Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing
Ted Conover$15.30
$18.00
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR NONFICTION - An acclaimed journalist sets a new standard for bold, in-depth reporting in this first-hand account of life inside the penal system at Sing Sing. "Newjack is about as good as it gets--by turns gripping, funny, frightening, and sad." --The Washington Post Book World
When Ted Conover's request to shadow a recruit at the New York State Corrections Officer Academy was denied, he decided to apply for a job as a prison officer himself. The result is an unprecedented work of eyewitness journalism: the account of Conover's year-long passage into storied Sing Sing prison as a rookie guard, or "newjack." As he struggles to become a good officer, Conover angers inmates, dodges blows, and attempts, in the face of overwhelming odds, to balance decency with toughness. Through his insights into the harsh culture of prison, the grueling and demeaning working conditions of the officers, and the unexpected ways the job encroaches on his own family life, we begin to see how our burgeoning prison system brutalizes everyone connected with it. An intimate portrait of a world few readers have ever experienced, Newjack is a haunting journey into a dark undercurrent of American life.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 06/12/2001
ISBN: 9780375726620
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.57lbs
Size: 8.02h x 5.32w x 0.80d
Review Citations: BookPage 06/01/2001 pg. 25
Entertainment Weekly 07/13/2001 pg. 76
New York Times 07/22/2001 pg. 28
New York Times 12/02/2001 pg. 89
Chronicle of Higher Education 11/06/2009 pg. 9
When Ted Conover's request to shadow a recruit at the New York State Corrections Officer Academy was denied, he decided to apply for a job as a prison officer himself. The result is an unprecedented work of eyewitness journalism: the account of Conover's year-long passage into storied Sing Sing prison as a rookie guard, or "newjack." As he struggles to become a good officer, Conover angers inmates, dodges blows, and attempts, in the face of overwhelming odds, to balance decency with toughness. Through his insights into the harsh culture of prison, the grueling and demeaning working conditions of the officers, and the unexpected ways the job encroaches on his own family life, we begin to see how our burgeoning prison system brutalizes everyone connected with it. An intimate portrait of a world few readers have ever experienced, Newjack is a haunting journey into a dark undercurrent of American life.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 06/12/2001
ISBN: 9780375726620
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.57lbs
Size: 8.02h x 5.32w x 0.80d
Review Citations: BookPage 06/01/2001 pg. 25
Entertainment Weekly 07/13/2001 pg. 76
New York Times 07/22/2001 pg. 28
New York Times 12/02/2001 pg. 89
Chronicle of Higher Education 11/06/2009 pg. 9