"In his latest book of interlinked essays, cultural critic Vijay Prashad examines the contradictions of the American economy. He assesses a range of related issues: the oft-vaunted US economy, propped up by the rising debt of poor and middle-class workers; welfare policies that punish those attempting to escape the grip of debt and poverty; and a prison industry that regulates and houses the unemployed, as well as a reserve army of laborers." "Prashad...