• The New Jim Crow

  • Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 10th Anniversary Edition
  • By: Michelle Alexander
  • Narrated by: Karen Chilton
  • Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (12,729 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The New Jim Crow  By  cover art

The New Jim Crow

By: Michelle Alexander
Narrated by: Karen Chilton
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $27.60

Buy for $27.60

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times best seller list.

Most important of all, it has spawned a whole generation of criminal justice reform activists and organizations motivated by Michelle Alexander’s unforgettable argument that “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it”. As the Birmingham News proclaimed, it is “undoubtedly the most important book published in this century about the U.S.”

Now, 10 years after it was first published, The New Press is proud to issue a 10th-anniversary edition with a new preface by Michelle Alexander that discusses the impact the book has had and the state of the criminal justice reform movement today.

©2010, 2012, 2020 Michelle Alexander (P)2012, 2020 Recorded Books
activate_proofit_target_DT_control

Featured Article: The Best Nonfiction Audiobooks to Jump into Right Now


The best nonfiction audiobooks take involved, often intimidating subjects and reinvigorate them with sharp narration so you can stay focused and on track. In this list, we’ll share our picks for some of the best nonfiction audio out there, encompassing a wide array of topics—from the entire history of humanity to astrophysics to the American prison system. Engage with some of the most fascinating, deeply human real-life stories our catalog has to offer.

Editor's Pick

Shedding light on a mass injustice
"I’m known as a bit of a true crime junkie around the office, and I can talk your ear off about how ethically executed content is the future of the genre. But there are bigger fish to fry than just salacious stories about serial killers and cults—like how the US criminal justice system has come to replace segregation as a large-scale tool of racial oppression. Civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander’s extensively researched, groundbreaking work on mass incarceration is a must-listen for anyone interested in the hot topic of criminal justice reform, and the myriad racial and ethical issues surrounding it."
Kat J., Audible Editor

What listeners say about The New Jim Crow

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10,595
  • 4 Stars
    1,547
  • 3 Stars
    337
  • 2 Stars
    135
  • 1 Stars
    115
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,116
  • 4 Stars
    1,427
  • 3 Stars
    358
  • 2 Stars
    91
  • 1 Stars
    79
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,207
  • 4 Stars
    1,266
  • 3 Stars
    315
  • 2 Stars
    97
  • 1 Stars
    107

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A book every American should read

I grew up reading about George Washington and cutting down a cherry tree when I should have been reading about real American history. This book opened my mind on a hidden America I know little about. Wonderful read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Enlightenment

Excellent narration and a stunning comparison of the historical struggles of people of color and the present day. The political names have changed the laws have changed but the situations appear to remain the same. I enjoyed the candid truth and facts presented. However the complete and dismal prospects for the future was not there. Thus leaving behind a notion that we will forever be embraced by a new a futuristic Jim Crow world no matter what steps are taken. Overall the book was genuine , bold and factual. This is a must read for people of all colors.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

one of the best books I ever read.

this book goes deep and makes a connection to how race plays a part and is connected to everything in America

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

phenomenal

As hard as it is to hear the truth about the prison industrial complex and racism in America, every chapter brought new pieces that shows how our system is failing black and brown citizens

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Must read

I loved the book. She should have included a pdf with the references with DOI links; not sure why this did not happen.
I think more needed to be done to expand on the link with young black men and drug crimes. Less anecdotal information and more direct facts about who is going to prison and for what.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

opened my eyes

This opened my eyes to so many things. I wish i had read it years ago.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Required Reading for Everyone Living in the U.S. of A.

Wow. This book is beyond powerful. It dismantles hard held beliefs with facts and provides real hope, for real change.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

sad truth

this book compels you to do! something. ANYTHING! I can happily say. That exactly what I plan to do.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

must read for everyone in the USA

this book very clearly lays out the unjust systems of the United States. everyone should read it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Must read for anyone but especially activists!!!

Caste and the systemic strategy of the elites and white supremacy

13th amendment maintains modern slavery/free labor industry

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!