The Soul Knows No Bars [Paperback]

Drew Leder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001 | ISBN-10: 0742512479 | ISBN-13: 978-0742512474

The Soul Knows No Bars compiles all of the authors' reactions to texts by Foucault, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and others.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Leder (philosophy, Loyola Coll.; Spiritual Passages: Embracing Life's Sacred Journey) considers himself a "Jewish Quaker" with "Hindu beliefs." This eclectic spiritual sensibility led him to study and write about prison life. What results here is a startling revelation about the sophisticated philosophies of a group of inmates from the Maryland State Penitentiary, who discuss race, violence, birth, death, redemption, and the misuse of power with uncanny sensitivity. These convicted thieves, drug dealers, and murderers tackle difficult philosophical and theological issues within the contexts of classical and modern philosophies. In stark contrast to the popular image of criminals, the inmates are keenly aware of moral complexities and responsibilities as well as the price they have to pay for the unspeakable miseries they have caused their victims. They are also aware that poverty, suffering, and injustice provide the breeding grounds for crime. Here, Leder effectively puts a human face on incarcerated criminals without excusing their crimes.
-Chogollah Maroufi, California State Univ., Los Angeles
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

"Revealed in pages of this book are the intelligence, compassion and humanity of both the prisoners and the author...Leder searches for his own soul as the prisoners search for theirs. This book belongs in every classroom and in every home-because as much as it teaches us about the human beings who are incarcerated in America's Archipelago, it teaches us about ourselves."
--Natalie J. Sokoloff, Professor of Sociology

"Drew Leder is a kind of latter-day Socrates...This is philosophy at its best-the courageous love and quest for wisdom that sheds light and enlightens souls in the heart of American darkness."
--Cornel West

"Put a phiosophy professor into a locked room with incarcerated thieves, drug dealers, and murderers, throw in Socrates, Nietzsche, Cornel West and Heidegger - and what do you get? Conversations that will knock your socks off. A book you simply can't put down."
--Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking

"A rare gem of a book...[Leder] artfully demonstrates that inmates are not unreachable, inhuman nor incapable of being taught; nor are they uninterested in the profound philosophical tenets of thinkers like Socrates, Nietzsche, and Foucault. Leder forces us to rediscover a truth that our society often forgets.Our prisons are not filled with soulless cast-offs of little or no consequence, but with men and women who hope, feel, desire, bleed, and, most importantly, who think."
--Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO, NAACP --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742512479
• ISBN-13: 978-0742512474
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy and Crime meet face to face..., November 1, 2000

By 

Caz - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Soul Knows No Bars: Inmates Reflect on Life, Death and Hope (Hardcover)

What does one get when they cross a Philosophy Professor with a group of inmates sentenced to life? The answer is, not surprisingly, an incredible, tour-de-force read. I came upon this title, "The Soul Knows No Bars: Inmates Reflect on Life, Death, and Hope" quite by accident, and what a treasure of a read it is.

Philosophy professor Drew Leder - with quite a life story of hid own - has compiled a rich and varied dialogue between himself and a handful of inmates from the Maryland Penetentiary. How he came to teach a philosophy class inside the prison walls is a story in itself, but it is the discussion and debate that broke forth in the midst of those classes that make this book a jewel.

As Sister Helen Prejean put it, "Put a philosophy professor into a locked room with incarcerated thieves, drug dealers, and murderers, throw in Socrates, Nietzsche, Cornel West and Heidegger - and what do you get? Conversations that knock your socks off. A book you simply can't put down." I'm in agreement with the good Sister.

The book explores the dynamics of power, violence, race, and sexuality, as well as the flights of spirit possible even from a prison cell. The inmates (and Leder) took the texts of some of the greatest philosophical minds known, used those texts as springboards, and reflected on their life experiences.

The average law-abiding citizen will be surprised to hear what these men have drawn out and declared. This book is a rich exploration of our present-day's criminal mind. What got them to where they are, how they came to be of the mind they were when in criminal activity, and where they've come since incarcertaion is a fascinating journey through the soul. The book serves as a clarion call for society at large to re-examine our very fabric of social interaction, governing, and penalizing of our fringe members.

The discussions are enlightening, powerful, and (at times) disturbing.

What struck me most as I read through the words of this book is the incredible waste of intellect and potential - that which has been lost to poverty and drugs is nothing short of heartbreaking.

Though author Leder didn't set out to do this, he has shone the spotlight on the need for prison reform - to salvage and restore broken lives is nothing short of a necessity. Some of the greatest minds of our time could well be locked up behind bars.

This is a tremendous read and I recommend it to anyone who loves to explore life from a philosophical bent (Leder uses phenonmenology most often) and who wants to better understand the criminal mind. And it is for those who continue to hold out hope that reformation is possible even for the most hardened criminal.

Excellent read, from start to finish.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Philosophy of Crime..., September 10, 2000

By 

Caz - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Soul Knows No Bars: Inmates Reflect on Life, Death and Hope (Hardcover)

What does one get when they cross a Philosophy Professor with a group
of inmates sentenced to life? The answer is, not surprisingly, an
incredible tour-de-force read. I came upon this title, "The Soul
Knows No Bars: Inmates Reflect on Life, Death, and Hope" quite by
accident, and what a treasure of a read it is.

Philosophy professor
Drew Leder - himself with quite a life story - has compiled a rich and
varied dialogue between himself and a handful of inmates from the
Maryland Penetentiary. How he came to teach a philosophy class inside
the prison walls is a story in itself, but it is the discussion and
debate that broke forth in the midst of those classes that make this
book a jewel.

As Sister Helen Prejean put it, "Put a
philosophy professor into a locked room with incarcerated thieves,
drug dealers, and murderers, throw in Socrates, Nietzsche, Cornel West
and Heidegger - and what do you get? Conversations that knock your
socks off. A book you simply can't put down." I'm in agreement
with the good Sister.

The book explores the dynamics of power,
violence, race, and sexuality, as well as the flights of spirit
possible even from a prison cell. The inmates (and Leder) took the
texts of some of the greatest philosophical minds known, used those
texts as springboards, and reflected on their life experiences.

The
average law-abiding citizen will be surprised to hear what these men
have drawn out and declared. This book is a rich exploration of our
present-day's criminal mind. What got them to where they are, how they
came to be of the mind they were when in criminal activity, and where
they've come since incarcertaion is a fascinating journey through the
soul. The book serves as a clarion call for society at large to
re-examine our very fabric of social interaction, governing, and
penalizing of our fringe members.

The discussions are enlightening,
powerful, and (at times) disturbing.

What struck me most as I read
through the words of this book is the incredible waste of intellect
and potential - that which has been lost to poverty and drugs is
nothing short of heartbreaking.

Though author Leder didn't set out
to do this, he has shone the spotlight on the need for prison reform -
to salvage and restore broken lives is nothing short of a
necessity. Some of the greatest minds of our time could well be locked
up behind bars.

This is a tremendous read and I recommend it to
anyone who loves to explore life from a philosophical bent (Leder uses
phenonmenology most often) and who wants to better understand the
criminal mind. And it is for those who continue to hold out hope that
reformation is possible even for the most hardened
criminal.

Excellent read, from start to finish.