Alcatraz : the gangster years / David Ward ; with Gene Kassebaum.
Material type:
TextPublication details: Berkeley : University of California Press, c2009.Description: xxvii, 548 p., [32] p. of plates : ill., map, ports. ; 24 cmISBN: - 0520256077 (alk. paper)
- 9780520256071 (alk. paper)
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 365.979461 W257 | Available | 33111005619875 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis, "Dock" Barker--these were just a few of the legendary "public enemies" for whom America's first supermax prison was created. In Alcatraz: The Gangster Years, David Ward brings their stories to life, along with vivid accounts of the lives of other infamous criminals who passed through the penitentiary from 1934 to 1948. Ward, who enjoyed unprecedented access to FBI, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and Federal Parole records, conducted interviews with one hundred former Alcatraz convicts, guards, and administrators to produce this definitive history of "The Rock." Alcatraz is the only book with authoritative answers to questions that have swirled about the prison: How did prisoners cope psychologically with the harsh regime? What provoked the protests and strikes? How did security flaws lead to the sensational escape attempts? And what happened when these "habitual, incorrigible" convicts were finally released? By shining a light on the most famous prison in the world, Ward also raises timely questions about today's supermax prisons.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 467-522) and index.
Part I, Alcatraz from 1934 to 1948. The federal government's war on "public enemies" -- A new form of imprisonment -- Selecting the "worst of the worst" -- The program -- Organized resistance : a regime tested -- Finding a hole in the rock : the first escape attempts -- Alcatraz on trial -- The war years -- The battle of Alcatraz -- Part II, Life on the rock for resisters and public enemies. Resistance and adaptation -- Outlaws among outlaws -- Celebrity prisoners -- Part III, Alcatraz as as experiment in penal policy. Return to the free world -- Lessons from Alcatraz for supermax prisons.