The prison system in the U.S. is in crisis. We have far too many prisoners and spend far too much on housing them and building more prisons. We have far too harsh penalties for less serious nonviolent crimes, so we are unnecessarily incarcerating people who could be productive citizens, and destroying families in the process.

In THE COSTLY U.S. PRISON SYSTEM: TOO COSTLY IN TERMS OF DOLLARS, NATIONAL PRESTIGE AND LIVES, author Paul Brakke provides a careful, close-up look from a conservative perspective of what's wrong with the prison system and how to fix it. The key topics covered include these:

- a recent history of incarceration in the U.S.

- facts about our prisons and correctional system

- how other countries deal with prisons and recidivism - the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend

- how one U.S. state and one U.S. city have dealt with prisons and recidivism

- ways to reduce recidivism

- ways to reduce incarceration and cut costs

This important book summarizes much of what has been written on the subject by academics who use inscrutable terminology and have failed to offer practical solutions. It provides many new suggestions for reducing our bloated prison system and its excessive costs.