The history of prisons, reviewed in Part One, covers the earliest forms of incarceration, the first disciplined prisons or penitentiaries, and the various progeny of the penitentiary that have emerged during this century. The chapters in Part One are linked by an emphasis on pain as a central feature of prison life. First-person accounts of adaptation to the pains of confinement in early prisons are emphasized. In Part Two, patterns of adjustment to the pains of contemporary prisons are examined, with an emphasis on first-person accounts. Continuities in prison adjustment over time, from early to modern prisons, are noted and examined. The social adjustments of the inmates and the staff are then considered in turn. Prospects for mature coping among inmates, with support from the staff, are emphasized. In Part Three, the book concludes with a review of the latest developments in the management of prison environments and the provision of prison programs, culminating in a reform proposal in which mature adaptation to the pains of imprisonment is made a primary objective of correctional work. This second edition updates statistics and research on the various issues discussed. It also clarifies some key concepts presented in the first edition. Coping, criminality, and correction, the core concepts in this book, are more fully developed and woven into the discussion at various points throughout the book. A detailed definition of a decent, humane prison is discussed, along with how such prisons offer the prospect of mature coping and hence rehabilitation for inmates. 36 notes, 183 references, and a subject index