The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act

Charles S. Bullock III (University of Georgia), Ronald Keith Gaddie (University of Georgia), Justin J. Wert (University of Oklahoma), The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act (Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 2016).

"On June 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Shelby County v. Holder, invalidating a key provision of voting rights law. The decision—the culmination of an eight-year battle over the power of Congress to regulate state conduct of elections—marked the closing of a chapter in American politics. That chapter had opened a century earlier in the case of Guinn v. United States, which ushered in national efforts to knock down racial barriers to the ballot. A detailed and timely history, The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act analyzes changing legislation and the future of voting rights in the United States."
—Publisher's description

A Country Called Prison: Mass Incarceration and the Making of a New Nation

Mary D. Looman  & John D. Carl (University of Oklahoma), A Country Called Prison: Mass Incarceration and the Making of a New Nation (Oxford Univ. Press 2015).

"In A Country Called Prison, Mary Looman and John Carl propose a paradigm shift in the way that American society views mass incarceration. Weaving together sociological and psychological principles, theories of political reform, and real-life stories from experiences working in prison and with at-risk families, Looman and Carl form a foundation of understanding to demonstrate that prison is more than an institution built of fences and policies - it is a culture. Prison continues well after incarceration, as ex-felons leave correctional facilities (and often return to impoverished neighborhoods) without money or legal identification of American citizenship. Trapped in the isolation of poverty, these legal aliens turn to illegal ways of providing for themselves and are often reimprisoned."
—Publisher's description