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: 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: 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: Until Now, I Never Enjoyed Any Book My Husband Liked
Review: I would see him reading, late at night, sometimes laughing, sometimes just shaking his head. So when my husband finished "You Got Nothing Coming" I picked it up and started reading. And couldn't stop. This book, on the surface, seems to be about an educated professional man trying to adapt to a new prison environment. Below the obvious, there is so much going on and it's funny and tragic and frightening and, above all, absolutely spell-binding. After reading the book I went in search of other Jimmy Lerner books and so far this is his only one, but I just read that one of my favorite movie directors, Phil Kaufman, will be doing a film based on this book (with Ben Stiller--perfect choice!--starring) and I can't wait! If the movie is one-half as gripping and entertaining as the book I will be at the theater a lot, even if my husband can't make it!
Rating:
Summary: We Are Definitely Not In Kansas Anymore!
Review: Jimmy Lerner takes us on journey to a dark place beyond the imaginations of most of us. This true account of prison is nothing like what we see in the movies, read in books, or even watch the HBO show, OZ. It is infinitely worse. Gangs, Nazis, teenaged crank addicts that kill their families, relentlessly sadistic guards, and, for comic relief, charaters like Scud, who have a talent for propelling a snot missiles from their nose into the chow hall soup cannister. The author pulls us into his tiny cell with him, this 8 x 6 concrete and steel box that he is forced to share with Kansas, the Nazi skinhead gang leader. Kansas can't read his neo-Nazi literature because he is illiterate. No problem. Mr. Lerner, a former Corporate executive and a Jew (which he wisely keeps to himself) reads it to him. And even explains it. Lerner even manages to win the confidence and friendship of this maniac and this makes for a fascinating and hilarious sub-plot. The satirical accounts of our 12-Step culture and his skewering of Alcoholics Anonymous are both politically incorrect and delightfully accurate. I only hope the author survives to provide us with a sequel!! This is without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read!!
Rating:
Summary: So real you can hear the cell door clang shut behind you.
Review: Jimmy Lerner's book is one of the funniest ever written about prison. It's true genius, though, is its structure, a narratave that pulls you into the anxious paranoia of early prison life, then loops around to describe the sad chain of misjudgments, alcoholism, greed, anger and hilarious stupidity that landed the author behind bars.
Lerner's descriptive skills blow the reader away. In all the best books, the writer writes so well that you forget you're reading, and I can think of few better examples than this fine story. The prisons leap into your mind, fully envisioned, terrifying, fascinating. Characters, too, are drawn so well you feel that you know them, that you could converse like old friends if you ended up being so unfortunate as to share a cell with them. Even the details of his previous life as a middle manager for one of the "Baby Bell" phone companies feel wonderfully true and accurate. His descriptions of myriad Alcoholics Anonymous sessions give the reader a compelling and critical look at that organization, its strengths, and its weaknesses; also, veterans of the telecom industry will knowingly nod at the people and situations he describes from life before The Fall.
My only quibble is that I'd like to know as much about his exit from prison as I know about his entrance--the former transition is one that society frequently fails to understand or deal with, even though it is a frequent consequence of the latter one.
Too few people truly understand the dark underbellies of American life, or care to look at why some people lead successful lives while others fall through the cracks. Lerner's book shows you the consequences of such ignorance, though; his "everyman" story shows you that this could happen to a neighbor, a friend, a family member--or you.
Check it out, dawg!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Let a Murderer Profit
Review: Lerner's book is outrageous in many ways--hilarious, scary, honest, and bit unbelieveable (sort of the way Tim O'Brien talks about how you can never tell a "true" war story). Lerner, a Jewish MBA who suddenly finds himself in prison (according to his version of events, a sentence he probably did not deserve, but that is up to the reader) for a manslaughter charge. The book is filled with colorful characters with surprising humanity. Lerner is no saint and he knows it. An alcoholic who makes astonishingly bad choices, he cops to his mistakes. His stories and details about prison life are remarkable. Not surprisingly there is a sadistic guard and heroic prisoners...but Lerners sees them for who they are and finds his salvation in a powerful and raucuous closing. He also has savage things to say about corporate culture (his cubicle neighbor, Scott Adams of Dilbert fame, might agree) and the comparisons to prison are, while not original, still eye opening. The structure of the book is a bit odd--the details of his crime are left to the end--but it all manages to work. Thanks, Dawg.
Rating:
Summary: Side-Splittingly Funny; One of My Favorite Books Ever
Review: Now, I'll admit, you must have a dark sense of humor and a well-developed sense of the absurd to 'get' this book. That being said, if that describes you, you've got something coming. Jimmy Lerner's memoir of time in a Nevada prison is both horrifying and achingly funny. For anyone shocked by the recent abuse of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib, one need only read this book to get a close-up look at how our own American citizens are treated in the Big House. Lerner's twenty-odd years spent in corporate cube farms gave him some valuable tools for negotiating his way through the Pen, and his stories of how he manages to avoid one potential 'health crisis' after another with corporatespeak and motivational jargon is tearfully funny. Perhaps after reading this, you too will know how to duck 'n cover when the S**t Jumps Off. Even though Lerner has some moral weaknesses and isn't perfect, you can't help but root for this middle-class, Jewish, corporate middle-man who ends up sharing a cell with a Nazi sociopath. Lerner was lucky to get out alive, and when you read this book, you'll be glad he did. (WARNING: Spoiler!) In regards to the reviewer who wrote 'don't let this murderer profit', what would you do if a psycopath had not only threatened to kill you but assault your children? The corpse in this true tale defintely Had Something Coming.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book -- I laughed out loud
Review: The author has a wonderfully dark sense of humor that he uses to describe very disturbing events and situations. I found that for parts 1 & 2 of the book (initial stages of prison life and prison life), I couldn't stop laughing -- nor could I put the book down. Part 3 was his personal story which was interesting, but more serious in tone. The author was a typical white collar worker in the telecommunications industry. (At one point in passing he mentions that he worked across an aisleway from a guy names Scott who was trying to get a cartoon syndicated... ) He was put into prison for killing a man and his story unfolds. He makes several "friends" which probably saved his life -- and he provides enough conversation to picture each as an individual character. He does not make excuses for the action that got him there in the first place -- which I appreciated -- but he tells the story in a manner in which I completely identify with him. I hope he never has to go through this situation again (I heard he is on parole) but I would love to read more from Mr. Lerner.
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