Battle at Alcatraz: A Desperate Attempt to Escape the Rock

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: Author Ernest Lageson provides us with an account of the 1946 attempted breakout at Alcatraz prison during which time his father was a guard at the institution. He provides the reader with the details of a well-planned attempt by inmates to vacate "The Rock". The best laid plans go sour for the strangest reasons, and this plan went awry because a guard decided to keep a key to the recreation yard in his pocket because he was to reuse it shortly instead of returning it where it belonged. The inmates were unable to locate the key and their plot was foiled. The author provides us with details of the personalities of the inmates involved and their frustration when things began to go wrong. Author Lageson was a schoolboy at the time, and he expresses his agony in not knowing whether his father was alive or not. Conflict between Warden James Johnston and his associate, Edward Miller, in resolving the takeover is gone into detail with Warden Johnston appearing as confused as to what to do to rescue the guards in the cell block and quash the uprising. According to the author, Johnston had his facts wrong, also, when providing details to the press. Having just visited Alcatraz last week I wanted to read this book and was able to visualize the inside of the prison. I found this book very interesting to read. I can't imagine a reviewer who found it to be boring. I would highly recommend the book to you.

Rating:
Summary: Meticulously researched, Thoroughly readable
Review: Ernie Lageson, is the son of one of the prison guards injured in the failed escape attempt about which this book is written. There are many versions of stories told about Alcatraz the details of which vary by accounting. Being a stickler for correct facts I appreciate the attention to accurate detail paid by the author when writing this book. He not only tells the story with precise accuracy he does so as a skilled story teller weaving a web and drawing you in. If you only read one book about this particular uprising, make sure you chose this one. You won't find an accounting more thoroughly researched nor more intelligently written.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating account of both life and riot inside a prison
Review: For all readers interested in or fascinated by Alcatraz this is the book to READ. The Battle at Alcatraz literally puts the reader inside the prison walls and into the hearts and minds of the prisoners and guards. This is a true story written by the son of the officer in charge the day of the attempted breakout from Alcatraz in 1946. It reads like fiction as the six desperate convicts search for a missing key. It leaves the reader unsettled wondering if a warden's decisions could have made a difference. A must read. A Wisconsin reader

Rating:
Summary: This is a late-night page-turner !
Review: If you like history and drama, BATTLE AT ALCATRAZ will keep you up late turning pages. Ernie Lageson retells the story of the prison's bloodiest escape attempt over three days in May 1946, and he has a real insider perspective: he wrote the book from notes made by his father, one of the prison guards wounded and held hostage during the siege. It is a look at a simpler world, when San Francisco stopped for three days while its citizens climbed on rooftops and walked to the waterfront to watch the drama unfold in the Bay - a drama that could not be played out on television (1946 was a radio and newspaper world), but instead flashed on movie screens around the world. It's a drama worth remembering.

Rating:
Summary: "Fact and feeling that takes us in to the heart of The Rock"
Review: This book was a terriffic read, concise and very well written. I was waiting for my plane in the O'Hare airport and had bought it for my dad in San Fransisco. I was 9 years old at the time and I read the whole book on the way home. I could not put it down. The bond that the author creates with the reader is magical. You find yourself in the cell where the hostages were kept. You hear yourself screaming at others to find the key. How the plan could break down at the last was incredible. If you enjoy history, then this book is for you. If you cannot see the historical importance and literary genius in this piece, then maybe you should blow your mind on cable television.

Rating:
Summary: unless you are REALLY bored, keep shopping.
Review: This is a very poorly written book. How a writer could take such an interesting topic and make it totally boring is beyond me. If you want to read a book about Alcatraz without falling asleep, I recommend you keep shopping.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: Visited The Rock this July, bought this book at the bookstore, This book was a great book made me feel like i was actully there. The auther Tells a great story. Suggest to everyone