walshero's review against another edition
5.0
the journalism of compassion, right? Can you imagine working for two years as a prison guard to tell a story that needed tellin? Damn straight. read it. read coyotes. hobos, aspen.
keribchilders's review against another edition
3.0
So, full transparency, I was assigned this book to read in college and I never got around to it. It's been staring at me from my bookshelf for 3 years, so I finally gave in and picked it back up.
This is not a fun read. It's not an easy read. It's the story of a journalist who wanted to interview and do a story on New York prisons, but was turned away. Instead of taking no for an answer, the author went undercover and became a corrections officer.
I knew prisons were fucked up, but shew. One of the "rules" Conover learns as a CO is that if the body's not cold, you're gold. Meaning if an inmate dies on your watch, as long as their body is still warm, you won't be in any trouble. If the body has been left alone long enough that it is cold, then you may face some repercussions. This blew my mind.
There are a lot of other fascinating (terrible, but fascinating) things Conover discovers and discusses in his book. If you feel like losing all faith in our criminal justice system (if you have any left) give it a read.
This is not a fun read. It's not an easy read. It's the story of a journalist who wanted to interview and do a story on New York prisons, but was turned away. Instead of taking no for an answer, the author went undercover and became a corrections officer.
I knew prisons were fucked up, but shew. One of the "rules" Conover learns as a CO is that if the body's not cold, you're gold. Meaning if an inmate dies on your watch, as long as their body is still warm, you won't be in any trouble. If the body has been left alone long enough that it is cold, then you may face some repercussions. This blew my mind.
There are a lot of other fascinating (terrible, but fascinating) things Conover discovers and discusses in his book. If you feel like losing all faith in our criminal justice system (if you have any left) give it a read.
ellbelle's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I appreciated how even-handed and honest Conover was in his depiction of his time at Sing Sing. This was a great mix of factual information and personal narrative of his time in the prisons; a worthy and gripping read.
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
Here's one for the 'jobs I never knew I didn't want' list (previous entries include [b:vet|18693660|Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow My Life as a Country Vet|Jan Pol|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403184126s/18693660.jpg|26542206] and [b:farmer|242592|Hit by a Farm How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn|Catherine Friend|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400186647s/242592.jpg|235018]). I suppose this could be called stunt journalism -- unable to gain access to the Sing Sing corrections system as a reporter, Conover simply became a corrections officer himself -- but if so, it is stunt journalism at its best.
Conover had originally hoped only to shadow a recruit going through the training process, and when he submitted his own application to be a CO, that was his end goal -- get through the training process, get out, and write about it. Instead he stuck it out for a year, learning not only about training but also about the inner workings of Sing Sing.
He does not paint a pretty picture. Make no mistake -- he's not advocating for the inmates here; this isn't an exposé of flaws or abuses in the system. But neither is it an endorsement of the system, or of the ways inmates are treated. He gets to know other officers -- those who use and abuse their power and those who earn some modicum of respect from their charges. He gets to know some inmates as well, to one degree or another. One of the most fascinating things to me is how little curiosity he sees in the other COs: It serves him well, as rarely is his cover story questioned, but they are often of little use when his own curiosity is piqued. Some of the COs and superiors strike him as creative, competent, flexible where needed; some don't seem destined to rise (I believe he describes one lieutenant as semiliterate).
The Powers That Be were not, unsurprisingly, happy with the news that Conover had written about his time in Sing Sing, and it's true, he does not paint a particularly flattering picture. There are flaws in the prison system as a whole and Sing Sing more particularly, and he doesn't hesitate to point them out. Beyond that, it's a grim, grey place from where Conover stands, and he's not interested in flattery of any of his subjects. But -- as far as my limited knowledge of prisons goes -- he seems pretty damn determined to be balanced, and outside a slog or two (did not need all that prison history packed into one chapter) it makes for fascinating reading.
Conover had originally hoped only to shadow a recruit going through the training process, and when he submitted his own application to be a CO, that was his end goal -- get through the training process, get out, and write about it. Instead he stuck it out for a year, learning not only about training but also about the inner workings of Sing Sing.
He does not paint a pretty picture. Make no mistake -- he's not advocating for the inmates here; this isn't an exposé of flaws or abuses in the system. But neither is it an endorsement of the system, or of the ways inmates are treated. He gets to know other officers -- those who use and abuse their power and those who earn some modicum of respect from their charges. He gets to know some inmates as well, to one degree or another. One of the most fascinating things to me is how little curiosity he sees in the other COs: It serves him well, as rarely is his cover story questioned, but they are often of little use when his own curiosity is piqued. Some of the COs and superiors strike him as creative, competent, flexible where needed; some don't seem destined to rise (I believe he describes one lieutenant as semiliterate).
The Powers That Be were not, unsurprisingly, happy with the news that Conover had written about his time in Sing Sing, and it's true, he does not paint a particularly flattering picture. There are flaws in the prison system as a whole and Sing Sing more particularly, and he doesn't hesitate to point them out. Beyond that, it's a grim, grey place from where Conover stands, and he's not interested in flattery of any of his subjects. But -- as far as my limited knowledge of prisons goes -- he seems pretty damn determined to be balanced, and outside a slog or two (did not need all that prison history packed into one chapter) it makes for fascinating reading.
amanda57's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting and insightful book about what it's like being a correctional officer. A little poorly organized towards the end, but I appreciated the chapter on the history of Sing Sing and the evolution of penology.
pignash's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, frank and well written. Bit cringey in its depiction of transgendered inmates but I'll forgive it as it's 20 years ago.
wintergirl83's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent read. I’ve read a lot of true crime and prison books, this is one of the best. Gory in places, yes, but it’s expected with the environment.
sbaunsgard's review against another edition
4.0
Conover, refused access to the prison system as a journalist, went 'undercover' and became a corrections officer (prison guard) for one year at Sing Sing. The book is mostly about his daily experiences as a CO, but also includes historical background on the prison. The book also debunks cliches about prison that you see in movies and on tv. Fascinating. Similar to Gang Leader for A Day (by Sudhir Venkatesh), the experiences he has cause him to be ambivalent about his own actions and the actions of others. Conover also questions the system, as I think anyone who has taken a close look at it must.
tracey_s's review against another edition
4.0
In the early 1990s anthropologist and journalist Ted Conover applied for access to visit Sing Sing maximum security prison in order to write about it and was turned down. Undeterred, Conover at once applied to become a Corrections Officer as a loophole to gain access, and in 1997 he finally got his chance to be a Newjack (a trainee CO).
He begins by relating his experience throughout the 7 week training camp where recruits had to go through all sorts of rituals, including being exposed to tear gas, in order to know what it will be like for the prisoners on their watch if they had to resort to force.
When it comes to actually starting his new job, Conover is frank about his fear and anticipation about working in one of America's most famous and largest prisons, about perhaps not being able to do the job, about the inmates, about his fellow officers.
The reader gets a definite sense that the author is appealing to those like himself who cannot see the logic and purpose in imprisoning more and more people. His belief is that a Corrections Officer is a misnomer, as the guards are in no way responsible for rehabilitation of the criminals they look after, and are not expected to try to interact with them. State money is not being spent in the right places, is another of his strong arguments.
I rate this book a 4.5- the subject matter is absolutely fascinating, and the author is sympathetic and at the same time at the correct amount of distance from the narration. I think the books suffers a tiny bit from being dated, although there is a very quick afterword written in 2011 (the book was published in 2001).
He begins by relating his experience throughout the 7 week training camp where recruits had to go through all sorts of rituals, including being exposed to tear gas, in order to know what it will be like for the prisoners on their watch if they had to resort to force.
When it comes to actually starting his new job, Conover is frank about his fear and anticipation about working in one of America's most famous and largest prisons, about perhaps not being able to do the job, about the inmates, about his fellow officers.
The reader gets a definite sense that the author is appealing to those like himself who cannot see the logic and purpose in imprisoning more and more people. His belief is that a Corrections Officer is a misnomer, as the guards are in no way responsible for rehabilitation of the criminals they look after, and are not expected to try to interact with them. State money is not being spent in the right places, is another of his strong arguments.
I rate this book a 4.5- the subject matter is absolutely fascinating, and the author is sympathetic and at the same time at the correct amount of distance from the narration. I think the books suffers a tiny bit from being dated, although there is a very quick afterword written in 2011 (the book was published in 2001).
madgerdes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
I’m really struggling my feelings about this book. On the one hand, it was interesting to bear witness to the process and experience of being a CO. It’s not a perspective I tend to sympathize and was definitely valuable in terms of a fuller sociological picture of correctional dynamics. However, much of what Conover wrote about individual inmates didn’t sit well with me - especially the way he discussed the few transgender individuals incarcerated at Sing Sing and a few of the women employed there. I know this book was published in the 90s and was a product of its time, blah blah blah, but parts of it were hard to read for that exact reason. Overall I don’t think this is a book I’ll recommend to people for casual reasoning, but it was a useful read to get inside the head of a (temporary) correctional officer. The job is obviously extremely traumatic, and there are forces that drive people to seek out correctional employment in the first place, but this book really just left me with lots of questions and a sense of unease.