Stone City (Signet) [Paperback]

Mitchell Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 1991 | Series: Signet

In a prison of youthful hard-core criminals, a college professor convicted of killing a young girl while driving drunk teaches other inmates reading skills. A series of killings prompts officials to coerce Bauman to track down the killer. His quest takes readers into the web of corruption that is inherent in a big state prison.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This gripping novel is many things. On one level it is a page-turning murder mystery. On another it is almost a sociological study of prison life, its rites and rituals, its racial antagonisms and its power ploys, its intimidations and its deprivations. On another level, a large unnamed Midwestern prison serves as a metaphor for contemporary America, festering with evils and dreaming of innocence. In that prison two inmates have been murdered and a former history professor, jailed for killing a girl in a drunken driving accident, is forced by the different coercive pressures of the prison authorities and the inmate kingpin to find out who is the killer. Graphic and searing, an unflinching, harrowing vision of hell, this is a fine novel with strong best-seller potential.
- Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Signet (April 2, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451169301
• ISBN-13: 978-0451169303
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,787,503 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 Simply terrific, January 13, 2000

By 

Candace "thepageturner" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stone City (Signet) (Paperback)

Rich characterizations, a very gritty setting, and a believeable plot make "Stone City" one gripping read.

A middle-aged college professor is sentenced to a huge state prison for killing a child while driving drunk. How does such a person survive in this environment? Who will be his allies, and who will be his enemies? A casual comment made over one morning's plastic breakfast spins him into a situation most of us could never imagine in our wildest - or worst - dreams.

Author Smith has a real handle on the social setup of prison, which is fascinating in itself. The men inside are complete creations, and the reader is allowed to react to them however he or she chooses. Even the main character is not wholly sympathetic, while some of the more surprising characters are.

I've read "Stone City" several times and every time I just can't put it down.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable - for fans of HBO's "Oz", October 19, 2002

By 

Elvis-from-Hell (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stone City (Signet) (Paperback)

I read this several years ago and it's always stuck with me. A brutal book about life inside the "joint" where double-crosses rule the day, predators thrive and the innocent die violent deaths. You will find it impossible to wash the ending of this book out of your mind. Better than the HBO series "Oz" and that's meant as a huge compliment.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars prison culture--extraordinaire, December 27, 2002

By 

"zeldasdobi" (sherwood, oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stone City: A Novel (Hardcover)

I, too, read this book a number of years ago and have never forgotten it. I have heard it described as one of the best, if not THE best, book on prison culture (at least in fiction) ever written. It is fascinating from start to finish and you cannot help but wonder "how in the world did the author discover this stuff"??? A real insider's look at prison life.