Rating: 
Summary: Life in prison
Review: "Newjack!" every new correction officer will hear that cry from inmates more times then they could possible want to count in their first few years on the job. In years long past correction officers would carry a small pan shaped piece of heavy lead covered with leather, this was called a "jack" and was used for self defence and occassionaly retibution. When inmates saw a "Jack" that was shiny and new they would scream "here comes the the new officer with the new Jack." The term stuck even after "Jacks" were classified a deadly weapon and made illeagal. Hence the term and title of this book. The title by the way is not explained in the book.Ted Conover brillantly portrays what it is like to be a correction Officer in Sing Sing (New York's Maximum security prision) or any other large correctional facility.So much of what Conover wrote made me laugh out loud, not only becuase of his wry sense of humor but also, because it so vividly brought back many memories of my first year on the job on Rikers Island (I'm sure I have worked with many of the same inmates as Mr. Conover) Mr Conover details all the indignities, oxymoron's and mental games within the correctional facilty with clarity and just the right amount humor, so that someone who has never set foot in a prison can almost understand what it is like to work as a correction officer. Prison of course also has it's serious side as well and Conover is equaly well up to the challange in discribing that part of prison as well. Except for a few minor differeces in political opinion that I had with Ted Conover, he is quite liberal and soft on inmates, (But what did you expect from a jounalist with a PHD?) I most defenitly enjoyed this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Conover learned nothing in 1 year....
Review: Conover seems to learn nothing in 1 year on the job. You can't be running scared and still be an effective Correctional Officer. No doubt that he didn't have proper control of the situations or the inmates. Conover seems to focus on the plight of the poor inmates, victims of society. He feels sorry for the inmates. Inmates are in prison because of their choices and behavior. Prison is not the first stop for most inmates. This book gets rather tiring for people who work in the corrections field and know what it is really like.
Rating:
Summary: brought back memories of my rookie year
Review: Ted Connver in "New Jack" presents us with a unique view of prison life, that of the Correction officer's. We too often hear of prision life only from the inmate side (Such as in "Monster"). Ted connevers accout of his year in Sing Sing is well written and funny on many levels, his wry sense of humor will make you laugh out loud even if you have never set foot in a jail or prision, but even more so if you have. So much of this book made me laugh because it very accurately potrays what any officer in New York will experience in thier first year on the Job wheter it is in Sing Sing or Rikers Island (I'm sure I have worked with many of the same inmates as Conover did) Conover clearly and accuratley discribes the many "mind games" inmates play on "New Jacks" and how officers begin to learn how to deal with them. Aside from a few minor differences in polotics I throughly enjoyed this book. one last not for those interested in the term "New Jack" officers at one time, a long time ago, used to carry a "Jack" wich was a soid piece of lead covered by Shinny leather when new which was used for self defence (and on occasion retribution) when an imate saw a shiny new Jack they would say "Here comes the new officer with the new Jack" eventual the term stuck even after Jacks were classified a deadly weapon and made illeagal. (the book doesn't explain this term)
Rating:
Summary: As seen from the other side
Review: Conover does an excellent job of giving an unbiased view of the unseen turmoils that a correction officer (CO) must face day in and day out. Without the bite of a former, disgruntled employee or a prisioner with a hidden agenda, Conover writes a book that is basically a realistic diary of everyday life in prison. You get to understand that some of the most fundamental things in life (ie. talking, showering) can become the most crucial things when a person is deprived of them. The CO is the middle man between the court that imposed the sentence and the inmate who must serve the time. There are many examples given of how they must walk that fine line between following the rules and bending a few in order to avoid utter chaos. Although Conover does lend a little bit of his own opinion on punishment here and there, this book is made to be read and digested however the reader sees fit. Being the son of a CO in a maximum security prison I have even more respect for what a typical day could entail for him. So whether you consider them Correction Officers or just "overpaid baby-sitters" it's a mentally and physically tough job that probably not many people could handle.
Rating: 
Summary: Newjack Review
Review: The concept of the book had me hooked instantly. What a unique way of gathering information on one's subject matter. Denied access by the corrections department to study prison guards, Conover actually applies for a job and became a guard, or corrections officer as the political correct would say. His book takes you through the selection and training, right into the block of one of America's most notorious prisons. Fortunatly, Connover was studying guards and not inmates!Connover does a great job at storytelling. His study reads more like a novel than the sociological study which is his background. At times, the detail can be a bit cumbersome to follow....other times when one's curiosity begins to kick in, Conover can gloss over some of the intersting topics. There is, however, plenty of detailings of the average day in the life of both inmates and officers. This topic seems to lend itself to a voyeristic aspect...just what really does go on in prison? Despite a few lapses, the reader will go away pleased with the details Conover provides. The draw to the book is that Conover actually lived the life. He completley immersed himself in actually being a corrections officer. Often he questions whether he is a good one or not. Never do we read him feeling or saying that he is unconcerned about whether he is doing his corrections job as opposed to his book research. He is genuinly worried that despite his intelligence and education, he might not be able to be a successfull corrections officer. He makes candid and bold observations about the industry and those who choose it as a career.
Rating:
Summary: Sing Sing Tightrope
Review: Ted Conover1s experience in Sing Sing was nothing if not a courageous demonstration of balance. The potentially perilous strand the author tread was the invisible and frequently oscillating filament that ran between the challenges of delivering fair and humane treatment to often uncaring and violent inmates on one side and the arbitrary, ever shifting demands of his contemptuous supervisors and frequently brutal fellow officers on the other. Likewise, Conover1s last word on his involvement in Sing Sing reflected an appalling balance --- he concluded that prison life, for whatever else is it may be, is very often brutally deleterious to the lives of the keepers as well to the lives of the kept.
Rating:
Summary: Newjack guarding Sing Sing
Review: Having worked in the same capacity for 15 and half years I can say this is a very acurate account of what goes on in SSCF. It brought me back to when i was a 19 year old rookie. But with time and experience i had pleasure sharing that while training new officers.I also know what its like to be on the other side having served 4 months of a six month jail sentence. The accounts of Sgt Wickersham(i know who it really is) were accurate..I look forward to reading Conovers other books, and i would have liked to have worked with you in your short time there..
Rating:
Summary: This is being done in our names.
Review: Prison to me -- and I have visited a prisoner often --is a waste of money for most of the people inside. It seems to make people worse by deadening their humanity. Most of the prisioners will come back to live among us. After reading this very powerful book, most people will understand the revolving door system going on. Two million Americans do not require this sort of confinement. The money should be infused into the school systems of this country and we might try ankle bracelets by the thousands for non violent offenders.Ted Conover brings to life a world beyond the pale. He also looks at a few alternative ideas brought forward in the past that we might look at once more.
Rating:
Summary: "From seminary to corrections academy: a sign of the times"
Review: The Author Ted Conover is literally referring to the building where he attended school to become a Corrections Officer, and the History of the building. It was here he was to be schooled and then sent to one of the more intense maximum-security prisons, Sing Sing. After a whole 7 weeks of training he then entered a facility where he worked amongst the inmates, where he carried a baton as a means of offense or defense. This was his protection at hand while 40 or 50 or over 100 to 1 outnumbered him. Many of these inmates were serving life sentences and had nothing to lose by further illegal action within the prison. This book has already been reviewed by a Corrections Officer at Sing Sing, so any further comment is just opinion, if that Officer's endorsement does not validate the book what will. These men and women are Correction Officers not guards. Whether or not a given reviewer feels this is an issue of semantics is irrelevant. These men and women deserve our respect and gratitude for entering an environment that most would not step into for a moment much less a career. The book is a fascinating read for it dispels myths and reveals realities of prison life that are even worse. The statistics associated with our prison systems are horrendous, they are a National shame; they are a testimony to quick-fix politics from knee-jerk politicians. Putting all other statistics aside this Country has under lock and key over 2 million citizens, or about 1 person in 180. That figure keeps us in a neck and neck rate for the highest percentage of our citizens that are interred of any other Country on the planet. This gives us the dubious distinction of having replaced former apartheid South Africa which was once number 1. Mr. Conover is remarkable in so much as he spent a year of his life as a Corrections Officer so as to be able to write properly about it. He is brutally candid about what he saw, how it affected him and his family, and shares the reality that is our prison system. He presents what the facts are about prisons, what they cost, the rate at which they are being built, and why the population of those prisons is soaring while violent crime is down 20%. Much is due to mandatory sentencing for drug offenders. California must build one prison per year for the foreseeable future and that will still not keep up with the cells required for new prisoners. There are all manner of sound bite answers to crime, Capital Punishment, 3 strikes are you are out/in for life, and on and on. Executions may satisfy some, and certainly may bring closure to he friends and family of the victims, it does not defer crime. The thought of Capital Punishment did not stop John Taylor 36, and Craig Godineaux 30 of having employees at Wendy's last week in Queens get on their knees in a freezer, and then execute them with a bullet in the back of their heads. Nor do I think these 2 individuals were terribly concerned with the 600+ laws we have that regulate guns. This book opens the prison for you too see what reality is; it poses many questions just by the statements that are made. I do not think it was Mr. Conover's responsibility to then reform the prison system. Putting his life at risk for a year so that we could "experience" what life inside Sing Sing is about is more than any other individual I can think of has done. The persons that have confessed to the Wendy's executions have no place on this planet. They are not youths; they are not worth a moment of rehabilitation. They are due the same consideration they gave their victims. They and the crimes they committed should not be what are used to determine prison policy. These two creatures are not the typical criminals. But the press and the public love these stories, and the opportunistic political beneficiaries will jump into the parade and build more prisons, advocate more mandatory sentencing, and will accomplish nothing. This work by Mr. Conover is important. It demonstrates that the prison system we have makes about as much sense as some of the crimes committed by the individuals that inhabit these buildings. The latest housing is a Super-Max Facility that was called a recipe for creating "junk-yard dogs" by one Corrections Official. Review the money we as taxpayers spend, and then decide what that money accomplishes. Or read one prisoner's take on how the money planned for prisons for the next 10-15 years is really an admission of failure. An admission that the 3 and 4 year old children of today that are at risk through no choice of their own are having their cells made ready. Think about what that money might do to prevent some of today's kids from ever seeing a prison cell. This is not a liberal/conservative topic. This is about whether for profit jails make sense. This is about a system that does not work for those interred, nor the public that wants to be protected. This is about reality and what needs to be changed. So as Politicians campaign about getting tougher on handguns ask them how many more laws in addition to the 600+ we have. Ask them what it is we accomplish with our present system of prisons. Also ask why 70-80% of the population of Sing Sing is black. I guess they didn't have Heisman Trophies.
Rating:
Summary: Chilling Detail
Review: If you are sentenced to prison, the state will take away your right to decide when you have a shower. Sure, a lot of other stuff will happen also, none of it nice, but for some reason being deprived of this liberty seems particularly degrading. The prisoners who Ted Conover oversaw during his ten monthes in Sing Sing obviously thought so, as they seemingly spent much of time he was there wheedling extra shower privileges from him. With such mundane detail Conover strips away much of the sensationialism and perverse romanticism from prision life, revealing an existence that for corrections officers (don't ever say guards) and prisoners alike is 99% boredom, and 1% sudden violent stress. Conover humanizes both COs and inmates, and raises, but does not address, the question of whether the system can be considered anything other than an abject failure. Well written, fascinating read.
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