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Parchman Farm was built in 1900 in the heart of Mississippi, where slavery had had a stronghold before the Civil War. For the next 70 years, until the Civil Rights movement got a toehold, the Farm was operated pretty much like a Southern plantation. What brought it national attention, however, was not its penal conditions but the music and the literature it fostered. In the 1930s, John and Alan Lomax collected the chants and blues that its inmates sang, while writers as esteemed as Faulkner wrote about it as a place of security and solitude away from the madness of society. Taking a more factual approach, historian Taylor (Brokered Justice; Race, Politics, and Mississippi Prisons, 1798-1992) gives an account of what went on at Parchman over the years and how and why the old farm was finally replaced by a modern correctional facility. His tone is objective, although he clearly has reservations about the changeover. This volume should be of interest to prison historians and to general readers familiar with the mystique around the Parchman Farm. Not an essential purchase but a good choice if funds permit.AFrances O. Sandiford, Green Haven Correction-Facility Lib., Stormville, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book From One Point of View,
By
This review is from: DOWN ON PARCHMAN FARM: THE GREAT PRISON IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELT (Urban Life & Urban Landscape) (Paperback)
This book is about the penal farm system in Mississippi commonly known as Parchman. This book is an excellent book from a writer and his outlook, or perspective, on the history of Parhman Farm. This book is written by a college professor from a Mississippi university, University of Sourthern Mississippi. Therefore the book is said by scholars and critics to be pro Mississippi or somewhat defend Mississippi penal policies of the early and mid 20th century. This book is extremely informative and easy to read. It details life on the Mississippi penal farm and how it was a self sfficient, thriving "mini-civilization". It also details how prisoners played large parts in the everyday running of the farm. The best thing I can tell you to do is to read this book along with David Oshinsky's "Worse Than Slavery", develop your own conclusions from booth books and decide for yourself whether Parchman Farm was a horrible place or a practical way of rehabilitation. Oshinsky's book has an opposite view of this book and the contrast will leave you with the ability to make your own conclusions. I would reccomend this book for anyone interested in Mississippi history, as well as any college student pursuing a degree in criminal justice, corrections, criminal psychology, or any related field.
4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Book,
By A Customer
This review is from: DOWN ON PARCHMAN FARM: THE GREAT PRISON IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELT (Urban Life & Urban Landscape) (Paperback)
This book is a wonderful experience from the reader's point of view. It goes in depth about life at Parchman Penitentiary from the guards and inmates viewpoint. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in criminology, prisons, and law.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Beginning in the mid-1970s, and continuing for the remainder of the decade, the residents of Alligator, Sledge, and the other little towns dotting Mississippi's Yazoo Delta sometimes saw a blood-red glow in the evening sky. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
penal farming, penal farm system, senate penitentiary committee, penitentiary politics, convict hierarchy, trusty system, shooter system, convict rehabilitation, state penal farms, convict management, penitentiary act, state penal systems, private planters, maximum security unit, convict population, black convicts, penal authorities, civilian guards, worse than slavery, penal administration, white convicts, camp sergeants, black camps, convict life, male convicts Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Parchman Farm, Sunflower County, Black Annie, Front Camp, Governor White, Marvin Wiggins, United States, White Chief, Rankin County Farm, Gordon Station, Camp Five, Delta Democrat-Times, Fred Jones, Governor Johnson, Oakley Farm, Mississippi Delta, Superintendent Breazeale, Superintendent Jones, Superintendent Wiggins, Hinds County, Lowery Love, Superintendent Love, The Big House, African American, Mike Conner New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Beginning in the mid-1970s, and continuing for the remainder of the decade, the residents of Alligator, Sledge, and the other little towns dotting Mississippi's Yazoo Delta sometimes saw a blood-red glow in the evening sky. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
penal farming, penal farm system, senate penitentiary committee, penitentiary politics, convict hierarchy, trusty system, shooter system, convict rehabilitation, state penal farms, convict management, penitentiary act, state penal systems, private planters, maximum security unit, convict population, black convicts, penal authorities, civilian guards, worse than slavery, penal administration, white convicts, camp sergeants, black camps, convict life, male convicts Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Parchman Farm, Sunflower County, Black Annie, Front Camp, Governor White, Marvin Wiggins, United States, White Chief, Rankin County Farm, Gordon Station, Camp Five, Delta Democrat-Times, Fred Jones, Governor Johnson, Oakley Farm, Mississippi Delta, Superintendent Breazeale, Superintendent Jones, Superintendent Wiggins, Hinds County, Lowery Love, Superintendent Love, The Big House, African American, Mike Conner New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 16
books:
See all 16 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice by David M. Oshinsky on 7 pages
- The Land Where the Blues Began by Alan Lomax in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A History of Mississippi by Richard Aubrey McLemore in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Criminological Theory (4th Edition) by Frank P. Williams III in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Hunger Fighters by Paul de Kruif in Back Matter
See all 16 books this book cites
- Work Songs by Ted Gioia in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Literary Treks: Characters on the Move by Mary Ellen Snodgrass on page 146
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