Committing Journalism: The Prison Writings of Red Hog [Paperback]

Dannie M. Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1995

Collects more than fifty essays written from behind bars on prison life, prison overcrowding, and AIDS in prison, along with an account of the collaboration between Martin, a prison inmate, and Sussman, his editor on the outside.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Martin (aka Red Hog) draws together 50 of his controversial essays on the harsh treatment of prisoners with the help of San Francisco Chronicle editor Sussman.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Convicted bank robber Martin attracted the attention of Sussman, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle 's Sunday Punch section, with an article on AIDS he wrote in prison. For the next five years, to the chagrin of the prison authorities, Martin's articles appeared regularly in the Chronicle under his pen name, Red Hog. The articles reprinted here are interspersed with comments by Sussman. A less talented journalist than Jack Abbott ( In the Belly of the Beast , LJ 6/1/81) or Wilbert Rideau ( Life Sentences , LJ 6/15/92), Martin nonetheless gives a genuine picture of life behind bars. Readers who are fascinated by this hapless world of victors and victims will find a great deal to interest them here, though the book will probably not attract the general reader. An optional purchase.
- Frances Sandiford, Green Haven Correctional Facility Lib., Stormville, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First Thus edition (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393313220
• ISBN-13: 978-0393313222
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeing through prison walls, August 5, 2005

By 

Kathleen Campbell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Committing Journalism: The Prison Writings of Red Hog (Paperback)

Dannie Martin was an old-time con -- he robbed banks, he didn't rat on his partners and he did his time by minding his own business. Until a stint in the federal prison system led him to send a story to the San Francisco Chronicle, where Peter Sussman, editor of the Datebook section of the paper, published it. And that's when the trouble started. Dannie's clear-eyed unapologetic but fearless snapshots of prison life exposed the outrages committed by guards and administrators. This led the federal Bureau of Prisons to crack down on him and in turn led the Chronicle to sue the prison system on the behalf of Dannie and the paper's First Amendment rights. His book, a collection of the stories he wrote for the Chronicle, gives the reader an eye-opening look behind prison walls - at prisoners coping with AIDS, with drug addiction, and with a heartless and sometimes brainless system.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that can change your perception of prisons overnight., July 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Committing Journalism: The Prison Writings of Red Hog (Paperback)

This book should be required for all politicians who vote against prison reform. Seldom have I experienced the range of emotions that this book instilled-rage, indignation,joy,sadness and shame. The authors should be encouraged to give us more of the truth about our "correctional (?) system.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing but True, July 28, 2001

By 

Frederick S. Goethel "wildcatcreekbooks" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Committing Journalism: The Prison Writings of Red Hog (Paperback)

In this book, Dannie Martin and Peter Sussman have done more to shed light on the idiocy of our prison system than any other book I have read on the subject.

Dannie Martin is a convicted criminal, and I expected the usual whining about the system and how he got a poor trial, etc. Instead, what I found was a series of insightful articles written about the prison system by someone who has the ultimate in first hand knowledge. Interwoven with that was the story of the Federal Bureau of Prisons attempts to quiet the man who was exposing their dirty laundry.

Dannie Martin is a natural writer with a wonderful sense of humor. Far from being dry, this book was extremely readable and enjoyable. I think anyone who is helping to foot the bill for the Federal Prison system needs to read this book!!