Approximately 61.3 percent of male State prison admittees in 1979 had a history of incarceration as a juvenile, an adult, or both. Approximately 59 percent of the recidivists who entered State prison in 1979 were last incarcerated in a State prison facility. Substantial numbers also entered State prisons after serving time in local jails or in juvenile facilities. An analysis of retrospective, cross section data reveals that nearly 49 percent of State prisoners return to prison within a 20-year period after release. Additional analysis showed that the younger the releasee, the greater was the likelihood of prison return within the first year. Moreover, those committing new offenses of burglary, auto theft, and robbery had the highest proportions of first-year failures. Although recidivists were more likely than first-time offenders to enter prison for a nonviolent offense, the prevalence of violence was found to be the same for both groups when criminal histories were considered. Data revealed that nearly half of the recidivists who entered prison in 1979 would still have been in prison at the time of their admission if they had fully served the maximum term of their last confinement sentence. These 'avertable recidivists' were estimated to account for a quarter of all the offenses for which the 1979 inmates were convicted. Thirteen tables and 28 references are included.