This was not the book I thought I would write. In fact, I had never thought much about prison before I went to graduate school. Frankly, I came to this work only accidentally, and somewhat reluctantly at first.

When I began working toward a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, I considered my research interests to be pretty mainstream social psychology and political behavior. I loved the scholarly life of graduate school and quickly adapted to the culture (and the weather) of the Bay Area. Hoping to learn the local politics and engage with my new community, I called the Oakland Public Library in the spring of my first year to ask whether they knew somewhere I could tutor for a few hours a week. The enthusiastic librarian offered to provide me the phone number of an area non-profit that worked with city schools. However, she also knew of a college program at San Quentin State Prison that was currently recruiting volunteers.