Rating: 
Summary: A lesson
Review: 'All the white boys look like they emerged from the same sad inbred trailer park community where breakfast is an intravenous injection of methamphetamine followed by a Hostess Twinkie.' There are times in 'You Got Nothing Coming' where you will laugh out loud, which, I suppose, is better than crying. Jimmy Lerner, a 47-year-old MBA with a Dilbert lifestyle, kills a man in Las Vegas, and goes to prison for voluntary manslaughter. He gets lucky'his first 'cellie' is a huge, tattooed, and respected recidivist called Kansas. The two get along, and Kansas protects O.G. ('Old Gangsta''the only reason his fellow prisoners can figure out for why a guy his age would have lived long enough to be in jail) from many of the threats of prison life. This leaves Lerner free (in a matter of speaking) to observe those around him and report on what life is like in prison for someone literate enough to tell the tale.Some of 'You Got Nothing Coming' is laugh-out-loud funny. A great deal of it is pathetic. Here is a huge institution crammed full of people who seem to come from a parallel universe. No matter what color they are, their lives are sagas of wretched beginnings and generations of poor decisions. These are frightening, yet often amiable guys. Lerner does not ask questions; he just lets his new neighbors tell their stories and hopes to high heaven that they leave him alone. Stylistically, there are a few problems. The over-use of quirky prison phrases (such as 'you got nothing coming' and 'that ain't nothin' nice') dulls their effect and gives the book the sense of being cobbled together from a series of separate vignettes, especially when they're frequently used as kickers. Lerner apparently wrote the book in fragments, but the editor should have taken a look at how it sustained as a whole and spent more effort on transitions. The section on his crime is not smoothly integrated and hard to reconcile with the voice Lerner has established. Nonetheless, this book is a good read, especially when you know that he was recently paroled.
Rating: 
Summary: A MUST READ!!
Review: Absolutely awesome book, great account of what happens when an educated man gets thrown into the mix with criminals in the joint, VERY interesting and at times comical. Would recommend to anyone, you wont be dissapointed here.
Rating:
Summary: You got nothing coming
Review: An excellent read-very true to life, and while the book leaves you wondering what happens next a flaw the jack cover solved you do by end feel you know the writer and care about him.
4 stars as it seem a bit implausible he could have survive in prison, if published by another house I might doubt story. Worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Lerner = Dilbert + Bunker
Review: As a big fan of Edward Bunker, I was immediately drawn by Bunker's positive review of Lerner's effort. And Jimmy Lerner's foray into writing _is_ exceptional. Lerner describes himself as a middle-aged, Jewish Dilbert-drone with an MBA, two kids and several addictions. Convicted of manslaughter charges, he's tossed in the pen with his 'cellie', Kansas, a 6'6" powerlifting white supremacist. The story of how Lerner survives - and, to some extent, thrives - in the racially charged modern prison environment is surprising, poignant and - ultimately - very entertaining. His writing style is simple, elegant stream of consciousness that immediately captures your attention and drives you through the story with no pit stops needed. My main criticism of the book - and the reason I take it down to an 8.4 out of 10 - is Lerner's weak (and, according to other reviews you can find here, fictional) justification for the killing. While I can't make a judgment as to his veracity, the inclusion of Lerner's relationship with 'the Monster' tainted the story. It didn't ring true and, worse, wasn't interesting. That being said, I highly recommend it. If you enjoy Bunker's work - or if the thought of Dilbert surviving prison sounds entertaining - you'll get a charge out of _You Got Nothing Coming_.
Rating:
Summary: How to make god laugh? Tell him your plans...
Review: As a certified S.O.B (Seriously Obsessive Bibliophile), i have to say that this one qualifies with flying colors as a major "cantputdowner".
Jail? Doin' time? There's a big selection of books out there about this dark issue. Many of them very good. "You got nothing coming" beats them all in my humble opinion, not because:
-its story is original
-you'll read anything in here you havent heard, read, or seen in movies about the prison system before but for reasons unpredicted when picking up a book about incarceration, such as:
-its beyond top-level humor and sarcasm
-its mix of corporate training and jail code to survive But more to the specifics. Reading a book written by a former (or current) convict is usually a bitter, heartbreaking experience. It's bound to be. Being in prison doesnt normally inspire the most optimistic feelings on behalf of the author if you know what I mean.
Jimmy Lerner (the author), up until the moment of landing in a hardcore Nevada prison, is a constantly recovering alcoholic, part time prescription drug addict, hard trying loving father, formerly married, hard working (professionally "succesful") corporate man who is about to even make it to the big time.
All this becomes a not so distant blur of the past as his precariously balanced life takes a turn for the worst, when he winds up strangling a drug dealer in -more than obvious- self defense.
Perhaps predictably, the system isnt too impressed with his crudentials and he lands a sentence of 2 to 12 years.
As if that wasnt going to be enough of a shock, his very first cellmate is a heavy-framed nazi skinhead who also happens to be a major play-caller in the prison. All around him, the environs dont look much better as the "population" is made up of all kinds of gangs with an ominous set of issues. And he - the author- is the "fish" who along with the rest of the convicts "has nothin' comin'". Clueless, at first, to the realities, the bizzare code, the surreal "morals" and everyday horrors of life in prison, as well as the the impending threat to one's bodily safety if not overall existence, the "fish" begins an upward struggle to survive using...psychology techniques he learned in the corporate seminars he'd attended (where he was paying attention as he admits). Does it work? Most of the time it shockingly does allthough he seems to be "lucky" in his misfortune as more than once he has uncomfortably close brushes with seriously unpleasant experiences (such as being stabbed in broad daylight in the "yard", or, coming close to being run over by a 250 pound con who feels he's been "disrespected"). Oh, and all that, without his nazi skinhead cellmate having discovered that J.Lerner is a ...Jew. Written in hilarious style, with incredible (considering the circumstances) humor and wit, "You got nothing coming" shouldnt be regarded as just another prison story novel, but rather, as one of the most powerful true-story novels to have come out in recent memory. Indeed, I couldnt point to another book that has the ability to keep you contineously suspended between terror and laughter. That would be because it would take incredible talent from the part of the author. Lerner not only possesses that talent but he does so in abundance.
At the same time, Lerner emerges as a powerful human being. Not in the muscle sense most of his inmates are but inside. He deals with a situation, which, considering the circumstances, would lead other men (or women) to their ultimate downfall, with intelligence, mental but mostly emotional. It's not exactly simple to feel like you're dealing with a crowd of psychos (or soon to be psychos), may they be inmates or guards, while you are their sole "therapist". Lerner might not sense it that way, but thats what he ultimately does: he functions as a psychologist treating simoultaneously 300 patients.
Miraculously (for his own sake) it seems to work.
I read "You got nothing coming" in a period of little of 2 days (over 360 pages of it) simply because once i started it i found it to be so gripping and compelling i couldnt bring myself to put it down. Funny as hell and more hellish than hell, dark enough to put the lights out in your most illuminated optimisms, threatening in an omnipresent way and bitter the way only prison books can be, this book is nothing less than a msterpiece in its own right.
One of the most impacting books I've ever layed my eyes on.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: At the time I first read this book, I was living in the Bay area, in the same area where the events of the book take place. The writer has a great way of communicating to the reader with his variance of speech. He portrays the characters in prison vividly so that you can truly and easily envision his daily setting. He closes each chapter tightly as he takes you to the next scene. I recently reread the book and strongly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: What Mama didn't tell you - thank God
Review: Definitely NOT for your dear Aunt Lizzie - unless she's a former con. Nor for reading aloud to someone, unless you'd like to be arrested.
Keep in mind that the author of this brilliant, often hilarious 100% scatalogical account of time behind bars is guilty of the crime of which he is accused, and doesn't waste our time denying it. His is a frightening lesson as to what consequences exist for poor choices made. A valuable book if for no other reason.
But other reasons for reading this there are aplenty. The cast of characters bring a whole new meaning to the word "memorable". Your worst nightmare come true. And yet there is humanity even among the least human of hard-timers - not much, admittedly, but it exists. I most enjoyed how our "hero" takes the many lessons he has learned in the corporate business world and applies them to the chaos he finds around him, often saving his life in the process. A MBA has rarely been used so successfully or in such surroundings - and how interesting to note the similarities between the prison ethos and the business world.
I've rarely before read a book which had me going back to reread certain passages -partly to get a grasp on the new language, which is not one taught in most schools. I often stopped to read parts aloud to my husband, but was usually laughing so hard I couldn't be understood (just as well, I suppose) And yet the tragedy of such an existence is obvious - wasted lives, young men (children in some cases) thrown into a world which will change them forever, murderous rages caused by the slightest of unintentional offences and no way out for most.
It's a shame that the suthor didn't recognize his splendid gift for writing long before his incarceration. Of course, if he had, we may not have ever been treated - if that is the right word - to this incredible book. Too bad he has had to live his account rather than making it up. But nobody could make this up - don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: review of a prison fish
Review: Excellent book very real gives an excellent account of prison life from the point of view of an inmate. an excellent read not a waste of time highly recomended.
Rating:
Summary: fascinating and funny
Review: I found this book to be smart, funny, and extremely captivating. I think Jimmy Lerner was born to be a writer, and it took a stent in prison for him to discover his true calling. I personally have no intention of ever seeing the inside of a prison, but if I do, maybe I will be a little wiser for having read this book. I also would like to add that I hope Jimmy Lerner has a wonderful, enriched, peaceful rest of his life. He is extremely talented and should be able to keep every penny, having gone to prison for defending himself and his family from a maniac.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Loved It
Review: I recently started working in a prison and I'm reading a lot of prison books. This is not only the best so far, but my best read of the year. Here is a writer who can squeeze the wet towel of irony and come up with wine. He is a master of the repeating joke. After reading this book, your vocabulary will be changed forever. Here's how much I liked the book: immediately after reading it, I had to buy two copies for my brother and sister (I want to reread my own) so that we can all read it and use it as a reference for new family "in-jokes." This book: it's all good.
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