This book describes and analyzes the key issues in the history of federal corrections in the United States: the origins and development of the first federal prisons, the role of women in federal corrections, the evolution of inmate rights, inmate classification and rehabilitation programs, prison administration and executive management, and the famous super-maximum security penitentiaries at Alcatraz and Marion. The book also includes a roundtable discussion of the Bureau of Prison's rehabilitation programs, prisons' viability as vehicles to help their inmates, and the possible benefits of greater community involvement.