Customer Reviews

Breaking the Rock: The Great Escape from Alcatraz

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While I do think this is a good read with plenty of information, I can name two faults. First, the author uses italics to guess what the people are saying. They are not quotes, but her thoughts of what could have been said. This is a flaw in accuracy because you have to remind yourself that, while it could have been said, it also could not have been said. Secondly, the book was sloppily written. I found numerous spelling mistakes and typos. Overlooking those, it was a good read.

Author Jolene Babyak was a child at Alcatraz while her father was the assistant warden and provides us with minute details of the 1962 escape attempt by inmates West, Morris, and the Anglin brothers. The detailed planning, cooperation from other inmates, and the special care that went into this attempt is astounding and I got the feeling the inmates were convinced they actually would make it to shore in their raft while, perhaps, forgetting just how difficult their task would be once they hit the water. We are left to wonder whether inmate West had a change of heart and stayed behind because he was afraid of the water or being doublecrossed by the Anglin brothers or was he just lucky he stayed behind because he couldn't get out of the back of his cell. He was left to tell the tale while the others just vanished, most likely to a watery grave. I did find quite a number of spelling and grammatical mistakes. I was lucky to tour Alcatraz two weeks ago and have the author autograph my copy of the book. This book, along with the Battle at Alcatraz by Ernest Lageson describing the 1946 escape attempt are both first rate and worth reading.

This book portrays one of the best prison tales from someone with first hand expirence. I bought this book on the Rock and had it signed by Jolene. she shows her personality through this book using great detail. "Breaking the Rock" brings you step by step, day by day, and inch by inch along the the story of the escape. This book is great for experts and novices on the topic of Alcatraz.

Breaking The Rock: The Great Escape From Alcatraz is a brand new, revealing, and vivid look at the notorious failure of the infamous Alcatraz prison. It reexamines details about the seemingly impossible escape that have been taken for granted due to Hollywood's take on what really happened. Breaking the Rock is for those who want to know more than the assumptions of the silver screen. It minutely details how salty sea air (rather than the salt water, as was widely thought) eroded the concrete and rusted the towers; how a critical watch post was closed on the night of the escape; how the role of prisoner Allen Clayton West was much more pivotal than the movies would lead one to believe. Breaking The Rock is highly recommended for anyone who is fascinated about the true history of this remote and imposing American prison.

I got this book from Mrs. Babyak herself while visiting Alcatraz. I always believed or had hoped (based on "Escape from Alcatraz") that Frank Morris and company made it. The facts show they did not.

One thing is for sure is that they got off the island. After that it is pretty certain that they drowned. Mrs. Babyak pointed out to me that some folks still commit suicide of the Golden Gate Bridge quite frequently yet their bodies are never discovered. This is the result of certain factors, such as the cold water will make a lifeless body not so buoyant.

Also, because of the confining of the prisoners to small cells in which they only had one hour a day to get out of them, you can imagine how sore they must have been doing all they did just to get out. Mrs. Babyak makes a strong case of this and other reasons convincingly that in all probability they drowned in the Bay that night.

The attempt reminds me of what people are willing to do when any chance of hope dissipates in one's life. Men will pay any price. I still kinda wished that they made it but the odds are against it.

Having read and seen everything I could get my hands on about the Acatraz breakout, this book provided yet MORE interesting details. Frank Morris was literally a genius and he and the Anglin brothers successfully? busted out of the most famous "escape proof prison" of them all. From details like his nicknames in prison: "Frankie" and "Ace" we also learn about who was on guard that night and various lapses on the part of the prison staff which lead up to the breakout. In addition, there are many never before published photos of the island and principals involved. The author was a little girl living on the island at the time and gives other tidbits about life there for both the staff and prisoners. While her opinion is that the "Tablespoon Trio" did not make it, she also leaves the door cracked open for the reader to draw their own conclusions. Truly a diamond in the rough for anyone wanting to read about the awesome triumph of the human spirit under the most extreme circumstances!

Jolene Babyak's "Breaking The Rock" is a fascinating, well written account of the greatest prison escape in American history. She supplies a wealth of detail that is so well presented that you feel like you are there. The book is so well written that it reads like a suspense novel. Excellent!

A very interesting story. I was taken by the level of ingenuity empolyed by the escapees. And, having met the author while on a recent tour of Alcatraz makes the book a special momento for me.

I first became aware and interested in this case via a segment on a very entertaining television program that had its heyday in the late 80's, early 90's called Unsolved Mysteries. Like any television program though, it lacked the scope to give an in depth account of the events and so further investigation would always be required of anyone who wants to learn more about the case.

This book is short, about 250 pages, but manages to recount the June 1962 escape attempt of America's most notorious prison in pretty specific detail. There were several attempts by inmates to escape the prison, but this one is undoubtedly the most mysterious. It also is the most ingeniously and elaborately planned although one's awe for the conspirators is mitigated somewhat by the fact that a large part of why they were able to break out can be attributed to at best, extreme incompetence and at worst, complicity on the part of the prison staff. The most egregious example being the fact that Allen West (credited as the mastermind of the escape attempt in the book) was allowed to conceal the top of the cell block (from which the inmates would escape from) with hanging blankets for months. This allowed West to work up there in the day and his co-conspirators, Frank Morris and the Anglin Brothers to work further at night, evading nightly counts by the use of dummy heads (complete with real human hair).

The only qualms I have with the book are that it does (as one reviewer pointed out) contain numerous spelling errors. The other is that I felt that it didn't spend very much time speculating as to whether the three men successfully made it or perished in the water. That for me was always the interesting part of it and where the case gets its mystique.

Little that was recovered in the water provides clues as to whether or not Morris and the Anglins successfully made it to land (West the alleged mastermind had not attempted to access the top of the cell block through the hole in the wall of his cell like the others until the night of the escape and discoverd then that his way was barred and so was left behind)but from what can be gathered, one would have to conclude that in all probability, they died in the water. The book offers reasons for such a supposition, such as the fact that the men hit the water at or around the worst part of the tide and probably attempted to paddle against it, as their destination seems to have been Angel Island. In a prison made raft with prison made paddle, it seems difficult to believe they could have successfully paddled against the strength of the tide. Also, they had to drag their raft and life jackets from the top of the prison roof to the shore even crossing barbed wire along the way. Their raft may have been punctured before they even hit the water. The most telling piece of evidence for me however is not what was found in the water, but what was not found on land. By the book's account, John and Claerance Anglin were slow-witted, inept, career petty criminals. They were also braggarts. Even though prison records indicated that Frank Morris had an IQ of 133, his record indicated that he was also not the most savvy of criminals. The three of them did not have access to money either. I find it hard to believe that three career (and largely inept) petty criminals could have successfully made it to land and then never be heard from again. It is conceivable that if they had made it to land, they could all still be alive even today. Morris would be about 83 and the Anglins both in their late 70's. If indeed they did perish in the water, their bodies will never be found. One thing is nearly certain; the case will never be solved. Which, in a way is ok with me. There's always a desire to know exactly what really happened, but had this case ever been solved, then the mystique that surrounds it would have vanished and it would become just another failed Alcatraz escape attempt.

This is a truly fasinating account of what really took place on Alcatraz. It not only told about the inmates but about the families of the guards that actually lived on the island. Having grown up in San Francisco during the time that the author writes about, I remember the "rock" as always being this quasi mysterious island that seemed to be so close to the mainland and yet held some of the worst criminals. I thouroughly enjoyed getting an inside look at Alcatraz from the eyes of someone who actually lived there.

Barbara Birchim, author of Is Anybody Listening? A True Story About POW/MIAs In The Vietnam War