"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
This is the world Conover enters when he, along with other new recruits, undergoes seven weeks of pseudomilitary preparation at the Albany Training Academy. Then it's off to Sing Sing for the daily grind of prison life. Conover correctly and vividly captures the essence of that life, its tedium interspersed with the adrenaline rush of an "incident" and the edge of fear that accompanies every action. He also details how the guards experience their own feelings of confinement, often at the hands of the inmates:
A consequence of putting men in cells and controlling their movements is that they can do almost nothing for themselves. For their various needs they are dependent on one person, their gallery officer. Instead of feeling like a big, tough guard, the gallery officer at the end of the day often feels like a waiter serving a hundred tables or like the mother of a nightmarishly large brood of sullen, dangerous, and demanding children. When grown men are infantilized, most don't take to it too nicely.
And not taking to it nicely often involves violence. Indeed, the constant potential for violence on any scale makes even humdrum assignments dangerous. It's astonishing that more doesn't happen, given that the majority of the 1,800 inmates have been convicted of violent felonies: murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, assault, kidnapping, burglary, and arson. But beneath the simmering rage rests an unexpected sensitivity that Conover captures brilliantly. After encountering a Hispanic inmate with a tattoo of a heartbreaking passage from The Diary of Anne Frank on his back, he writes: "It was easier to stay incurious as an officer. Under the inmates' surface bluster, their cruelty and selfishness, was almost always something ineffably sad. "Ultimately, the emphasis of Conover's work is on the toll prison exacts--most immediately on the jailed and their jailers, but also on a society that puts both there in increasing numbers.--Gwen Bloomsburg
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A gripping true account of life on the inside of Sing Sing prisonAfter he was denied access to report on Sing Sing, one of America's most notorious high security jails, journalist Ted Conover applied to become a prison guard. As a rookie officer, or 'newjack', Conover spent a year in the unpredictable, intimidating and often violent world of America's penal system.Unarmed and outnumbered, prison officers at one of America's toughest maximum security jails supervise 1,800 inmates, most of whom have been convicted of violent felonies- murder, manslaughter, rape. Prisoners conceal makeshift weapons to settle gang rivalries or old grudges, and officers are often attacked or caught in the crossfire. When violence flares up in the galleries or yard an officer's day can go from mundane to terrifying in a heartbeat.Conover is an acclaimed journalist, known for immersing himself completely in a situation in order to write about it. With remarkable insight, Newjack takes the reader as close to experiencing life in an American prison as any of us would ever want to get. It's a thrillingly told account of how the gruelling world of the prison system brutalizes all who enter it - prison guards and prisoners alike. After he was denied access to report on Sing Sing, one of America's most notorious high security jails, journalist Ted Conover applied to become a prison guard. It's a thrillingly told account of how the gruelling world of the prison system brutalizes all who enter it - prison guards and prisoners alike. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780091940959
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. After he was denied access to report on Sing Sing, one of America's most notorious high security jails, journalist Ted Conover applied to become a prison guard. It's a thrillingly told account of how the gruelling world of the prison system brutalizes all who enter it - prison guards and prisoners alike. Seller Inventory # B9780091940959
Book Description Condition: New. In eng. Seller Inventory # ria9780091940959_new
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 352 pages. 7.80x4.96x0.83 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0091940958
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0091940958
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0091940958
Book Description Condition: New. 2011. Paperback. Takes the reader as close as possible to experience life in Sing Sing, one of America's most notorious high security jails. This title offers an account of how the gruelling world of the prison system brutalizes all who enter it - prison guards and prisoners alike. Num Pages: 352 pages. BIC Classification: 1KBBEY; BM; BTC; JKVP1. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 199 x 129 x 23. Weight in Grams: 238. . . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780091940959
Book Description Condition: New. 2011. Paperback. Takes the reader as close as possible to experience life in Sing Sing, one of America's most notorious high security jails. This title offers an account of how the gruelling world of the prison system brutalizes all who enter it - prison guards and prisoners alike. Num Pages: 352 pages. BIC Classification: 1KBBEY; BM; BTC; JKVP1. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 199 x 129 x 23. Weight in Grams: 238. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780091940959
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 352 pages. 7.80x4.96x0.83 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # zk0091940958
Book Description Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware - After he was denied access to report on Sing Sing, one of America's most notorious high security jails, journalist Ted Conover applied to become a prison guard. It's a thrillingly told account of how the gruelling world of the prison system brutalizes all who enter it - prison guards and prisoners alike. Seller Inventory # 9780091940959