and ethnography."Abramsky, Sasha. "American Justice." ''

'', May–June, 2010, Vol.49(1), p.55(3)

Online: May 1, 2010. Onlin
p. 2

Archive
. Retrieved on July 9, 2014. Abramsky recommends reading ''Texas Tough'' and '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison'' (2010) at the same time, because of the

juxtaposition Juxtaposition is an act or instance of placing two elements close together or side by side. This is often done in order to compare/contrast the two, to show similarities or differences, etc. Speech Juxtaposition in literary terms is the showing ...

of the two different types of prison environments and prisoners described.Abramsky, Sasha. "American Justice." ''

'', May–June, 2010, Vol.49(1), p.55(3)

Online: May 1, 2010. Onlin
p. 3

Archive
. Retrieved on July 9, 2014. "The juxtaposition between ''Texas Tough'' and ''Orange Is the New Black'' is fascinating, and makes them well worth reading together." Dr. Paul M. Lucko of

described the book as "a superb historical analysis". Lucko argued that Perkinson's focus on Texas as the source of anti-blacks does not take into account historically higher sentences for blacks in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

before and after the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

; he also stated that "Perkinson does not satisfactorily explain how the judicially discredited Texas control model inspired the nation's prison construction boom", and that it may be unfair to single out Texas if the book argued that "the prison itself is more irredeemable than most of its inmates." R. D. McCrie of the

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts c ...

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

described it as a "brilliant and important publication" that "alas, isn't easy reading at times." David Pitt of ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' deemed the work " fascinating and often deeply troubling book."Pitt, David.
Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire
(review). ''

'', March 1, 2010, Vol.106(13), p.36(1) Mitchel P. Roth of the ''

'' described the book "wide-ranging, well-organized and well written" work "that should be among the standard works on Texas criminal justice history for years to come" and that "Anyone trying to gain an understanding of the Texan love affair with the prison system will find many of the answers in this provocative and thoroughly researched book."

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

''Texas Tough'' official website

Sample chapterArchive

Big Think Interview With Robert Perkinson
-

Big Think Big Think is a multimedia web portal founded in 2007 by Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins. The website is a collection of interviews, presentations, and round table discussions with experts from a wide range of fields. Victoria Brown is the acting ...

, April 23, 2012 2010 non-fiction books History books about the United States Books about Texas History of Texas Politics of Texas

Background

Reception

See also

References

External links