Customer Reviews

Alcatraz Screw: My Years as a Guard in America's Most Notorious Prison

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This is a great book for anyone interested in what life was like on Alcatraz from an insider's perspective. Mr. Gregory served as a prison guard on Alcatraz and explains in detail the daily routines of the prisoners and guards. He writes very directly about the various jobs he had while there and what life was like. He adds a very human aspect to the people in his book while writing very "matter of factly." I was engaged by the book and did not want to put it down at times. Having read other books on Alcatraz and having been there, this book told me an insider's perspective that I had never felt I'd had before. I recommend it highly to anyone who has even the slightest interest in what Alcatraz was really like.

Alcatraz Screw is the memoir of George Gregory, a correctional officer at Alcatraz from 1947 to 1963. A former Marine wounded at Iwo Jima, Gregory had the self-confidence necessary to handle himself well with inmates and his superior officers. He treated inmates fairly but firmly and didn't put up with any nonsense. His writing style is lean and plain with a 1950s flavor. Even if you have no interest in penology, this is an interesting book to read because it's the story of an honest guy competently doing his job as prison guard. It includes about 20 pages of photographs and maps.

I have read a lot of books on Alcatraz and been there many times. This book has to be the most dull. Sure it explains what a day is like for a prison guard, but a book describing the daily life of a public librarian would have been just as engaging. I didn't really learn anything new or important about the prison or those who lived on it. And I sure did not learn anything about Gregory. Check out Creepy Karpis's book, "On the Rock." It's probably 50% lies, but it's at least a good read.
One more thing, the pictures in this book are mostly reproductions of other officially released pictures. I already have all of them.

This was the best book I have ever read. I could not put this book down. I work in the prison system and this book was a great look at how things were done in the past. This is a must read.Alcatraz Screw: My Years As a Guard in America's Most Notorious Prison

I purchased this book after a visit to Alcatraz. Once I began reading it, I had a hard time putting it down. I found the book to be well-written - it felt conversational, which also made it easy to read and kept me wanting to read more. His take on the day to day life of being a guard and a prisoner was interesting and I felt the book gave a different perspective on Alcatraz than has sometimes been given. For the most part, each chapter focuses on a different event, and they are short enough to read one chapter at a time. I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like a look inside Alcatraz towards the end of its life.

This book moves along smoothly detailing the daily life as a prison guard in one of America's most notorious prisons. Written by a former U.S. Marine and experienced correctional officer George Gregory, he captures his life inside the prison from 1947 to 1962. After reading this book you'll definitely will feel what it would be like to work on the inside. Highly recommended!