Alcatraz Screw

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

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Crimes & Criminals, Penology
Cover of the book Alcatraz Screw by George H. Gregory, University of Missouri Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: George H. Gregory ISBN: 9780826263735
Publisher: University of Missouri Press Publication: December 17, 2013
Imprint: University of Missouri Language: English
Author: George H. Gregory
ISBN: 9780826263735
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
Publication: December 17, 2013
Imprint: University of Missouri
Language: English

Alcatraz Screw is a firsthand account from a prison guard’s perspective of some of the most storied years at the infamous U.S. Penitentiary at Alcatraz. George Gregory began his career as a guard for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1940. Following his training, he was sent to the federal prison at Sandstone, Minnesota. A few years later he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Badly wounded at Iwo Jima, he returned to Sandstone after a long rehabilitation. When the Bureau of Prisons closed Sandstone in 1947, Gregory was transferred to Alcatraz, which had been a federal penitentiary since 1934.

For the next fifteen years, Gregory worked on “The Rock.” He takes the reader along on a correctional officer’s tour of duty, showing what it was like to pull a lonely, tedious night of sentry duty in the Road Tower, or witness illicit transactions in the clothing room, or forcibly quell a riot in the cell blocks. Gregory provides an insider’s account of the tenures of all four of Alcatraz’s wardens and their sometimes contradictory approaches to administering the institution. He knew and regularly interacted with such legendary inmates as Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz) and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

Without glamorizing or demonizing either the staff or the convicts, Alcatraz Screw provides a candid portrayal of corruption, drug abuse, and sexual practices, as well as efforts at reform and unrecorded acts of kindness. Various incidents in the memoir convey the fear, hatred, frustration, boredom, and unavoidable tension of being incarcerated. With the inclusion of maps and diagrams of Alcatraz Island, as well as photographs of inmates, officers, and the prison itself, this book offers insight into life at the notorious Alcatraz from an unprecedented perspective.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Alcatraz Screw is a firsthand account from a prison guard’s perspective of some of the most storied years at the infamous U.S. Penitentiary at Alcatraz. George Gregory began his career as a guard for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1940. Following his training, he was sent to the federal prison at Sandstone, Minnesota. A few years later he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Badly wounded at Iwo Jima, he returned to Sandstone after a long rehabilitation. When the Bureau of Prisons closed Sandstone in 1947, Gregory was transferred to Alcatraz, which had been a federal penitentiary since 1934.

For the next fifteen years, Gregory worked on “The Rock.” He takes the reader along on a correctional officer’s tour of duty, showing what it was like to pull a lonely, tedious night of sentry duty in the Road Tower, or witness illicit transactions in the clothing room, or forcibly quell a riot in the cell blocks. Gregory provides an insider’s account of the tenures of all four of Alcatraz’s wardens and their sometimes contradictory approaches to administering the institution. He knew and regularly interacted with such legendary inmates as Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz) and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

Without glamorizing or demonizing either the staff or the convicts, Alcatraz Screw provides a candid portrayal of corruption, drug abuse, and sexual practices, as well as efforts at reform and unrecorded acts of kindness. Various incidents in the memoir convey the fear, hatred, frustration, boredom, and unavoidable tension of being incarcerated. With the inclusion of maps and diagrams of Alcatraz Island, as well as photographs of inmates, officers, and the prison itself, this book offers insight into life at the notorious Alcatraz from an unprecedented perspective.

More books from University of Missouri Press

Cover of the book Women in Missouri History by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Footsteps on the Ice by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Protest and Propaganda by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book They Were Just People by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Young Brothers Massacre by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book My Grandfather's Prison by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Growing Up in a Land Called Honalee by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Journeys to the Edge by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Henry Ware Lawton by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Bread by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Groping toward Democracy by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book The First Infantry Division and the U.S. Army Transformed by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Challenge of Religion by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Entering the Fray by George H. Gregory
Cover of the book Missouri at Sea by George H. Gregory
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy