Within Prison Walls by Thomas Mott Osborne (Heathen Edition)

Description: The account in the following chapters of my week in Auburn Prison is taken from the pages of a journal I kept during my confinement. In that I jotted down, day by day, every incident no matter how trivial it seemed at the time; so that I possess a very complete record of my week in prison.As I have transcribed the pages of the diary I have lived over again every moment of that remarkably vivid experience, finding that almost every act, every word, every detail, is fairly burned into my memory.I shall not attempt to draw up any bill of indictment against the Prison System, or to suggest specific improvements, either in general principles or administrative details; I shall simply set down the facts and my feelings as accurately as I can. Thomas Mott Osborne (1859–1926) was an American prison administrator, prison reformer, industrialist, and New York State political reformer, who was so inspired by Donald Lowrie’s 1912 book, My Life in Prison (now available as a Heathen Edition!), and its call to action concerning prison reform, that he convinced the governor of New York to appoint him chairman of a new State Commission on Prison Reform. Then, on behalf of that commission and to better understand “the prison problem” firsthand, Osborne voluntarily entered Auburn Prison as “Tom Brown,” No. 33,333x, for one week in 1913 to live as a prisoner — even going so far as having himself thrown into solitary confinement. The 1914 publication of that electrifying experience, Within Prison Walls, shocked the world and made him the most prominent and respected prison reform crusader of his day. “Within Prison Walls should be read by everyone interested in the proper study of mankind. It is one of the most humanizing books ever written.” —Frank Marshall White, The Outlook“This unique record—vivid, detailed, telling what he ate and smelled and thought, recounting how he washed and slept and saddened—creates for the reader the very atmosphere of the prison. Mr. Osborne conveys to the penitentiary novice the penitentiary feel.” —The New York Times“A human document full of pathos and humor, of unusual revelations, and suggestive of needed improvements. A volume every citizen should read.” —The Nation“His book . . . is one that all persons interested in prison reform should read. From cover to cover it is apparent that Mr. Osborne has taken pains to be fair toward the officials, but his sympathies are undeniably with the convicts.” —The Los Angeles Times“Osborne’s book shows a man who simply cannot regard prisoners through the cold medium of abstract theory. They are human beings to him—men.” —Frank Tanenbaum, The Masses“Some have eulogized Osborne for conducting his Tom Brown experiment. Some have ridiculed, and some have reviled. What few seem to realize is that, regardless of results, Thomas Mott Osborne was probably the only man who could have conducted it at all . . . he did not act Tom Brown. He was Tom Brown.” —Rudolph W. Chamberlain, There is No Truce: A Life of Thomas Mott Osborne“Mr. Osborne is no dilettante. Nowhere is the book sentimental, but in parts it is deeply emotional. The experience is too extraordinary to spoil by nibbling quotations.” —Mary Alden Hopkins, The Publishers’ Weekly

Price: 12.95 USD

Location: Point Pleasant, West Virginia

End Time: 2024-10-25T16:19:04.000Z

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