This book brings together a group of leading authorities in this field, both academics and practitioners, to address the complex issues that the increasing number of prisoners in the UK, USA and elsewhere has raised. It assess the implications and results of research in this field, and suggests ways of mitigating the often devastating personal and psychological consequences of imprisonment. 'An incredibly powerful and robust text on imprisonment. It is, without doubt, a tour de force.' ?Peter Hamerton in British Society of Criminology Newsletter 'This book deserves to become the standard text on the subject for some years to come.' ?Maurice Vanstone in Vista Vol. 10 no. 3 'Is most timely and well-crafted in its fresh handling of this critical and enduring issue.' ? Michael Weinrath, University of Winnipeg in The Canadian Journal of Criminology 'Extraordinarily important compendium because it looks at its subject in so many different contexts. By doing so, it provides clues and generates hypotheses about the nuances of the consequence of incarceration under varying circumstance.' ?Gilbert Geis, University of California, Irvine, US