The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of ColorblindnessThe New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Score Modern
What it's about
Civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander argues that mass incarceration in the United States, driven by the War on Drugs, has created a new system of racial control: millions of Black Americans labeled felons and then legally stripped of the right to vote, to serve on juries, and to get jobs, housing and benefits, much as Jim Crow laws once did. She shows how it happened and why colorblind policies have made it hard to see.
Why it's worth reading
It's one of the most influential books of the century, credited with helping spark the criminal justice reform movement, and it's on the New York Times list of the century's best books.
You'll love it if you liked
Between the World and Me
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American CityGood to know
It's a carefully documented argument with lots of statistics and law. Some drug-policy data is from before 2010, though the argument still stands.
By the numbers
- Readers100 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics59 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller60 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #4 of the 44 politics books we rank
- #16 of the 198 history books we rank
- #46 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #84 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Quick answers
Is The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness worth reading?
Yes. It's one of the most influential books of the century, credited with helping spark the criminal justice reform movement, and it's on the New York Times list of the century's best books. It ranks #84 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 87.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness about?
Civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander argues that mass incarceration in the United States, driven by the War on Drugs, has created a new system of racial control: millions of Black Americans labeled felons and then legally stripped of the right to vote, to serve on juries, and to get jobs, housing and benefits, much as Jim Crow laws once did. She shows how it happened and why colorblind policies have made it hard to see.
How long does it take to read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness?
About 8 hours (301 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness?
If you liked it, try Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson or Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.