"Worse than Slavery"
"Worse than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice is a 1996 book by David M. Oshinsky, published by The Free Press. It is about Mississippi State Penitentiary in Sunflower County, Mississippi.
Sourcing
[edit]The sourcing includes documents from the prison and from plantations, interviews, and some works described by James Goodman of The New Leader as "long forgotten" and "invaluable".[1]
Contents
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2025) |
The introduction describes Mississippi before the U.S. Civil War.[1] The book then describes the end of slavery and Jim Crow. The content about the prison begins about the midway point of the book.[2]
The book has the lyrics of prison-related songs.[1]
At times the book's text describes the state of events circa 1996 and it has tangents on other subjects.[1]
James McPherson of The New York Times stated that the book demonstrated that prisoner life was "was very much like slavery" though it "is not clear" whether the book demonstrates that prison life was harsher than slavery.[3]
Reception
[edit] | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2025) |
Goodman described the book as "timely".[1] Goodman stated that it "reads like a quietly powerful piece of music, less blues than jazz".[1]
McPherson described the book as "vigorous, hard-hitting".[3] McPherson argued that the chapter describing the prisoners' lives in the 1904-1930 period was the "best" one.[3]
Brad Hooper, in Booklist, stated that the book is "rigorous" and "should be accorded an important place on the u.s. history shelf."[4] Hooper stated that the history of Parchman was "a horror story".[4]
Adolf Reed Jr., in The Nation stated that the work is "an especially welcome reminder" of past race relations that Reed argued would be undesirable to return to.[2]
See also
[edit]- Down on Parchman Farm - A 1999 book on Parchman
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Goodman, James (1996). ""'Worse Than Slavery': Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice" By David M. Oshinsky (Book Review)". The New leader. Vol. 79, no. 4. New York City. p. 19 – via Gale General OneFile. - Document number: GALE|A18649578.
- ^ a b Reed Jr., Adolph (1996). """Worse Than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice". The Nation. Vol. 262, no. 18. New York City. p. 44 – via Gale General OneFile. - Document number: GALE|A18283942.
- ^ a b c McPherson, James (1996-04-28). "Parchman's Plantation". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ a b Hooper, Brad (1996-02-15). "Social sciences -- "Worse Than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice by David M. Oshinsky". The Booklist. Vol. 92, no. 12. p. 970 – via Gale General OneFile. - Document number: GALE|A18071339
Further reading
[edit]- Ayoub, Nina C (1996). "Note bene: Worse Than Slavery". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 42 (33): A14.
- Beauregard, Sue-Ellen (1996). "Nonfiction -- "Worse Than Slavery" by David M. Oshinsky". The Booklist. Vol. 92, no. 12. p. 998.
- Feldman, Glenn (1997). "Oshinsky, "Worse than Slavery" (Book Review)". The Journal of American History. 83 (4): 1416-1419. doi:10.2307/2952972. JSTOR 2952972.
- Grossman, James R (1997). "American Gulag David Oshinsky, "Worse Than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice" (Book Review)". Reviews in American History. 25 (2): 270. doi:10.1353/rah.1997.0047.
- Hemmens, Craig (1997). "Worse Than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice". The Prison Journal. 77 (1): 114–116. doi:10.1177/0032855597077001009.
- Higbee, Mark D. (1998). "Worse than Slavery". The Historian. 60 (4): 869-870. JSTOR 24452214.
- Holmes, William F (1996). "OSHINSKY, "Worse Than Slavery" (Book Review)". The Georgia historical quarterly. 80 (3): 691-693.
- Lichtenstein, Alex (1997). "OSHINSKY, '"Worse Than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice' (Book Review)". The Journal of southern history. 63 (2): 431-432. doi:10.2307/2211332. JSTOR 2211332.
- Mancini, Matthew (1998). "David M. Oshinsky, "'Worse Than Slavery': Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice" (Book Review)". The American journal of legal history. 42 (4): 444-446. doi:10.2307/846060. JSTOR 846060.
- Perkinson, Robert (April 1998). "Review of: David M. Oshinsky, ""Worse Than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice"". Radical History Review. 71: 207-216. doi:10.1215/01636545-1998-71-207.
- Reidy, Joseph P. (April 1997). "David M. Oshinsky, "Worse Than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice". The Journal of Negro history. 82 (2): 263–264. doi:10.2307/2717522. JSTOR 2717522.
- "Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice". Law & social inquiry. 23 (3): 730. 1998.