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Since the mid-nineteenth century, Americans have known the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York as a site of industrial production, a place to heal from disease, and a sprawling outdoor playground that must be preserved in its wild state. Less well known, however, has been the area's role in hosting a network of state and federal prisons. A Prison in the Woods traces the planning, construction, and operation of penitentiaries in five Adirondack Park communities from the 1840s through the early 2000s to demonstrate that the histories of mass incarceration and environmental consciousness are interconnected.

Clarence Jefferson Hall Jr. reveals that the introduction of correctional facilities—especially in the last three decades of the twentieth century—unearthed long-standing conflicts over the proper uses of Adirondack nature, particularly since these sites have contributed to deforestation, pollution, and habitat decline, even as they've provided jobs and spurred economic growth. Additionally, prison plans have challenged individuals' commitment to environmental protection, tested the strength of environmental regulations, endangered environmental and public health, and exposed tensions around race, class, place, and belonging in the isolated prison towns of America's largest state park.

      Probing the profitable new science of creating--and altering--life forms
      "Extraordinarily well documented . . . remarkably clear. This is
        the most comprehensive coverage of these issues to date. It will be required
        reading for some time." -- Lawrence Busch, Michigan State University
      "Krimsky and Wrubel not only describe the components of agricultural
        biotechnology, they address and analyze controversies involving the risks
        and benefits of new technologies. Coverage of technical to social components
        of agricultural biotechnology is unusually complete and thorough. Their
        even-handed and comprehensive approach to these topics is rare and extremely
        valuable." -- Richard Weinzierl, University of Illinois
      Modern agriculture is being transformed by the genetic alteration of
        seeds, animals, and microorganisms, a process that has produced such products
        as flavor saver tomatoes and crops resistant to specific insects or herbicides.
      Agricultural Biotechnology and the Environment is the first comprehensive
        overview of the ongoing transformation of agriculture, exploring the impact
        of genetic engineering from scientific, social, ethical, and ecological
        perspectives.
      Sheldon Krimsky and Roger Wrubel detail the impact the new generation
        of products is expected to have on agricultural practice and the environment
        and assess the degree to which current trends in biotechnology match earlier
        expectations. They also analyze the social and political response to innovations
        resulting from genetic technology.
      Closely examined in each of three areas--transgenic plants, genetically
        engineered microorganisms, and transgenic animals--are technical and scientific
        problems, social controversies, and anticipated environmental impacts.
      An objective, detailed look at a subject of interest to a broad spectrum
        of readers, Agricultural Biotechnology and the Environment will
        be of interest to researchers in the new biotechnology fields as well
        as to educated general readers and policymakers.
      A volume in the series The Environment and the Human Condition