Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Central Prison

by Tim Jenkin

The thrilling story of Tim Jenkin's daring escape from Pretoria Maximum Security Prison, where he was kept by apartheid authorities for his activities on behalf of the ANC, and his subsequent flight from South Africa.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Africa, Crime

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

Reviews

[John Uit de Flesch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book a 5 star so badly. It was a wonderful and thrilling account of escape. Crafting wooden keys and a persistent focus on escaping fueled the way. I was captivated! The fact that he was a proud communist spoiled an otherwise amazing book. Tim is not only a communist but an ambassador for its failed mirage of bliss. He acknowledges that his revolution didn’t bring about the utopia he longed for. At the end he stresses how if the world had no money all would be well. He deeply misunderstands the fallen wicked human nature. Just because you made wooden keys and escaped a prison doesn’t mean you hold the answer to all human suffering.

[Nate Hendrix · Rating 4 out of 5]

We liked the Daniel Radcliff movie Escape From Pretoria and I discovered it was based on a book so the book went on my reading list. It is a great book. It was interesting to learn about their day to day lives in prison and thrilling to be privy to their plans for escape. I love a book with good maps and this book has several. Good maps help me to create a better picture in my mind while I am reading.
The book was better in that one gets more insight into Tim Jenkin's life as a young person and how he came to support the ANC. The book also chronicles the escapee's travels after they get out of the prison. This is not covered in the movie.

[Dmitry Komanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the last part of this book after watching "Escape from Pretoria" movie, just to read about the part of an escape that didn't end up in the movie.

It's very cool that it describes in such detail the real prison break, the reading was very easy and enjoyable.

[Craig Strydom · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely well-written story of an escape from an apartheid prison for political prisoners. The meticulous writing style matches the meticulous way in which the escape took place.

[RIJA Tolojanahary]

Interesting in this book

[Rachel Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Boy's Own Anti-Apartheid Adventure Story.

[Sean Egan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of resistance to the Apartheid regime. Half heist story half political memoir. Thrilling stuff. The writing itself is generally rather unadorned and functional but totally adequate.