American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment

Shane Bauer is an investigative journalist whose reporting has appeared primarily in Mother Jones. He has also contributed to The Nation, Salon.com, the Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker. Bauer’s writing has focused on the penal system, perhaps as a result of his own incarceration in an Iranian prison after he and two friends were lured across the Iranian border and arrested. Having spent over two years in Iran’s Evin prison gives Bauer a unique empathy toward incarcerated people and a critical eye on the prison system in general. Bauer belongs to that specific breed of journalist who immerses himself completely into his subject matter, even if it means putting himself in personal danger. While he initially approaches his job with an open mind and an open heart, trying to see each inmate as a human being with unique life experiences, the demands of the job begin to erode his empathy, and fear and suspicion fill the void.

The deplorable working conditions and lack of basic resources make Bauer’s cynicism and paranoia almost inevitable. What is troubling, however, is the ease with which he accepts these changes, almost relishing his newfound aggression and confrontational relationship with inmates he once trusted.