“Yesterday's Monsters provides a rich, detailed and provocative examination of parole through the lens of an infamous case, yet without sensationalism or voyeurism. Aviram has a unique voice which magnifies the readability of the text. . . . Readers interested in criminal justice as well as students in other disciplines like media studies, sociology, and psychology would be captivated by the book. Aviram's book will also appeal to true crime fanatics and may even provide an avenue for building empathy for people in prison.”
"Yesterday’s Monsters is an outstanding contribution to our sociological understanding of extreme punishment and mass incarceration in the US."
“An underappreciated contributor to mass incarceration has been the politicizing of the parole process, particularly for violent offenses. Through an insightful analysis of the Manson Family experience, Hadar Aviram illuminates how these high-profile cases helped institutionalize a system of extreme, often counterproductive, punishments that have transformed our conception of parole.”—Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project
“Filling an enormous vacuum in the literature, Aviram draws on fifty years of transcripts showcasing the Board of Parole Hearings’ interviews of the Manson Family members. Her book lucidly conveys how the magnitude of their crimes functioned as a crucial catalyst for statutory changes that measurably harshened criminal penalties while narrowing the prospects for parole release in the ensuing decades.”—Edward E. Rhine, Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, University of Minnesota Law School
“Yesterday’s Monsters is three remarkable books at once: a compelling work of late twentieth-century social history, a sober and scholarly analysis of the flaws in our parole system, and an enlightened program for sensible reform.”—Robert Weisberg, Professor of Law, Stanford University
