Summary The book titled Beyond Bars: Rejoining Society After Prison offers valuable lessons on how both men and women can successfully exit prison and return to society. The book was written by Jeffrey Ross and Stephen Richards, both university professors and criminal justice experts. The prison population in the United States has increased dramatically in recent decades, even as the overall crime rate has decreased during the same time period. Approximately seven million Americans are in some form of correctional custody. Between 1980 and 2000, the American prison population increased by 500%. Over the same period, the number of prisons grew by 300% (Ross and Richards, xii). Nearly 50% of people admitted to prison have already served a sentence, an example of the criminal justice system “laundering” inmates through the system again and again (Ross and Richards, xi). Unfortunately, many inmates simply don't remember how or aren't equipped to return to society once their sentence is over. Ross and Richards, through the valuable lessons contained in their book, seek to reduce the problems that ex-prisoners may face upon release from prison. The authors begin the book by providing advice on how an inmate can prepare for release from prison. Throughout the book, the authors use two fictional characters, Joe and Jill Convict, as examples of prisoners reentering society. These fictional characters are representative of American prisoners. Prison is an artificial world with a very different social system than the real world beyond the bars. Inmates follow the same daily schedule and are shaped by the different society that is prison. The prisoners therefore forget many of the obl... documents that are locked up. Money owed for various things, such as credit cards, car loans, mortgages, child support, taxes, and more, will wait from the outside world whether an ex-offender is ready or not. Additionally, most ex-offenders are required to pay court costs, fines, and restitution (Ross and Richards, 150). Inmates rarely serve their entire sentences in prison (Ross and Richards, 146). To alleviate taxpayer costs of incarceration and decrease staggering prison populations across America, it is simply prudent to let parolees out. Unfortunately, the parole system is imperfect and often leads to recidivism for many ex-offenders. With the various trials and challenges ex-offenders are bound to face when reintegrating into society after prison, Ross and Richards provide valuable lessons in their book on how an inmate might survive beyond bars..