Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson Book

A classic in its time, Soledad Brother is the autobiographical story of George Jackson who was arrested at 19 for stealing $70 at gunpoint from a gas station and sentenced to a one year to life in prison. In prison, he became politically aware and read widely: Mao, Lenin, Marx and joined the Black Panther party. This book talks about his self-education during years of solitary confinement and the injustice in the penal system heavily weighted against african-americans. It is a fascinating read and presaged his violent end. Having been attacked by neo-Nazis of the Aryan Nation in the Soledad Prison yard, he made an escape attempt and was killed by guards at 29 years old. He became a "cause celebre" for the radical black community. These letters are then sort of his will and testament and along with the Angela Davis and Malcolm X autobiographies provide the most poignant insights into this movement that still resonates today where some basic injustices denounced by these militants have not really changed enough (Ferguson, etc).