Kimball, Peter : College of Health Care Executives
Review
"A valuable addition to the available literature on the culture of prisons and the issues and problems
associated with these institutions."
--Choice
"[A] thoroughly professional comparative study of prison riots in five states during the 1970s and 1980s....The
framework is intuitively appealing. The case studies are instructive....Useem and Kimball have provided a solid
foundation on which to build."
--Contemporary Sociology
"The book offers a thorough review of available data on a set of recent prison riots and also builds on a
great deal of original data gathered from interviews at several of the prisons. I found it all quite engrossing."
--Richard E. Ratcliff, Syracuse University
"States of Siege represents a major advance in thinking about prison riots. The penetrating analysis of collective
violence behind bars reveals how riots result from a breakdown in administrative controls and operations. Based
on a careful comparative study of disturbances in several systems, this book is must reading for prison administrators,
criminal justice scholars, and anyone else who desires a fresh, realistic perspective on prison violence and how
to prevent it."
--John J. DiIulio, Jr., Princeton University
"A landmark study of collective action. Beautifully written and judicious--ultimately one is convinced by
the sheer authenticity of voice."
--Mayer N. Zald, University of Michigan
Oxford University Press Web Site, May, 2000
Summary
This book examines case studies of recent prison riots in five states, including the 1971 radical uprising in
Attica, New York, and the infamous 1981 bloodbath at the New Mexico Penitentiary. The most extensive and detailed
work yet written on US prison riots, the authors explain the occurrence and variations of riots as a reflection
of the administrative breakdown of the prison system within a changing ideological context. A theoretical appendix
helps make this work an ideal introduction to sociological theories of collective action.
