Michael S. Sherry, The Punitive Turn in American Life: How the United States Learned to Fight Crime Like a War

Abstract

explaining how contextualization of offenders’ experiences have made some in-roads. However, despite some shifts in the legal, expert and cultural landscapes, other scholars’ have documented the hardening of US attitudes towards violent offenders, which tempers optimism. Nonetheless, Aviram ends with a clear call for real rehabilitation and for reform of parole board composition and practices grounded in empiricism, “to get [us] the hell out of Bardo” (p. 222). Overall, while readers may want more contextualization of parole outside of California, this focus is justifiable given the overall impact of the Manson case and subsequent legal proceedings nationally. Other sources that could compliment this book include the work of Joan Petersilia, Jonathan Simon and Michelle Phelps. Though this work is not rooted in media studies, Aviram analyzes how documentaries and other media depictions are informed by and reinforce common narratives. Readers may also want to watch one of the many widely available documentaries about the Manson family. We especially recommend Manson: The Women, which specifically focuses on the cult narrative and the experiences of women involved in the family. Undergraduate interdisciplinary or gender and crime-focused seminars would find fruitful points of discussion in reading Emma Clines’ “The Girls” along with Yesterday’s Monsters as well as some selections from feminist criminology including Nicole Hahn Rafter and Kelly Hannah-Moffat.