Read free online: chapter 1 of a very good book : " Worse Than Slavery"

[dixiegrrrrl]

"Worse Than Slavery"
Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice
By David M. Oshinsky

See below for an overview of the book, see here for the first chapter:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/worsethanslavery.htm

Worse Than Slavery is the story actually of convict labor in the South, detailing how convict labor was created,
how and why jail sentences for blacks were developed, gives a good over view of the southern states, then focuses
on the infamous Parchman Farm in Mississippi.
About 3/4 of the book is focused on rampant racism of Mississippi, mostly because the primary focus IS Parchman Farm. But lots of other historical goodies about politics, prison reform, in the South.
Extremely readable, reads like a novel, wonderful footnotes for future reference.
I really cannot put it down.

What I found most interesting is the attitudes behind this abhorrent practice are exactly the attitudes we are hearing again today.


I also have Oshinsky's "A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy"
and "Polio: An American Story"
He is a very readable, well researched writer.