Author Description

The government of the United States maintains that there are no political prisoners held in U.S. prisons. The contributors to this book know better; herein 50 political prisoners and prisoners' rights activists document the systematic program within U.S. prisons to isolate political prisoners and subject them to psychological experiments designed to destroy their revolutionary beliefs and break down their ability to organize with others. "Cages of Steel" highlights the fate of key leaders from social movements of the 1960s to the present, who captured international news headlines, changed the direction of the world and who still languish behind U.S. prison walls. This book is essential for understanding the current "war on terrorism" and waves of repressive laws being developed in the name of strengthening "homeland security." Ward Churchill (Keetoowah Cherokee) is professor of American Indian Studies and chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado/Boulder. A member of the Leadership Council of Colorado AIM, he is a past national spokesperson for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee. A prolific writer and lecturer, he has authored, co-authored or edited more than 20 books. Natsu Taylor Saito is an associate professor in Colorado University's Ethnic Studies department and is a professor (on leave) at Georgia State University's College of Law. Her scholarship and teaching have focused on international human rights, immigration law and the role of U.S. law in maintaining a racial hierarchy. Jim Vander Wall is a member and co-founder of the Denver Leonard Peltier Support Group. He is co-author with Ward Churchill, of "Agents of Repression: The FBI'sSecret Wars on the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement" (1988), and "The Cointelpro Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States," He is also an Editor for New Studies on the Left.