Rating: 
Summary: Helpful
Review: Although I have yet to be in jail (*thats a good thing) this book appears to have useful information such as slang terms, routines, drugs, sex, and crime in jail. I would recommend reading this book if you have not been in jail before!
Rating: 
Summary: The honest, truth
Review: Behind bars is a quick, easy, useful, and enjoyable read. Though this book is being used as a college text book, don't let that drive you away. This book is useful to everyone, not just criminology students. Richards and Ross give you the truth about our prison system, this book is written from their experiences dealing with the system. No one plans on going to prison, but you never know, it's better to be prepared than to get ...(pardon the pun). Read the book, trust me, you won't be able to put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye-opener
Review: I read this book out of curiousity, and found practical information. The authors not only tell you how it is in prison, but they also explain why. When you hear of something happening in prison, you never hear the full story. These guys tell you everyone's side of the story, and the full ugly truth about prison life. They explain why the guards let some fights happen, how a guard can make your life hell how without even touching you (tearing up your mail, taking your clothes, etc), they also explain how most cons bribe or blackmail guards (have an outsider find out where the guard lives, snap a pic of wife or kids, mail to con) and why sometimes guards let fights happen and look the other way so to speak.
Rating:
Summary: Full of helpful advice for the prison newbie
Review: If you're currently in prison -- or expect to be there in the near future -- you'll want to keep this book handy! Not only is it chock full of useful tips on prison etiquette and hygiene (hint: don't drop the soap!), you can also use it squash mice and insects, or ward off "romantic" advances from your cellmate.Take it from me: It'll make those years in the slammer fly by!
Rating:
Summary: Prison analysis from the inside
Review: Make no mistake; Behind Bars is written for cons, and by cons. Because of this, the reader can be certain that the information contained in this text is not glossed-over, heavy-on-the-big-words academic pretense written from inside an office. Drs. Ross and Richards offer this book as both an analysis and a precaution. Step-by-step advice from the moment of arrest to months after release that refuses to ignore the physical and mental/emotional problems modern American correctional facilities provide. There is nothing resembling coddling in prison, and there is nothing within this book that will attempt to coddle the reader. Rather, the fact that fifty percent of federal convicts return to prison in under a year after initial release is constantly beaten into the head of the reader. However, Ross and Richards do present methods of proper social interaction among cons, with guards and other personnel, who to trust and not trust, etc. If, as an individual, you so much as know of any illegal activity, you are liable to serve jail and/or prison time. No one is innocent, and no one should be so smug as to think their life experiences could never include those mentioned in this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Realities of imprisonment......to the point
Review: The authors, Ian Ross and Richards, give an overview of prison life. This book would be ideal for introductory criminology and sociology courses, covering prison day-to-day behaviors.
This is also a no nonsense, to the point, get real, book on imprisonment. It is also about a harsh reality for those who chose to commit crime and run the risk of imprisonment.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good prison info but padded with bad legal advice
Review: The chapters on how to survive prison are decent, but I believe that after the authors finished writing them, they realized that they had only about 100 pages and they needed to plump the book out. Unfortunately, rather than delving deeper into the promised subject matter -- I would have liked to read excepts from interviews with former inmates, and anecdotes about mistakes they made in prison or how they prevailed in bad situations -- the authors added sections decrying the U.S. penal and legal system and the war on drugs and, most egregiously, dispensing often incorrect or misleading legal advice. I am a criminal defense attorney. One of the biggest problems I have with the book is the reckless advice that a defendant should generally not plea guilty and rather take the case through trial. There's a good reason that over 90% of defendants plead guilty, whether their lawyers are retained or appointed, and it's not because those lawyers coerced them into doing so. It's because the rise of sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums have made it Russian roulette for many felony defendants to go to trial. At least where I practice, many plea offers can save defendants significant jail time compared with a trial conviction. Look, I love to try cases, and it's great to get a client with a decent case and the willingness to fight it all the way, but taking a loser case to trial is usually a colossal mistake for the defendant, one which can cost them years. The book's broad claim that it's generally better to go to trial is no substitute for a skilled and honest lawyer's individualized assessment of the strength of a case and the risks of a trial verdict. There are also preposterous claims in the book about the legal system, such as that if marijuana is found in a car and one of the car's occupants previously pled guilty to a crime while the other occupant was convicted of a crime after trial, then the marijuana will be pinned on the person who pled because the prosecutors feel it'll be an easier conviction since the guy will presumably just roll over again. That's ridiculous -- in fact, both will be charged with the weed. The authors also claim, erroneously, that defense lawyers owe their allegiance to the legal system at the expense of their clients. That is the type of misstatement which breeds a mistrust of defense attorneys, and that can hurt defendants if it causes them to disregard good advice from their attorneys. The authors do better when they stick to what they know -- how life is in prison -- rather than speculating on how the legal system works. The authors also try a little too hard to make their case that the criminal justice system is blatantly rigged, and it comes off like propaganda. I am someone whose professional experience has made him wary of the criminal justice system and acutely aware of the disproportionate power of prosecutors and police, but when the authors start claiming that police may be paying informants with narcotics, I become skeptical about whatever the book claims as fact. Look -- there's enough wrong with the laws and the criminal justice system that an author doesn't need to make the system appear to be an overt, sinister compact between judges, prosecutors, cops and defense attorneys to railroad people. The book places an undue emphasis on the minority of cases which involve conspiracy convictions, prosecutions for selling fake drugs to undercovers (so rare!), cooperation agreements, and no-knock home raids. Little misleading comments, such that there are people in federal prison for merely failing to repay their student loans, detract from the book's credibility. The authors try too hard to sell the reader on the injustice of it all, but they really don't need to clobber the reader over the head with dubious and paranoid claims. The real problems with the system are inflammatory enough! That said, the middle section of the book regarding prison life is instructive, and I assume it's not as misinformed as the earlier section but rather founded on personal experience and solid research. If you're going to jail, this is a useful book, but skip the first few chapters and be skeptical of the information outside of the authors' area of expertise.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT READ ABOUT SURVIVING PRISON
Review: THERE ARE VERY FEW BOOKS WRITTEN WITH STYLE AND HUMOR THAT DISCUSS SURVIVING PRISON. BEHIND BARS IS A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR PERSONS CAUGHT UP IN THE "INCACERATION MACHINE." THIS IS THE BOOK EVERY CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER SHOULD GIVE THEIR CLIENTS. IT WILL HELP EASE THE PAIN AND REMIND THE VICTIMS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT, DESPITE THE WORSE THAT CAN HAPPEN, THEY WILL SURVIVE PRISON. I FOUND THE BOOK TO BE A FAST READ THAT PROVIDES ESSENTIAL INFORMATION KNOWN ONLY BY THOSE THAT HAVE SERVED PRISON TIME. I WILL BUY EXTRA COPIES FOR MY LUNATIC FRINGE FRIENDS.
Rating:
Summary: BASIC INFORMATION/ **lacks some detail**
Review: This book is an excellent source of basic information on living in prison including many issues such arrest,living conditions,rules and regulations,gangs,food etc.
On the legal issues about arrest refer to the #2 Amazon review of this book by criminal defense attorney, Jordan Copeland for a second opinion on some matters.
The book has a lot of useful basic logistical information on a wide variety of issues, however it lacks some detail on strategies to deal with specific threatening situations and how to interpret behavior. The book could use some interviews with different types of convicts on these issues and address these issues in regard to how different types of people may have to adopt different survival strategies according to factors such as their race, religion, nationality, age,looks, ability to defend themselves,body type,physical limitations,friends and affiliations, willingness or non willingness to fight, verbal defences,relationships with guards etc.
Also see Nobel candidate and convict Stanley Williams' book, Life in Prison for one man's account.
It would be interesting to find what a frail, weak person could do to himself to survive.
An excellent movie from the 70s' on the subject is Glass House, starring Alan Alda. I do not have the experience to say how accurate it is.
Rating:
Summary: A criminology student
Review: This was the most fascinating portrayal of life "behind bars" that I have ever read. A must read and it's also quick and readable . I enjoyed the narrative and description of prison food. You want to buy this book because it will probably give you a lot ot talk about with other people. It's a great conversation piece. It will also make you question the brutality of the federal prison system and understand why recidivism rates are so high. It was like taking an entire class course in one book. It is the kind of book that will make you want to dedicate yourself to studying this subject. A fundamental read if you want to understand the basics of the prison system. If you get arrested or are facing criminal charges this is the book you want to buy.
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