Alcatraz : the gangster years / David A. Ward ; with Gene Kassebaum.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ward, David A.

Contributor:

Kassebaum, Gene G.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, California.

Prisons--California--Alcatraz Island--History.

Prisons.

Alcatraz Island (Calif.)--History.

Alcatraz Island (Calif.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (578 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction: Reconstructing the Life of a Prison

1. The Federal Government's War on "Public Enemies"

2. A New Form of Imprisonment

3. Selecting the "Worst of the Worst"

4. The Program

5. Organized Resistance: A Regime Tested

6. Finding a Hole in the Rock: The First Escape Attempts

7. Alcatraz on Trial

8. The War Years

9. The Battle of Alcatraz

10. Resistance and Adaptation

11. Outlaws among Outlaws

12. Celebrity Prisoners

13. Return to the Free World

14. Lessons from Alcatraz for Supermax Prisons

EPILOGUE

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHIC COMMENTARY

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 467-522) and index.

ISBN:

9786612772481

9781282772489

1282772481

9780520942981

0520942981

OCLC:

698472644