Alcatraz from Inside: The Hard Years 1942-1952 - Softcover

Quillen, Jim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0962520616 ISBN 13: 9780962520617

Publisher: Golden Gate Natl Park Assn, 1991

Synopsis

From the rear cover of this 164 page book: "Follow Jim Quillen from his tragic childhood into a desperate life of crime that lands him inside the nation's most notorious prison. Witness the sensational Alcatraz Riot of 1946 and the bloody escape attempt that followed. Share Mr. Quillen's compelling story of life on Alcatraz - the cruel realities and dangerous alliances - and the hard road that led him back to freedom."

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Quillen's autobiography focuses on his decade-long incarceration at the "Rock," the former federal prison on Alcatraz Island, Calif., including the 1946 escape attempt that left several inmates and guards dead. Arguing that the brutality of the system made the bloodshed inevitable, he calls Alcatraz "a prison where the sole purpose was to degrade, deprive, humiliate and break the inmates." But Quillen never proves his case; most of his anger arises from the constant surveillance and security that made escape virtually impossible. Indeed, what comes through the author's deliberately low-key account is the fervor with which he thought about, dreamed about and planned escapes. A veteran of two escapes from a state reformatory as well as one from San Quentin prison (during which he kidnapped two hostages), Quillen did try to escape from Alcatraz. Most readers will find it hard to empathize with his complaints of overly restrictive security given that record. Ultimately, however, the details of life inside jail are more intriguing than the failed attempt to blame the system. Those details, and the story of Quillen's eventual rehabilitation after release, redeem the book.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Golden Gate Natl Park Assn
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0962520616
• ISBN 13: 9780962520617
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 164