Blood in the Water Blood in the Water

Blood in the Water

The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy

    • 4.6 • 36 Ratings
    • $13.99
    • $13.99

Publisher Description

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • The definitive history of the infamous 1971 Attica Prison uprising, the state's violent response, and the victim's decades-long quest for justice. • Thompson served as the Historical Consultant on the Academy Award-nominated documentary feature ATTICA

“Gripping ... deals with racial conflict, mass incarceration, police brutality and dissembling politicians ... Makes us understand why this one group of prisoners [rebelled], and how many others shared the cost.” —The New York Times

On September 9, 1971, nearly 1,300 prisoners took over the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York to protest years of mistreatment. Holding guards and civilian employees hostage, the prisoners negotiated with officials for improved conditions during the four long days and nights that followed.

On September 13, the state abruptly sent hundreds of heavily armed troopers and correction officers to retake the prison by force. Their gunfire killed thirty-nine men—hostages as well as prisoners—and severely wounded more than one hundred others. In the ensuing hours, weeks, and months, troopers and officers brutally retaliated against the prisoners. And, ultimately, New York State authorities prosecuted only the prisoners, never once bringing charges against the officials involved in the retaking and its aftermath and neglecting to provide support to the survivors and the families of the men who had been killed.
 
Drawing from more than a decade of extensive research, historian Heather Ann Thompson sheds new light on every aspect of the uprising and its legacy, giving voice to all those who took part in this forty-five-year fight for justice: prisoners, former hostages, families of the victims, lawyers and judges, and state officials and members of law enforcement. Blood in the Water is the searing and indelible account of one of the most important civil rights stories of the last century.

(With black-and-white photos throughout)

GENRE
History
RELEASED
2016
August 23
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
752
Pages
PUBLISHER
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
65.5
MB

Customer Reviews

PodytheCirate ,

Fantastically harrowing

Heather Thompson does a beautiful job if not gut-wrenching job depicting one of the most gruesome and barbaric accounts of American history I have ever read. Anyone even kind of curious about how far this country is willing to go to LIE and DECEIVE and SACRIFICE its “proud Americans” should read this book.

mrevansx ,

Hard to put down

Read this book. It is a rare combination of exhaustive, comprehensive storytelling and absolutely gripping, page-turning narrative. In light of today's Black Lives Matter movement, the events and mostly the aftermath of Attica are poignantly relevant and a harsh testimony to how little progress we have made in terms of true social justice in America. The sense of outrage is palpable.

Leafylight ,

Blood in the Water

Another very appropriate title for this book would be "Required Reading." I did not see an index in the iPad version; I hope there is one in the paper version.

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