Dr. Smith’s Books

Kevin B. Smith is an award-winning teacher and the author of ten previous books, which you can explore below. His latest book, The Jailer’s Reckoning: How Mass Incarceration Is Damaging America, will be released on November 5, 2024 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

The Jailer’s Reckoning

How Mass Incarceration Is Damaging America

How does a Black man in Austin get sent to prison on a 70-year sentence for stealing a tuna sandwich, likely costing Texas taxpayers roughly a million dollars? In America, your liberty—or even your life—may be forfeit not simply because of what you do, but where you do it.

In this landmark book, Kevin B. Smith explains that the United States became the world’s biggest jailer because politicians wanted to do something about a very real problem with violent crime. There is a clear price, the jailer’s reckoning, to be paid for this—a society with declining levels of civic cohesion, reduced economic prospects, and less political engagement. Mass incarceration turns out to be something of a hidden bomb, a social explosion that inflicts enormous civic collateral damage on the entire country, and we must all do something about it.

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD | AVL. NOVEMBER 5, 2024 | PREORDER NOW

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Explore More Books from Dr. Smith

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This thoughtful update of a classic text sheds new light on the potential sociological and biological differences that result in deep, seemingly unbridgeable political divisions.

ROUTLEDGE | 2ND ED. (2024)

Predisposed

Analyzing American Democracy

Based in statistical analysis, constitutional scholarship, and theoretical foundations, this updated edition includes retrospective analysis of the Trump presidency.

ROUTLEDGE | 5TH ED. (2023)

Explore the most recent challenges, developments and political changes impacting state and local politics as well as the real-world application of policy and politics.

CQ PRESS | 9TH ED. (2023)

Governing States and Localities

Featuring a new collection of compelling readings from respected sources, this edition covers the increasing ideological conflicts between state and federal governments.

CQ PRESS | 2018-2019 ED.

State and Local Government

A consistent and coherent framework for uniting the field of public policy, updated throughout to include the latest scholarship and approaches in the field.

ROUTLEDGE | 3RD ED. (2016)

The Public Policy Theory Primer

Explores how the science and art of public administration is definable, describable, replicable, and cumulative, surveying a broad range of theories and analytical approaches.

ROUTLEDGE | 3RD ED. (2015)

The Public Administration Theory Primer

The Promise and Performance of American Democracy

Grounded in current research and the latest scholarship and featuring a wealth of quality data, this is an ideal resource for engaging students in American politics.

CENGAGE | 10TH ED. (2011)

A survey of public administration, focused on power and politics, demonstrating the central political role of the administrative branch of government.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS | 1ST ED. (2006)

Public Administration

Analyzes the ideological underpinnings of school choice and other market-based education reforms, the promises and pitfalls, and their effects on on public schooling.

SUNY PRESS | 1ST ED. (2003)

The Ideology of Education

Two political scientists present the argument, supported by anecdotal and empirical evidence, that school choice does nothing to improve the quality of education.

ROUTLEDGE | 1ST ED. (1995)

The Case Against School Choice