Alcatraz, the Prison

by Jay Stuller

In words and photographs, this book captures the most famous -- or infamous -- aspect of the island's history, its years as a maximum-security federal penitentiary. Called variously "Uncle Sam's Devil's Island, " "Hellcatraz, " and other fearsome names, Alcatraz had a reputation among convicts as the prison of last resort.

Genres: Nonfiction

41 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1998

Reviews

[Mary Helmbrecht]

Good introduction to the history of Alcatraz. Not the most in depth book, considering it is fairly short and there have been much more extensive books written about the prison; however, it is a good taste of the history that could spark the enthusiasm of anyone interested in Alcatraz.

[Ann L.]

A short brief book about Alcatraz Island, a place I had the pleasure of touring in 2002 when I visited San Francisco. There was an audio tour and books you could purchase about Alcatraz, and so this book was purchased. Lots of cool black and white pictures that were taken when Alcatraz was a prison and some brief information about attempted escapes, escapes that were actually made (but to this day no one knows if the prisoners who escaped lived or not), and other interesting tidbits on daily life during that time. What was interesting was the little tidbit of information that the "Bird Man" was NOT gentle and nice as portrayed in the movie that came out about him. He was disliked by everyone on that island and was NOT a nice man at all. Don't believe everything you see in movies!

[Mandi]

Holy Crap!! so much crazy information! such a good book but I highly recommend this book!