Escape from Lecumberri

by Dwight Worker, Barbara Wilde (Contributor)

True Story. You won't be able to put it down. An unusual love story, a unique adventure, and a classic escape plan combine in Escape, the true story of Dwight and Barbara Worker, how they met, fell in love, married...and, left a trail of outraged police and Interpol agents, arrested government officials, an embarrassed U.S. Embassy, and at least one dead body behind them.

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 1978

About the author

An American professor, activist, adventurer, and still a fugitive. He escaped from the Mexican penitentiary Palacio de Lecumberri in 1975. Afterward, he wrote the book Escape From Lecumberri. The movie Escape was adapted from this book.

Throughout his life he participated in civil rights, anti-war, and environmental movements. In 1991, Dwight volunteered to serve in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society where he worked against illegal drift netting and whaling.

Worker is a former professor at Indiana University, where he created the Information Security program for the Kelley School of Business before retiring to farm, write, and travel.

Reviews

[Juan Jose D'Aquino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde Siqueiros, Juan Gabriel y Pancho Villa, la carcel de Lecumberri fue de las prisiones más temidas entre los años de 1900 a 1975 por la gran cantidad de historias irreales que de ahí se contaban a quien lograba salir.
Worker, vivió también a carne propia la desdicha de haber estado en esta prision, no obstante y a diferencia de muchos, su historia es digna de contar.

[Brian Orgeron · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible story. That's all I can say. Wow.

[Joey Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Buenísimo! Me costo horrores terminarlo por el coraje que me causaba todo el entorno

[Katie Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to wonder what the prevailing feelings were towards Mexicans at the time of this book's writing and publishing. You can almost forgive the pervasive negativity toward a whole country of people when you consider his institution, his circumstances, and his acknowledgment of the good people he encountered after his escape. But it's pretty rough reading for the majority of the book.
The cover on the copy I read looks like a romance novel. Romance, it is not; at least not for the first two thirds, which is brutal and dark.
I appreciated the appendix for follow-up and context.
Overall, I would recommend this if you can tolerate reading about the injustice and the brutality of humans in confined spaces and operating in survival mode.

[Erick Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conmovedora, sofocantemente realista y estremecedoramente vivencial. Para los mexicanos, una vergüenza y un golpe de realidad (cómo cuando lo obvio se hace evidente), por la podredumbre de corrupción y desgaste social que retratado hace 45 años, tristemente sigue vigente. Un retrato milimétrico y detallado de cómo era la vida en gran parte del "Palacio Negro" de Lecumberri.

[Jeanie Kenkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have seen his episode of Locked Up Abroad, you know well under half the story, even about incidents described. There are some apparent discrepancies, but it doesn't make either any less entertaining. Glad I Googled him, or I would not have known about this book.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard about this through an interview the author gave on a local radio station, WMJI in Cleveland.

About halfway through, and it's as I expected. An interesting (and horrifying) read, but not terribly well written. The author seems distanced from events, and that makes it a bit distant for me as well. Understandable, given the author's experience, but a less engaging read for me. Also some awkward sentences and bad tenses. Some of this may be just a bad translation when it went through the "Kindling" process...? Their meat grinder is pretty good, but it's not perfect.

[Angie Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente narrativa que te lleva al momento de la acción como si lo estuvieras viviendo en carne propia. Trata de las injusticias de la Justicia mexicana, qué incongruencia no? En esta historia un gringo clásico: alto y rubio tuvo a bien escapar sin que nadie lo notara. Es posible? Sí, en México más (lamentablemente). Esta es una historia real así que el morbo te atrapa aún más. El conocer como los reos pelean por comida, dinero, supervivencia, poder y cómo esconden billetes y droga en los lugares más recónditos de su cuerpo es impresionante. Si tienes oportunidad, léela.

[Nubia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not another story about escape;it is captivating, entertaining, super interesting!Even though he is like Papillon, the stories are somewhat different.

No es simplemente otra historia de fugas, esta es cautivante, entretenida, super interesante. Aunque en algo se parece a Papillon, la historia es diferente.

[Mary Murray]

I read this book as entitled "Escape" - fascinating story of how one young man escaped from a Mexico City prison in the 1970's. The story was made more fascinating by a good friend's firsthand account of how she knew this young man and was a visitor to this terrible "inescapable" Lecumberri prison.

[Kathiacastillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

un pais democrático al borde del colpaso, peleas intensas, feudales en busca de dinero norteamericano, repleto de accion incontenible.
Este libro es muy bueno en cuanto hablamos de graficos es de las mejores, además de que te mantendrá al borde del sillón jusgenlo por uestedes mismos, una historia única y realista.

[D Bauman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it....really tells the TRUE story of the life a American in a Mexican Prison

[Daniela González · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only a scape story, it's a beautiful love story too.