Alcatraz Island: Memoirs of a Rock Doc [Paperback]

Milton Daniel Beacher (Author), Dianne Beacher Perfit (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2008

Milton Daniel Beacher, M.D. arrived on Alcatraz Island a naïve and compassionate young doctor. It was April 26, 1937. One year later, he left with a journal. It chronicled the suicides, discipline problems, force feedings, and details of a long strike and successful escape. He also penned conversations with famous prisoners like Al Capone, Alvin Karpis, and Machine Gun Kelly. Dr. Beacher later wove the journal into a vivid account of life on the Rock. Befriended by some prisoners, he included their first-person narratives and original prisoner poetry. Shortly before his death in 1993, Dr. Beacher turned the yellowing pages over to his daughter, hoping she would resurrect interest in the stories that still draw crowds. Dianne Beacher Perfit edited the manuscript, added personal correspondence that revealed changes in Dr. Beacher's attitude toward prisoners, included her father's original photographs, and self-published the softcover book. Perfit donated the original journal and manuscript to the archives of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Alcatraz Island. She is a member of the Alcatraz Alumni Association.

Editorial Reviews

Review

. . . behind the scenes in a manner that few other texts permit. . . secondary reading source for undergraduate work. --Corrections Today, June 2002

. . . a true masterpiece . . . it brought the imagery and feeling of the island to my senses . . . brought Alcatraz back to life. --Michael Esslinger, Author Alcatraz Island: A Definitive History 1934-1963

I think this will be a great addition to our library and our bookstore. --Ranger Craig Glassner, Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Alcatraz Island

From the Publisher

Now in its second printing, this slice of history has enhanced photographs and reviewers comments.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Island Publishing; Third Edition edition (August 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097103320X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971033207
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #560,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a unique chronicle of jail life, January 20, 2003

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alcatraz Island: Memoirs of a Rock Doc (Paperback)

With the unique perspective of a young doctor on his first assignment to one of the then newest & most unescapable penal colonies in the US, Dr. Beacher's memoir tells the history of Pelican Island from its discovery in the late 1770s to its use for military defense one hundred years later, to its last incarnation as a bleak jail. He also recounts the stories of the many inmates he cared for, where ruthlessness was the norm, both in the colorless, hopeless daily grind & in the unfettered behavior of the guards

I can't say that ALCATRAZ ISLAND is a good read. It is too full of dire, irreparable damage, offering not an iota of redemption. It is a suffocating read, so much so, that I had to do it in small doses, although once I was immersed in its narration, I was enthralled.

If history of prison life interests you, if how the doctors of that time treated their captive patients fascinates you, then ALCATRAZ ISLAND will be a good read for you. It is a thought-provoking book that will linger long in your mind.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Written in gut-wrenching descriptive language, April 10, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alcatraz Island: Memoirs of a Rock Doc (Paperback)

Set in the time of imprisoned gangsters such as Al Capone, Alcatraz Island: Memoirs Of A Rock Doc is the personal story of Milton Daniel Beacher, a physician who cared for the prison population of Alcatraz Island for one year. Deftly edited by Dianne Beacher Perfit, Alcatraz Island is a candid and revealing journal of brutal living conditions, a prisoner's strike, a successful escape, suicides, and much more. A vivid, gripping book, written in gut-wrenching descriptive language that brings the forbidding rock to life, Alcatraz Island is highly recommended reading for students of American penology as well as a riveting autobiography of life behind bars from the unique perspective of a prison doctor.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Failed To Transport Me to the Rock, April 18, 2006

By 

Thomas McNamee (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alcatraz Island: Memoirs of a Rock Doc (Paperback)

This book reads like a laundry list of who was treated, what heppened, a bit about who the inmate was. I had the feeling that much of the source material was daily logs, and perhaps a few patient charts, but the memories have faded a bit by now. This book failed to transport me to the Rock.
I wanted to feel how the doctor changed over time, what defenses he erected, and which turned out to be soul-saving. The central conflict between a doctor's inherent mission and that of the institution's did not emerge. I cannot, however, give anyone 1 star who has served in such a brutal place, and I hope the next book will show the results of digging deeper.