Let's Bust a Recap : Alcatraz From Inside

Alcatraz From Inside: One Man's Climb from Desperation to Redemption is the account of former Alcatraz inmate Jim Quillen's journey to and from Alcatraz written from his own perspective. My book is copyrighted 1991 with an editor's note at the end stating Quillen died in 1998. 

I guess you could classify Alcatraz From Inside as an autobiography though the main focus of this book was Quillen's criminal activity and subsequent prison time and rehabilitation. I picked this book up while Cody and I were actually visiting Alcatraz in October (more details on our trip to California hopefully coming to the blog before the end of the year—don't hold your breath). 

Quillen begins his story detailing his troubled childhood. He became involved in increasingly dangerous criminal behavior as a teenager and, at only 22 years old after escaping San Quentin prison and going on a crime spree, found himself sentenced to 45 years inside America's toughest prison, US Penitentiary Alcatraz Island. 

What can I say about this book? I thought it was interesting and informative if not somewhat biased (which is only natural when a person writes his own story). I was thoroughly impressed with Quillen's determination and success with using the resources available to him in prison to educate himself and become a fully rehabilitated, productive member of society. I'm guilty of having a pretty narrow view of prisoners and what they should or should not be afforded during their incarceration, but this book showed me that prison can (and should) be a safe place for inmates to learn how to function in society and given the skills they need to do that successfully. I'm not so naive to think that any or every prisoner is capable of rehabilitation, but Quillen's story showed me the importance of offering prisoners the opportunity to change their circumstances and encouraging them to better themselves instead of writing them off as soon as their sentence is read. 

What I didn't care for about Alcatraz From Inside was how muddled it was at times. I would have liked a clearer timeline and more attention given to the chronology of his life. There were details lacking that I was curious about and too much attention given to other things that didn't seem very important to me as a reader. Obviously writing this book must have been very difficult for Quillen as he had to relive a time of his life that was absolutely horrible for him. I would have liked an editor to give this story some more care and help Quillen iron out some of the more confused aspects of his account.

Most importantly, reading this book reminded me that justice and compassion are not and should not be mutually exclusive. Loving my neighbor means hoping for his best and helping him back up after he fails. It means rooting for him, not against him. If for no other reason, I'm glad I read this book for that reminder. 

Have you visited Alcatraz? When Alcatraz became part of the National Park Service system, Jim Quillen went back and became one of the island's most popular volunteers, retelling his story as part of the audio tour and sharing his past with visitors. Cody and I really enjoyed visiting Alcatraz and would definitely recommend doing the audio tour of the island.