When I purchased No More Prisons at an independent bookstore, I assumed I had picked up a "manifesto" for demolishing the prison-industrial complex. The author, William Upski Wimsatt, was young (mid-20s), a graffiti writer and school dropout, and had previously penned a provocatively titled book Bomb the Suburbs. Surely this was some sort of "how to build your own bomb and destroy the system" handbook.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Interestingly, No More Prisons hardly discusses the criminal justice system, much less prisons. Rather, the book addresses a handful of issues the author believes will change an inequitable social structure: philanthropy, homeschooling, city-suburb "regionalism" urban planning, and youth-based organizing.

Born to a white, academically elite family, Upski’s personal stories are the focus of the book, and reveal his ability to relate easily to rich and poor, to older adults and young hip-hop heads. He achieved notoriety by hitchhiking around the U.S., shortly after having written Bomb the Suburbs as a teenager. In each city he visited, he sought out the "most feared neighborhoods," walking through them alone at all hours. It is an indictment of our cities’ racial polarization, and is central to his theories for community organizing – an active engagement of the "other."

The most appealing aspect of the book is that it offers solutions. Whether or not one agrees with his proposals (and many will disagree), Upski does not merely complain about social problems. Ardently opposed to endless suburban sprawl, the author interviews urban planners who advocate for metropolitan coalitions that unite urban centers and their immediate suburban communities. Dissatisfied with his education in the public school system, he researches the controversial topic of homeschooling, and strongly recommends it. Initially hesitant about the world of philanthropy, he is now committed to helping build a "Cool Rich Kids Movement." He writes, "From all my experience with grassroots organizations, I believe that organizing people with wealth is the most powerful work I do." In the past two years, he has co-founded the Active Element Foundation (grassroots youth activism) and the Self-Education Foundation (alternatives to traditional schooling).

Even though this book hardly discusses prisons, I now understand why it was sitting in everyone’s mailbox at the Prison Activist Resource Center. Brief, provocative, and personal, No More Prisons is an accessible resource for anyone who is concerned about the systemic reasons for the unparalleled growth of the prison industry. You can order the book from Raptivism Records, 61 E. 8th St., #251, New York, NY 10003 for $12.95 plus $2 S&H.

Ethan Flad