Rating: 
Summary: In a short stint, your so damn liberal
Review: You may be a good author, and the book wasn't too bad, but you have such a bleeding heart. I think you expressed more simpathy for inmates than you did for "your" fellow workers. And if your going to write something that will impact all of corrections, I believe that you should have all your facts straight. You told a story of how you seen it, in such a short period of time. Put in 25 years and see how you feel. It's real easy to feel burned out at young age in such an occupation. Now as far as you using my name and the things you had written about me, thanks, I resemble those remarks.:) Now that we are in starting our fourth year, you should do a follow up on us. And if it wouldn't hurt to send (at least the people that you wrote about) a signed copy of your book. I have already purchased three. Good luck and hopefully you'll stay out of the system, (It is a very fine line).
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: This book is a fascinating look into the everday workings of a modern prison. It is a rare glimpse inside of one the most well known prisons in the world. Mr. Conover dispells many myths associated with correctional facilities today. Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: Life inside
Review: Ted Conover (as he states in his book) is an anthropologist by trade rather than a journalist. And he deserves our admiration for subjecting himself to a year spent as a corrections officer in one of the country's most notorious prisons. In doing so, he reveals that being a corrections officer is one of the toughest and most unappreciated jobs around. The damage the job does to the psyche of the men and women who do it as well as the disruptions in their personal lives is starkly documented in his account. The author also make an excellent point in wondering why we are filling our prisons with so many non-violent (primarily drug) offenders. My only quibble is that Conover occasionally goes a bit to far afield with his liberal comments. By and large, violent offenders are undserving of our sympathy no matter what horrific environment may have helped to create them. Nevertheless, the book presents for the most part a balanced view of the life of a corrections officer. For that it is a valuable read for anyone interested in criminology.
Rating: 
Summary: Only tells life as a rookie
Review: This is in fact one of the better books I have read concerning NY prisons. However, it is not as accurate as most would believe. The first half of the book is very good. Details about the academy and OJT(on-the-job training), are fairly accurate and for the most part portray what most of us go through. The second half however is inaccurate. We here in Northern NY do not beat convicts daily as is portrayed. Nor does any good officer give cigarettes to inmates as he readily admits to doing. We do not get chummy with convicts and talk of personal problems. We do not feel sorry for them in the least. They are here because they choose to be here. Conover needs to tell the whole story, not just his side as a liberal rookie. It is good that he quit when he did, because as a NYS Correction Officer, he is what we fear more than anything else.
Rating:
Summary: inside prison outside the bars
Review: The author is a journalist, not a sensation-seeker; his chronicle of becoming trained and then working as a correction officer is told with depth, texture, and balance. Interspersed within the narrative are segments on the evolution of incarceration in America, the way the architecture of Sing Sing reflects the development of "corrections consciousness", an excellent history of the death penalty in the context of that prison, useful data on prison populations. A good text for basics in "crime and punishment", excellent first-person narrative from the outside of the bars; thought-provoking and vivid.
Rating:
Summary: Tough job in a tough place!
Review: I've read Conover's other books, too, and this one, like the others, has the clear ring of truth. His writing is essentially a dramatic diary of his months as a new CO ( corrections officer ) with occasional asides on the history of Sing Sing and of American penology. I thought the book showed a fair balance of critique for the current system without romanticizing the prisoners or their plight. Likewise, the other CO's and the pressures they endure each day were portrayed with empathy and an understanding how the job can be brutalizing. Fortunately for us, Conover is too smart to suggest that any easy alternative exists for this horrifying institution. A fascinating read! END
Rating:
Summary: Tension and tedium
Review: This book verifys the suspicion I have had for a long time, doing time in prison is hell...no matter what side of the bars you are on. Ted Conover reveals the bleakness, and the tedium that faces the prison gaurd is neverending, augumented by the constant tension and underlying current of fear. In a evenhanded and compassionate book, Conover reveals the day to day that these men and women face, with little respect, little reward,and no relief. We read as some of the brighter lights in the system are put out, like Momma Cradle,and see how the constant exposure to the hardest of society take a toll on all who do the work. It is like Chinese water torture...where will he be assigned, who will he have to face, will he make it through the day without getting attacked, or will his journalistic designs be discovered? Newjack is a very honest and riviting book.
Rating:
Summary: Glad it's not me
Review: Conover lives the life the rest of us just dream about. Trying this and that, adventuring around. This book is pretty good, could have been a bit more intense. I think my favorite lines were when a supervisor told him to " get those guys back in their cells " and Conover replies " how? " I can just see that happening to me. Glad it's not my job.
Rating:
Summary: Who's In Charge Here?
Review: Ted Conover is a reporter who, without the knowledge of his employer, went through the training academy, and then spent close to a year as a guard at Sing Sing - but please don't call them guards to their faces; they are Corrections Officers (CO). In our every day society we meet all types of people. Human psychology is such that we all have to have someone to look down on. We simply have to be better than many of the other folks in our world. We look down on liberals, or conservatives. We feel superior to our bosses, or gays, minorities, atheists, or trailer trash. Surely somebody doesn't cut it as well as we do. In prison there are only two classes of people: guards and those who are guarded. And each class finds the other group inferior. Wait a minute. I should have said there are three classes. Senior COs also look down on junior officers. Prisoner abuse? That doesn't appear to happen too often. What about guard abuse? Surprisingly the COs seem to be the subject of nearly constant harassment by the prisoners. The prisoners, having time on their hands, love to confront COs, and shower them with epithets. And, as I mentioned earlier, Senior COs harass guards who are one step lower than they are. What are the rewards of such a job? As far as I can determine there are none whatsoever. The pay is not good. Most of those around you hate you, or at best tolerate you, and never expect someone to say that you are doing good work. The rules are applied so ambiguously and inconsistently that you are constantly frustrated. The fear also never seems to go away. Sometimes the pent up stress is relieved in physical contact between prisoners and their keepers (generally initiated by the prisoners). Maybe even that's not all bad. Better, perhaps than going home and beating up the wife, and kicking the dog. This is a very interesting book, and while the author does not really get into the heads of the COs and the felons, it is a tale not often heard.
Rating:
Summary: Audio review
Review: Ted Conover's book on Sing Sing is wonderful. I listened to the unabridged audio book and was thoroughly fascinated with his fortitude and perserverance at such a project. His sequence keeps you interested in a story that could become monotonous or depressing if not done as he did. I wish he would have had someone else read the audio. I couldn't help but visualize him by his voice as a soft spoken, erudite guard- out of place in a prison. This is minor though, and anyone buying this tape will be pleasantly entertained.
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