Found in 1 comment on Hacker News
I recently read American Prison by Shane Bauer which is a nonfiction by a Mother Jones journalist who goes undercover in a for-profit Louisiana prison. It was incredibly well-written and eye-opening and also has a great detailed look at the history of the "prison industrial complex" in the USA. Basically after the outlaw of slave labor, prison labor filled the void and is still used in the south to work farms and fill other industrial jobs.

The guards give zero f*cks because they themselves are underpaid and overworked and barely make cost of living. Meanwhile the states use the prisons as a job base, so everyone's getting paid and there's zero incentive to change the system.

It's horrific and I highly recommend that book to anyone looking for a gripping and eye-opening read: https://www.amazon.com/American-Prison-Reporters-Undercover-...

Fresh book recommendations delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday.