Weeping in the Playtime of Others: America's Incarcerated Children

This book is about a boy who was considered borderline retarded, with an IQ of about 80. He suffered a lot of abuse in various institutions and foster homes, but later as his life went on, thanks to kindness of others, determination, and a patient wife or girlfriend who tutored him, he went to school, and earned some degree. One line in the book sticks out in my mind, where he wrote: "I know this story is true, because that boy is the author of this book." I read the book years ago (and again fewer years ago in between then and now) for a paper I was writing on juvenile delinquency, but everytime I say those lines to somebody about the book, I get chills down my spine, tears in my eyes, and goosebumps on my arms! If you haven't read it, put it on your list.

This book is a masterpiece of investigative reporting and heart rending storytelling. At a time when we are actually considering doing away with juvenile justice and sending children to adult court and making them vulnerable to capital punishment, every voting citizen in what is left of America must read this book.Careers are made on the backs of children who are abused more thoroughly in institutions taxpayers support for their "care" than had ever been abused at home. Most of these children were homeless to begin with, neglected and abandoned. Juvenile justice is supposed to be a safe harbor in a storm while lives are sorted out and treatment applied, but nothing could be further from the truth.Kenneth Wooden includes a chapter on Charles Manson which this book is best known for, but there is much, much more rich territory to explore in the pages of this masterpiece, including jobs, kickbacks, and million dollar contracts.This book just recently was reprinted as a second edition. It was out of print for awhile. I have seen it referred to in so many other books that I've read that I can't tell you how valuable the research is between its pages.Get your copy now while you can. It is one of the most important books you will read all year....geminiwalker