The Secrets of Alcatraz

Mysteries Unwrapped

by Susan Sloate, Josh Cochran (Illustrator)

The fascinating history of the island known as "The Rock", from its discovery in 1775, to its days as a military fortress and Civil War prison, to its new incarnation as a National Park. Mature content. Grades 7 - 12

Genres: Nonfiction

88 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Bestselling author of 26 published books, including FORWARD TO CAMELOT (with Kevin Finn), STEALING FIRE and REALIZING YOU (with Ron Doades). The original 2003 edition of FORWARD TO CAMELOT was a #6 Amazon bestseller, honored in 3 literary competitions and optioned for Hollywood film production. STEALING FIRE, the 2013 #2 Amazon bestseller, was a Quarter-Finalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. REALIZING YOU, a 2013 self-help novel, gave her a chance to invent a new genre. Susan has also written 17 young-adult fiction and non-fiction books, including 5 biographies (Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Clara Barton, and two on Ray Charles), history, and 7 novels for girls' book series. Susan lives outside Charleston, South Carolina. Visit her online at www.susansloate.com.

Reviews

[Helen Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very cute and informative book about the history of Alcatraz - which includes a lot of information about its history beyond just being a prison, which was what made me want to read this.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dont usually like nonfiction but this intersected me

[Josh Napper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josh Napper
The secrets of Alcatraz
The secrets of Alcatraz was a book that I had very mixed feelings readings. It was very Interesting throughout however I thought there were portions of it that were irrelevant. The most interesting section was probably the biography about Al Capones life. Al Capone was a high class mob member until he was jailed for not paying his taxed correctly. He was not given any special priorities in Alcatraz although he would bribe the warden with large amounts of money. Alcatraz was a very strict prison for a long amount of time, however it softened up when a new warden arrived. My favorite quote from the book was "Quick!, come with me I can take you back to the island" (Susan 75). This was when a local fishermen offered to take a native American over to Alcatraz after he realized Indians were settling on Alcatraz illegally. In this book the public judges the native Americans for trying to settle on Alcatraz, saying that they don't belong their. The native Americans challenge the beliefs of society and end up winning. They don't back down and are very keen to settle on this island. They even write a multi page letter explaining why they should be allowed to settle on to the abandoned island. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys some brief history. Also this would be a good read for anyone who enjoys a motivational happy ending. I am glad to know more about Alcatraz and am very happy that I read this book

[Allison Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and finding out fascinating details about Alcatraz. I specifically choose this book because I am interested in books involving facts about prisons and other mystery-type settings. I also enjoyed learning about Alcatraz because I saw it in person a few years ago and it was nice to add to my prior knowledge. I thought it was very interesting that the book touched on not only the prisoners and fun facts about them but also other histories about the island itself. I love how it described the Native Americans' time on the island as well. I would definitely recommend reading this book because it allows you to have a deeper understanding of the overall history that occurred on Alcatraz, which even includes up to today's time period.

[Amora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really informational and covered many common topics of Alcatraz like attempted escapes, famous prisoners, how they communicated et cetera. I personally don't love Non-Fiction, so in my biased opinion, I think it was okay. Alcatraz is a fun and interesting topic to read about, so if anyone is interested in prisons and government control this book is perfect for you. The graphics in this book helped give a visual understanding of the topic.
I recommend this for people over 13. Great if you want to try a non-fiction book.
If you like adventure and want to try non-fiction its good.

[Nico Pocho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was a great read. This book is 88 pages long so I feel like you cant really dive into the book. I would recommend this book to readers that like threatening books that state real-life facts to keep the reader amazed. Shows a story about many prisoners that have been sent to Alcatraz including Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. This story doesn't have a plot, because, it's non-fiction. I would really recommend for a short trip or an airplane ride because the book just sets the mood.

[Aniket · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secrets of Alcatraz was an excellent non fiction book. I liked it because it I have seen a movie call The Escape from Alcatraz and the starring was Clint Eastwood as Frank Lee Morris one the escapers from Alcatraz. The was good because it gave me more information than the movie did and told me things that the movie didn't tell me like how Al Capone was put in this prison. There is a quote from Al Capone that says " Well, Warden. It looks like Alcatraz has got me licked." I think it means that he will never escape from this prison.

[Jared Hutchison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good piece of history and shows the island use throughout all of its time. From Native American grounds to a modern day museum.

[Kacy Trueman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a 7th grade social studies teacher, this book has been added to my classroom library. Informative and educational while also keeping my interest!

[Connor Stubbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am finished reading the book The Secrets of Alcatraz, it was an interesting book. I found out things that I never knew before.

My favorite part of the book was when it told me about one of the escapes that was succesful. It involved four men: Frank Lee Morris, Clarence and John Anglin, and Allen West. The prision gurads did not expect them to escape the prison. They all had a job that would help them to escape the prison. Frank Lee Morris worked in the prison shop which made brushes. There he had access to all kinds of materials and tools to aid in an escape. John Anglin worked in the clothing room in the prison basement, from which he gathered the materials needed to survive in the bay. Clarence Anglin worked in ther prison barbershop, which allowed him to steal shorn hair, and essential part of the mens's plan to elude the guards. Allen West worked on the painting crew in the utility corridor, where he saw the deterioration of the concrete walls, learned the geography of the utility area, and figured out how it could be accessed from the tiny air vents at the back of the prisoner's cells. Then they scraped every night away at the cement when it was about time to go to bed so the garuds did not know what they were doing. Then on day they they got all of it off and then they were planning to go but then Clarence Anglin was not ready cause his scement was to dry.Then they decided to go without him. Then they left. The next morning the guards saw that the three of the men were missing and then Clarence Anglin said I was apart of this plan and then he got in trouble. Then the three men got out of Alcatraz and got away. But to this day they found Frank Lee Morris's body in the ocean Allen West got caught by a man driving a boat and the prisoner got sent back in to the prison. Then three monthes after they escaped they got a letter back saying "Ha Ha Ha I made it". It was signed by John Anglin.

I would recommend this book because it is really interesting and you learn alot about Alcatraz. It tells you about who escaped and who tried to escaped. It is a reallly good and fun book to read and see how people tried to escaped the prison. It was really fun and good you should read it.

[Ms. Mielke's Class Make sure you post how your sheets tell you to!!!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the Secrets of Alcatraz is a good book because it talks about history on how life was like with major criminals. It also talks about how they built it and how no criminal could escape. People and parents might like this book because it teaches kids not to do bad things and to not get into trouble. The coolest part was the part when these criminals had a really well thought plan and they use that plan to escape and today they still wonder if they did, because they have no trace of them. TB

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who isn't completely enthralled with the mystery and history of Alcatraz? This book is geared specifically for kids from about 3rd-5th grade (reading level) so I love that you get the details without all the "specifics" (Al Capone and his syphillis, blood & guts, etc.). It talks about the history of the island, the most infamous prisoners, escape attempts, etc. Loved every minute of it...so did my 9 year old...and my 7 year old is clamboring for it next.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book with a lot of interesting facts about Alcatraz. It is fast-paced with its short paragraphs of information. I particularly like that it gave a whole history of the island and not just about the prison; although that is, of course, the bulk of the book. Who knew Indians occupied the island for almost two years after the prison was shut down? Great stuff and cool pictures, to boot!

[Caitlin Tolman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a really good nonfiction piece. Usuallly I am not interested in nonfiction pieces but this one read kind of like a story. It unfortunatley seemed like a fiction book, although in reality was a horrible part of our American past. I knew the basics of Alcatraz and the big escape story, but everything else was news to me. I'm glad I spread out and read the book because it opened my eyes to how crazy our past with criminals is.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine if you were first arriving at the dreaded alcatraz. Just hearing the name makes me shiver in fright. Isolation, fights in the lunchroom, and hearing the clank of prison chains and cups dragging across the bars. eep! I have been to alcatraz(but not in a bad way)and it doesn't look very inviting at all to me. I sure hope i'm not going again soon, but I knowlies there, bad things.

[Stacey Mulholland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting nonfiction book about Alcatraz. Previous to reading the book, I'll I knew about the island was what I learned reading Al Capone Does My Shirts, a Mythbusters episode, and the movie The Rock. While the escape stories were intriguing, what I learned, that I had no prior knowledge of, was about the Native Americans squatting on the land.

[Shea Kaulfers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. It really didn't interest me, but that is hard to do. I thought it was pretty interesting when it talked about Al Capone and Machine gun kelly planning the great escape. It was really creative that Al Capone and Machine gun Kelly put a fake head in the bunker to make it look like they were actually there that night, even though they were escaping.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another one I read for my classroom book club. I must say I was dreading reading it when the kids voted on it, but after I read it, I thought it was really interesting! I learned lots of stuff I never knew about "The Rock!"

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only wish the author had included more real-life photos of the ins and outs of the island. But that aside, I learned quite a bit about the Rock that I did not even know about...including the Native American Occupation.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very interesting because it gives you information about the prison Alcatraz

[Alexander]

it was ok

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Al Capone Shines My Shoes, so I decided to read this book because I had some backround knowledge and it turned out really good!!!!!!!!!!!

[Trista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history about Alcatraz.

[Mariann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down!

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great non-fiction pair up with Gennifer Choldenko's Al Capone books. Quick fascinating read.