The American prison system’s war on reading
I used to be a volunteer teacher for a 3-hour weekly class in a local prison.<p>One of the things this article misses is that gangs – which are especially active in prison systems – use books to pass ciphered messages.  Highlighting, underlining, dogeared corners, scratched out characters, etc. are used prolifically as encoded messages that would appear to be regular wear to a casual observer.  The "tradecraft" these guys employ is amazing (albeit for a horrible purpose).  We were allowed to have books shipped directly from publishers or known third-party entities (e.g., Amazon) and there was a request form an instructor could fill to add new approved vendors.<p>All that to say, I understand the policy, even though it's not ideal for those honestly wanting to read.  It's hard for most people to imagine but a lot of the people in prison are some seriously bad dudes, and there are real cases of warring gangs orchestrating "hits" on other gang members through innocuous looking content.