Discover new selections
Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read and Listen for Free
Prime Reading
This title is also available to read and listen for free with Prime. Learn More
OR
$1.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Waiting Room (Southside collection) Kindle Edition

by Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 out of 5 stars 108 ratings

It’s easy to get lost in Chicago’s Cook County Jail, the size of seventy-two football fields. For many released into the harsh elements beyond the walls, it can be impossible to find their way home.

This haunting and powerful narrative reveals the intentionally disorienting tactics of the system and how the punishments meted out to prisoners, their families, and even innocent victims extend beyond the cages. Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, the award-winning author of Crook Country, exposes the moral, spiritual, legal, and psychological wasteland—inside and out—of the nation’s largest jail.

Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve’s The Waiting Room is part of Southside, a collection of five true stories about racism and reform, crime and corruption, justice and injustice in Chicago—from the Pulitzer Prize–winning team at The Marshall Project. With original photography by Carlos Javier Ortiz and Joshua Lott. Each story can be read—or listened to—in a single sitting.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Book 3 of 5
    Southside
  2. Print length
    26 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Amazon Original Stories
  5. Publication date
    August 28, 2018
  6. File size
    18.4 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
iphone with kindle app
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.

View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.

Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.

Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Get the free Kindle app: Link to the kindle app page Link to the kindle app page
Enjoy a great reading experience when you borrow the Kindle edition of this book with your Kindle Unlimited membership. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

Shop this series

 See full series
There are 5 books in this series.

Customers also bought or read

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  1. Time Out (Missing collection)
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
  4. After Words (Missing collection)
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
  5. Ms. Mirage (Exposure collection)
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
  12. Speed Grieving (The One)
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
  13. Parable (The One)
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
  14. Rampage (Bloodlands collection)
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
  17. Me and Carlos (Currency)
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
  18. A Wedding Thing (The One)
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
  23. There's a Bear in the House!
    Kindle Edition
    $1.99
Next page
Loading...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve is the award-winning author of Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America’s Largest Criminal Court and has appeared on NBC News, The Rachel Maddow Show, and CNN. She is currently an associate professor at the University of Delaware in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07F79F1BK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Original Stories (August 28, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 28, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 18.4 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 26 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 108 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve

Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve is the award-winning author of Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America’s Largest Criminal Court and has appeared on NBC News, The Rachel Maddow Show, and CNN. She is currently an associate professor at the University of Delaware in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
108 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Freeze
    5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Gut-Wrenching
    Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This powerful short story captures the slow-motion drag of Chicago's legal system, where justice is swift but redemption is granted at a glacial pace. Gonzalez Van Cleve masterfully weaves the heartbreaking stories of those caught in legal-system limbo and the grim statistics that challenge them at every turn. My heart broke several times thinking of the futility that faces each of the people that are highlighted. The author uses a deft pen to humanize the people that she meets, men who are too often cast as faceless perpetrators of color. They are worth knowing and their stories are worth hearing.

    The story is available for free with an Amazon Prime subscription, but it is well worth the $1.99 for those who aren't Prime members. It's a quick read, but one that has lasting impact. This is the type of storytelling that calls for change with the same impact of a protestor's bullhorn.
    Helpful
     Report
  • LynnS77
    4.0 out of 5 stars Education about Prison
    Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This entire book was more less education about what prison is like for those who end up in Cook County prison in Chicago.

    Deputies, prison guards, prisoners and families of prisoners tell their stories. This is educational but sad. Four stars.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Alexis
    3.0 out of 5 stars Decent
    Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020
    Quite informing. Would've been better if different situations/cases were spoken of, perhaps if the story was told with more details.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Joanna
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, important and full of grace
    Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This short book provides a masterly description of what it feels like to be released from the confines of the massively disorienting, oppressive Cook County jail. But as Van Cleve's ethnography clearly shows, the experience falls far short of freedom. This is a quick read--perfect for a commute or a class assignment. Will definitely inspire lots of great discussion.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Rob Lynn
    4.0 out of 5 stars " Blessed "
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2021
    I rated this a 4 because I found the story poignant. The subject matter made me appreciate just how fortunate my life is and that blessings should never be taken for granted. I recommend this read for anyone who thinks that their personal lives are the pits and that things could not be worse.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Nia S Holmes
    5.0 out of 5 stars Attention to Detail to Bring about Understanding
    Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2023
    “The Waiting Room” is part of the Southside collection. Within this selection, Nicole Gonzales Van Cleve provides a view of the waiting room of the jail along with its processes and procedures. The perspective of family, prisoners, jail staff and community members is shared to educate individuals about a system that is at times inhumane, inequitable and immoral. It appears that some want change but change it is not embraced and innovative programs don’t receive the support that is necessary to produce and maintain results. This was eye opening and gave full attention to every detail of the jail in Chicago.
    Helpful
     Report
  • P Wheatley
    3.0 out of 5 stars Informative
    Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2020
    It could definitely be a great listen for students. Chicago people would understand the aspects of booK and purpose for reading.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Lora905
    2.0 out of 5 stars Just a depressing read
    Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2020
    I wasn't familiar with The Marshall Project prior to starting this series, but now that I am, I can see the benefit of an organization such as theirs (independent, non-profit news). This book does a decent job of telling you how terrible the Cook County Jail, the overall justice system of Chicago, and seemingly, Chicago as a whole, is. Don't get me wrong, it's bad enough to make me want to never even set foot in Chicago. But that's all this book consists of. There are no up-sides or silver linings, unless you count the 2 guys in parking lots who try to help the inmates after release. There is also very sparse background on any inmate mentioned. The inmates are talked about as if readers already know who they are. There is only one person in the book interested in any type of reform, and absolutely no one is backing him up.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report