Prison Life Books

It took me 6 weeks to get through this and that's saying something seeing how thinly structured this book is. If you didn't read the fraudulent predecessor, you'd be lost--or maybe not since it's written on a third grade reading level. Frey pulled a fast one on me a few years ago. I dismissed the writing style then because I thought we were dealing with someone with a fragile state of mind. Here, there seems to be a lack of consistency. What happened to his love of reading from the first book? It changes to drawings and paintings in this book. I'm supposed to believe a struggling screenwriter turns down massive amount of money left to him from a friend that loved him like a father-and what about the strife between him and his parents? It just melts away? I just hated this book. I read it because I bought it before the scandal broke and it was the next book in my TBR pile. Trust me when I say Frey won't be getting another dime from me.

The book is very good written and read, and I also would have a friend like Leonard, he is very good.

I have strong feelings about memoirs. I believe that everyone remembers things their own way, and in Frey's case we cannot expect a drug addict to remember things the way it actually happened. This story is amazing and touching and surprising. I am glad I read it after A Million Little Pieces. I am also glad I grew up in Los Angeles, it helped me visualize the scenes better. Frey's writing style flows like thoughts and it helped me really get the things he was feeling, the way he just let it flow.

In my copy of this book, I couldn't find one notation at all as to where this book is fiction, a memoir or what. So, I read it thinking it was true (it's a little more fun to read that way), but ended suspecting as I did all along that much of this story was made up. But, I'm not sure...my copy just doesn't have any info and what I look up online seems to vary.

Moving on....I really enjoyed this book! In fact, I liked it more than A Million Little Pieces. Probably in part because this was a much happier book, even though a lot of depressing things happen. Also, once you're already familiar with a set of characters, it seems the second time around you enjoy them even more, almost as if they are friends. Either way, I liked the book for the most part.

As with AMLP, Frey's writing style can grate on your nerves. The fact that many of his sentences are run-ons and omitt proper punctuation, it's just annoying. The editor should have fixed this. I don't feel it added anything to this story. What I did like, was how some pages only contained one paragraph or two. This was done I believe to demonstrate a significant event or show a passage of time. Either way, I liked that aspect.

What sealed the deal for me? The last few pages I was in tears. I'm a very avid reader, but this doesn't happen often. I was that attached to the characters and what was written was that moving.

Overall I'd recommend this book to a friend. Although I still don't know if I'd recommend it as fiction or non.

This might just be the best book I have ever read. It's a great story, a great 'sequel' to "A Million Little Pieces". I definitely recommend this book to anyone!

I purchased this book for my husband and he had written me several times quoting passages from it and told me he wished I had a copy so we could discuss it together. With that said, I purchased an additional copy and read it in one day. My son walked by and saw and me tearing up and asked what I was reading and I read him the except. We continued reading them together out loud. He too cried. It is an awesome and inspirational book that will make you laugh and cry. It created some bonding time with my son and opened up topics of conversation between my husband and me. Worth every penny and so much more!

I was searching to find a inspirational book for my dad whom recently was sent to prison. He said right away he loved the book and now it is being shared by all his friends in his unit. He cant get enough Chicken Soup books and wants more of them right away !!! 5 stars for sure

prisioners need to have something possitive to read. A bad attutude will carry to there life after they get out and on the other hand so will a possitive one. Smiles to all

Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul was suggested to me by a prisoner. Having worked in the California State Prison at San Quentin in the late 1960s and at other lockup facilities in California and Arizona, I am usually hesitant about inmate suggestions for my reading list. However, this book far exceeded my expectations. It is so powerful, I read only a few chapters at a time. The effect could be overwhelming. So turn off your speed-reading skills, resist any temptation to use this for bedtime reading and expect to get more than your money's worth

I brought this book for a good friend of mine who is currently in prison and he enjoyed reading the book and found it to be very encouraging.

Excellent and quick read, notwithstanding the length (540 pages). Much better than the film, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman released in approximately 1973-74. I felt a stronger than normal sympathy and admiration for the never-give-up, protagonist, Papillon. After reading this book I have a greater respect for the simple freedoms that many of us take for granted.

Sweet Papillon, wondrous butterfly; keep going man freedom's just a head, and you can see it in that sunset.

While I suspect certain elements of Papillon are true, e.g. the conditions in the "bagne" and general state of French penal code when it was written, you would have to be pretty gullible to believe the story itself to be true. The author suffers through a number of escape attempts that could each be the basis of a feature film, and proves to be virtually indestructible in situations that claim the lives of everyone else surrounding him. But even so, it's a good adventure story.

The believability meter for me finally broke when our hero (who is loved by all, including all the guards, wardens, convicts, etc), becomes adopted by Indians who typically hate all outsiders. Not only do they take Papillon in, but they offer him lovely virgins to bear his children and tearfully wave bye-bye when he abandons them! Please.

Research on Papillon confirms the book was originally planned as a novel, which makes a lot more sense. I'm giving Papillon four stars as a novel, NOT a work of non-fiction.

Papillon is the roughest, toughest, rootenist, tootenist, best lover, and most fair, prisoner ever. And these are his adventures trying to escape from prison.

At a certain point, the book had all the believability of a Penthouse forum letter.

The thing that Henri Charriere desired most was his freedom. A French prisoner, he never stopped plotting ways to escape. The only time when he didn't have a plan in motion was when he was either in solitary, or upon personal request of the warden (they would request that he didn't escape so that they could finish their term, and not have their record/pension ruined by his escape).

This autobiography spares no details about the violence and horrors that surrounded the prisoners daily. He loses a number of his friends to disease, or murder. Papillon was generally respected by his fellow prisoners, and the administration. He was quick to criticize the administration to their face. Many of the wardens and doctors even agreed with how screwed up the French justice system was.

Henri is very detailed about his experiences and escapes. He remembers well the people who aided him before, during and after an escape. You will find yourself rooting for Henri with each escape attempt!

There has been some criticism that say that Henri took details from other prisoners' accounts or that some of the anecdotes are made up. Regardless, this autobiographical tale of escape is better than any work of prison escape fiction that can ever be written.

I had heard a lot about "In the Belly of the Beast" and its' author, Jack Henry Abbott when I bought this book a few years back. I finally read it this week and I can see what all the hoopola was about. However, I am challenged as to what to make of it. The impression one gets is that the US prison system is out of control and is manned by psychopathic guards and wardens. Mr. Abbott would have us believe that it is the guards who are the dangerous ones; the cons are merely challenging. The brutality that inmate Abbott suffers seems inhuman. As I read, I kept reminding myself of the adage that there are no guilty inmates; at least not if you ask them. Personally, I'd still feel better if I knew that some agency at least looked into what Mr. Abbott tells us in his book. What he says is hard to fathom.

What makes "In the Belly of the Beast" so impressive is how articulate Jack Henry Abbott is. His literary style may or may not have benefitted from a good editor; I don't know. However, he is impressively well read and has obviously done a great deal of study in literature, philosophy, politics, etc. He cites many learned men and appears to have comprehended their writings very well. He is a Marxist/Communist which becomes somewhat understandable as he explains his whole life as a victim of oppression. The real question is; who is the victim. Abbott essentially says he has spent his whole teenage and adult life in penal institutions because he shop-lifted one day. It seems that "In the Belly of the Beast" should come with a second opinion attached to it. I rate it high because, even if it turns out to be mostly fiction, it's an incredible story. This is a brutal book but, then, that's what the author meant it to be. Read it with caution.

The only reason to buy this book is that royalties go to the widow of the man Jack Henry Abbott murdered shortly after his infamous parole engineered by Norman Mailer. Sadly, it if wasn't for this book, and Abbott successfully manipulating Mailer's over-inflated ego, Abbott's victim would still be alive.

I spent twelve and a half years in prison, but I have to agree with the correction professionals who have commented previously. The book is interesting in terms of describing what life behind the walls is like, but at some point, you have to take some responsibility for what you have done and where you are at, and Jack never seems to do that.

I read this book during my first year of incarceration and was truly stunned. Heck, I even put him up on a dais. Jack is the MAN! Jack is the MAN! Then, as the years passed (whilst staring at the tops of trees over the prison walls), my perspective moved to something less black and white.

My birth parents abandoned me. I hated the peeps that adopted me. I was smoking coke. I was doing steroids. I hit DYS and schools kicked me out. I was hanging out with the wrong people.

But it wasn't their fault.

I made the decisions that ended me up in prison for the best years of my life (23 to 36 - woot, where did my hairline go??). I decided to smoke base and shoot roids and rebel against that o sooooo terrible system. I made the decision to stick guns in peoples faces and rob them.

Ya dig your grave and, durn it, you have to eventually lie in it.

Prison wasn't nice. I saw men OD, hang themselves, and die right in front of me from multiple knife wounds. I was in riots and brutal fights. I witnessed it all, and it definitely left a whole lot of scars.

But it was me that brought me there. Not the drugs. Not the social inequality. Just my own decisions.

Actions and consequences, Jack, actions and consequences.

And please don't read his second book - it's pathetic.

A good book for describing the day to day life of prison and the attitudes that develop from it (I still don't like cops and have to sit at the far end of the restaurant so no one is behind me). But the whole "It's not my fault - it's the system" theme runs thin rather quickly.

Recommend A Day in the Life (I lived three houses down from Alex Solz prior to the feds catching up with me) or The Hothouse over this.

Finally (and another example of the carry over prison scarring issues), I have heard that Jack turned informant after his return to the Big House (before hanging himself).

Babbling........ shutting up now - just read it.

In general, I found the book to be confusing yet redundant. Abbott's ramblings on philosophy and over-drawn analogies make for a difficult read. His lamentations of the treatments of how prisoners are treated by the prison staff are muddled and made less effective by the way he treats the prison guards and other prisoners. His argument that prison makes someone a hardened violent person is highly debatable: does prison make you bad, or would you have been bad even if you had not gone to prison? This is almost certainly an arguable point that cannot be decided one way or the other.

In short, a person is sent to prison for a crime they have committed. It is not supposed to be enjoyable or pleasant because it punishment for a crime they have committed. While the American penal system is obviously not perfect, I hardly think that it is to blame for the making of career criminals and that some personal accountability must be assigned. Abbott adamantly denies any responsibility for his actions. Even if the prison hierarchy was responsible for his extended stay in prison, he must be held responsible for the overt act which led to his incarceration after being released from the juvenile center.

Mr. Abbott's writing successfully manipulated many literati into helping him be released from prison, only to murder within a few days of release. His rationalizations are well-written, but now ring totally hollow.

Purchased book as gift for departing Catholic Father, I hope it is a good book as that was the image I hoped to convey. Sorry, I can't review contents for you, but there was no time for me to read it first.

I read this book on a retreat and had to buy it. The message of trusting in the will of God is so strong. No matter how many times I read this I know I will be helped each time.

Just a fantastic book. I am not sure what I can add to further comments already added other than this book hit the spot for sincerity, truthfulness, and captivity of worthwhile imagination. I have just sent it to a friend that teaches English in Libya as I am assured that a wonderful book like this can only enhance her "desert experience" abroad as well.

Matthew Kelly (see [...]) recommended "He Leadeth Me" by Walter Ciszek, S.J., to me as it had a significant influence on him and his spiritual journey. The book has also had a profound influence on me - so much so, that I cannot get it out of my mind.

In "He Leadeth Me," U.S. born Ciszek recounts his life as a Catholic priest who enthusiastically volunteered for preaching the gospel and administering the sacraments in communist Russia and ended up spending twenty three agonizing years in Soviet prisons, including five years of solitary confinement in Moscow's feared Lubianka prison and fifteen years of hard labor in Siberian prison camps.

Upon his return to the US in 1963, as part of an exchange for two convicted Russian spies, Ciszek was asked over and over again how he survived. "He Leadeth Me" is his response. This book is about the faith he discovered and the simple truths he learned by trial and error. Truths he came to appreciate only after much anguish of soul and a great deal of prayerful reflection; truths that sustained him through the years of doubt and darkness, of hardship and suffering.

The learned truth that threads its way throughout the book is that no one can know greater peace, no one can achieve a greater sense of fulfillment in his life than the man who believes in the truth of the faith and strives daily to put it into practice. "A spirituality based on complete trust in God is the surest guarantee of peace of soul and freedom of spirit."

There are moments of crisis in every life, moments of anxiety and fear, moments of frustration and opposition, moments sometimes even of terror. Only by a lively faith can man live in peace among the tensions of the world. Faith is the fulcrum of our moral and spiritual balance - our powerlessness to solve the problems of evil, sin, injustice, suffering, and even death will not be a cause of despair or despondency when we have an unshakable trust and confidence in God.

After great anguish, doubt, and repeated resistance by Ciszek, he submitted to the will of God realizing that every moment of our life has a purpose, that every action of ours, no matter how dull or routine or trivial it may seem in itself, has a dignity and a worth beyond human understanding. No moment can be wasted, no opportunity missed, since each has a purpose in God's plan. We need to strive to know God's will and to do it each day of our lives - working this out with constant effort and attention to just those persons and circumstances God presents to us each day. He expects no more of us, but He will expect nothing less of us, and we fail in our promise and commitment if we do not see in situations of every moment of every day of His divine will.

God asks for the complete gift of self...absolute faith in His existence, His providence, His power to sustain me, and His love perfecting me. While it sounds all too simple, one quickly learns how difficult it is when they try to put it into practice. "Is this too simple or are we just afraid really to believe it, to accept it fully, to yield ourselves up to it in total commitment? This is the ultimate question of faith, and each must answer this for himself. But to answer it in the affirmative is to know peace, to discover a meaning to life that surpasses all understanding."

"He Leadeth Me," first published in 1972, is a classic and continues as an all-time best seller. Ciszek has written a powerful testimony that will challenge your view of life and, possibly, a source of a transfiguration. "It is my hope, indeed my prayer that what I have learned and come to understand so slowly and painfully might be of service to others. God is a most patient teacher, even to the most stubborn of students."

I started reading He Leadeth Me because I thought it might have some interesting thoughts on God and suffering, as a general concept. I had no idea, however, how very applicable Fr. Ciszek's hard-learned insights would be to my day-to-day life as the average American stay-at-home mom.

The wisdom he learned after five years in solitary confinement and 20+ years at a Siberian slave labor camp is not just how to grow closer to God in the face of great upheaval and suffering, but how to know and live God's will in the face of the frustrating, the humdrum, and the mundane.

I can't recommend this book highly enough to everyone -- whether you're experiencing great suffering or just frustrated by the daily grind, you will undoubtedly find Fr. Ciszek's story life-changing.

This book is really a nice quick read which really has no focus. Well i take that back the focus seems to be on leading a more positive life. Not necessarily making better decisions, but being more content with your decisions.

When i first picked up the book i expected a pro cannabis book criticizing the United States and it's drug policies with a little comedy thrown in. And while several times he makes this argument (sometimes rambling a little too much) there is much more to this book.

I think Tommy decided to write this book to tell his life's story and how he has changed after the "Pipe Dreams" raid. While for some people this book might be all over the place i enjoy the "stoner" mind stream of jumping from one insightful story to one thrilling story. This book doesn't drag on much (except his 4-5 rants on the screwed up bush administration) and i think the length is perfect. It only takes a few nights of reading.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an open mind or interests in the man behind the stoner from "Up in Smoke" and his other movies. 4 stars out of 5.

I loved this book! Tommy Chong is refreshing and surprisingly insightful! We could all learn something from his experience.

I'm not exactly sure what I expected from this book but, whatever it was, the author met those expectations and then exceeded them by a mile.

The I Chong is funny, insightful, and smart. I left it with a great deal of respect for the author, not merely for his humor but also for the keenness of his insight into a surprising wide variety of issues. Wrapped around all of that is some surprisingly candid autobiographical sketches.

I always knew that Tommy Chong was funny. I now realize that his intelligence and insight exceed his wit.

Great read. If you want the truth about whats going on then i highly recommend this book.

This is an excellent account of what Tommy Chong had to go through after the feds took down his glass pipe buisness and put him in jail. The book flows and you get Tommy's blow by blow of what occured to him. You see his genuine soft heart throughout the book as well as his endless love for his family. He makes great friends in the joint and also has some great stories to share as well. For anyone who thinks the money being paid on the war on drugs is a joke, this is a must read. Strongly liberal in its nature.

Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose is a beautiful story of a missionary wife who gave her life to God and through her trust witnessed His work in her life and the lives of those around her. She sacrificed her comfort to reach out to others and glorify God, and was blessed for it innumerably. Darlene's courage is challenging, encouraging, and inspiring.

Evidence Not Seen is one of those books that make you just go wow! This is a must read for any Christian especially with so much made for TV christianity going around. This book is about the real thing. Darlene shares with us her experiences as she and other missionaries try to survive in a Japanese prison camp. She shares her close personal relationship with God and how He is there in her times of trouble and need. When you finish this book you will know that she serves and Awesome God and so can you!

What amazing faith in God this young
woman had. I could only hope to be that brave and strong.

An inspiring story of a young missionary woman and her complete surrender to the Lord under unbelievable adversity. God's tenderness and mercies are real in her life and it encourages every believer to move into such intimacy with the Lord. One biography you will not want to put down!

This is one of the BEST books I have ever read. The evidence of God's work in the lives of the people in the book is amazing and inspiring!!

The Lord directed me to read this book and my my my it was such a blessing it teaches you to stop living a me me me life and also learn to forgive so God can use you in the areas He created you for. The Lord told me to read this book twice in Iraq and one of the Bulkarina soldiers who wasn't saved at that time came to me and said Sadiq I read this book it was so great I want you to read and come to find out it was the say book the Lord had being telling me about, Prison to Praise. It is dont about been in a physical prison but better yet no matter what condition, situation you will find yourself you should learn to praise the Lord

This book had some good points that my husband and I both took away from it; information that we still use to help us through the hard times. The negative side is just that it is outdated. I think they called the black man a "negro" which sounded a little odd, and the square nature of the text made the book a little corny. The book had some very good points, some good food for the soul, but you have to read through some less interesting text to find it.

This is an excellent book to encourage a person to praise in all circumstances and watch for the Lord to respond.

This is a must have book. The stories are inspirational. I bought 7 and gave all away.

In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul writes about the ways of God seeming foolish to man.
In Isa 55:9 God says through Isaiah : For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
In Prison to Praise, Merlin Carrothers shares with us something that sounds so foolish to my human ears. Unlike some other books, it doesn't have promises of great things like the Prayer of Jabez - only a heart change.
I was assigned this book as part of a Biblical Counselor program. I found others to read because this looked like a 'formula' book.
When my husband first starting reading this book, he was transformed - and encouraged me to read it....but still, my way was to put it off. One day I picked it up - and I was furious - "Praise God for the evil? Praise God for the bad?". I just couldn't line it up with my theology.
Then, I was in a crisis in my life - and anxious, fearful, and discouraged and in despair. When I prayed for God to hear my cry, the verse "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise" (Ps 100:4) came to me, with "be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" Phil 4:6.
I have spent a month listening to God open up this teaching to me, and show me "If this had not happened in your life, you would not have this blessing....If that had happened in your life, you would not have that blessing" as well as opening up stories in the Bible where the ugly looking things ended up being the path to glory. This book opened the door in my heart to a new relationship with the Father, only behind my salvation in 1969 and my Baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1977.
I don't know the deeper meanings of the words, I can't speak to whether we give thanks 'in' or 'for', but I know that as I embrace the principles illustrated in this book, my heart is changed, fear is chased off, and I am in the presence of the Lord more and more, and in His presence is fullness of joy(Ps 16:11).

I didn't get cars, houses, lands or money - but I have the peace that passes understanding that keeps my heart and mind in Christ Jesus - I am walking in the joy Jesus wanted me to live in - and that is of far greater worth than anything on this earth!
So if you are ready to give up fear for faith, despair for hope, and confusion for clarity in Christ, pick up this book. To me, that is worth trying something that seems foolish, and I encourage it, I challenge you to read this book, and open your heart to God.

After all is said and done, just read the thousands of pages that the U.S. government, through the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's office and court records, was forced to release about this case. It is their own words about their own deliberate withholding of evidence, fabrication of evidence, deliberate perjured testimony and numerous other violations of U.S. law, rules of evidence, and other assorted felonies.

This book, along with almost 50 fawning reviews, merely illustrates the effectiveness of propaganda in spreading mass ignorance. The reviewers are so sure that Peltier is innocent that the facts don't seem to matter. They would just get in the way, as in Peltier bragging about shooting a man in the head who was begging for his life (heard by four others), as in 15 federal judges affirming the original conviction (not one dissenter), and as in incontrovertible evidence that linked Peltier's rifle to the crime scene. I doubt these people are even aware that six months before he murdered two injured and helpless Federal Agents, Peltier put a gun in AIM member Anna Mae Aquash's mouth while interrogating her about being an informant. AIM leaders later had her executed (gun to the head again) partly because she was one of the four who heard Peltier's boast. Anna Mae knew too much.

Yes, ignorance is truly bliss, but truth can cure ignorance. If you want to discover the truth about what happened that day, read American Indian Mafia.

This is a true story of an Indian who is in prison
just because he's an Indian. I real eye opener and
interesting facts about the Indians here today.

The rhetoric of the other reviews aside, Prison Writings would make for a compelling story had Peltier included some truth to support his allegations surrounding the events of June 26, 1975 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota.

By way of a brief background, Peltier was represented by capable and experienced counsel and during his trial the jury heard that FBI agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams were following who they thought was another wanted person. They actually followed Peltier and two teenagers who began shooting at the agents who were then trapped and exposed in an open area. Peltier was joined by several others, including Dino Butler and Robert Robideau who also fired on the agents from another direction. Both Coler and Williams were severely wounded and unable to defend themselves. Peltier's jury heard that Peltier, Robideau and Butler went down to the wounded agents and shot them both in the face at point-blank range with a high powered rife. The jury believed the testimony they heard and Peltier was convicted for, among other things, aiding and abetting and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. He later received an additional seven year consecutive sentence for an armed escape from Lompoc federal penitentiary. (In a separate and earlier trial, Dino Butler and Robert Robideau were acquitted of the murders. However, this review relates specifically to how Peltier portrays the facts surrounding these events in Prison Writings. There is much more to the entire saga.)

It's important to place Prison Writings in its proper chronological context. Prison Writings was published in 1999. An important related book touted by Peltier and the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (LPDC) that "immortalizes Leonard Peltier," In The Spirit of Crazy Horse (ITSOCH) by Peter Matthiessen was first published in 1983 and in 1992. A film, Incident at Oglala (Incident), narrated by Robert Redford was released in 1992. Collectively, these sources, in addition to the many public statements made by Peltier, Butler and Robideau, demonstrate that Peltier is not only fabricating the history of his own case but knowingly lies about certain events.

There are many more, but for example:

The scene:
Peltier initially claimed he was in the AIM camp to the south of the Jumping Bull property, heard shots, responded and "I fired off a few shots above their heads, trying not to hit anything (p.125)." And also "I didn't see their agents die, had no hand in it..." (p.127). Yet in a CNN interview in October, 1999 Peltier admitted being there and told interviewer Mark Potter "I don't know, just two people laying there. I mean, the car door--the car door open and stuff."

The alibi:
For the better part of nearly two decades Peltier had offered only one alibi about who was responsible for the final killing shots to the agents' faces. He claimed that someone they all knew but would not identify (Mr. X), had driven to the reservation that day in a red pickup truck to deliver dynamite and that it was Mr. X who engaged the agents initially and then, once wounded and unable to defend themselves, killed the agents and drove off. In Incident Robideau is filmed pointing to the area where Mr. X murdered the agents and drove off in the red pickup truck. This claim was so far-fetched that not even Peltier's trial lawyers wanted to go near it, but they did their best to create confusion with the jury over the alleged red pickup truck. Matthiessen, although skeptical himself, spent a great deal of time on Mr. X in ITSOCH. However, in a 1995 interview with News from Indian Country, one of the three participants, Dino Butler, publicly said that the Mr. X story was a lie; "Well, there is no Mr. X. There was no man coming to our camp that day bringing dynamite." "To create this lie to show that someone else pulled the trigger." " That is totally false. Totally untrue. That never happened."

It should come as no surprise that Mr. X. and the red pickup are never mentioned in Prison Writings.

Aiding and abetting:
Peltier tries to convince the reader that the "vague crime of aiding and abetting" (p162) was somehow later added to the charge of murdering the agents. Yet, during one of the many appeals (one dealing with this specific issue in 1993), the appeals court stated that "Peltier's arguments fail because their underlying premises are fatally flawed. (A) the government tried the case on the alternative theories; it asserted that Peltier personally killed the agents at point blank range, but that if he had not done so, then he was equally guilty of the murder as an aider and abettor."

Preplanned assault:
Peltier lays the groundwork for claiming that according to a document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the government "...had been gathering in the area for a preplanned paramilitary assault on the Pine Ridge reservation," (p.129) comprised of "...dozens, maybe hundreds..." (p.127) of law-enforcement personnel. The document (dated April 24, 1975) he refers to (the noted "sanctioned memo") says nothing of the kind and related to the 1973 takeover by AIM of Wounded Knee. Ironically this memo was still being circulated around FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. even after the murders of agents Coler and Williams with a date at the bottom of the memo of August 11, 1975. This memo is not even in the same universe as Peltier claims. This assertion was so outrageous even Matthiessen shied away from it by claiming after all his research that the initial shooting at the agents was spontaneous, neither a pre-planned government event nor premeditated ambush of the two agents. "...if there is another persuasive explanation of the location and position of their cars, I cannot find it." (ITSOCH p.544).

Further, it was well documented that when the agents were first pinned down in the open field, Agent Williams made desperate calls for help and assistance over his FBI radio. These transmissions were overheard by a number of individuals who all confirmed how quickly the shooting started, and ended, and that the nearest agent was about twelve miles away. That FBI agent, Gary Adams, responded with a BIA officer, the first two to even reach close to the scene. They were also shot at and had to back away to Highway 18 and await more assistance. In the meantime, Coler and Williams were murdered and Peltier and the others escaped.

Robideau:
Robert Robideau who has been assimilated and rejected by the Peltier organization several times over the years has made damning admissions. Robideau stated publicly on numerous occasions, and in emails to this reviewer, that he's the one who actually killed the agents:

"As far as I have ever been concerned the killing of the agents was justified..." "They were shot in the head at close range..." "I have no remorse..." "I am "Mr X" (which is no lie) and I did kill them with honor befitting a warrior, but they died like worms." "I thought I already told you that I killed the agents."

Of course Robideau has the constitutional protection against double-jeopardy, but this reviewer believes he is even too much of a coward to shoot two severely wounded and incapacitated human beings. But whether he killed the agents himself is immaterial; the Peltier jury heard and accepted the testimony that the three older Indians, Robideau, Butler and Peltier went down to the wounded agents and murdered them by shooting them both in the face.

Of course, Prison Writings suggests none of this but hides behind fabrications and outright lies to further the folklore surrounding Peltier and perpetuating The Myth.

What it does do however is firmly establish that Peltier did not remove himself from the scene of the crime.

Prison Writings is self-serving drivel and should not be used to document in any fashion what happened that June day at Pine Ridge. Anyone interested in going beyond The Myth should spend some time reviewing the very detailed appeals that cover every aspect of this case.

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Leonard Peltier, United States Prisoner 89637-132, has been imprisoned since 1977 for the deaths of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Lakota Indians during the 1973 siege at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Most likely the scapegoat for the deaths during a blundered surveillance attempt, Peltier has been a cause celeb during the final throws of every president since Jimmy Carter as many supporters - including the U.S. Prosecutor that put him in jail in the first place - come together to call for his parden.

There are other sources for an in-depth understanding of the events that led to his imprisonment such as Peter Mathiesson's *In the Spirit of Crazy Horse* and the Robert Redford film *Incident at Oglala*. But Prison Writings is a must read in any study of not only the Wounded Knee incident, but the American Indian Movement as a whole and native issues throughout the country.

This book weaves Peltier's life as a prisoner in the U.S. prison system with his account of the events of 1973 and his views on the state of affairs for Native Americans as a whole. Peltier's life evolved from an aimless youth on the reservation to a political activist, and at times it seems that his life sentence is a natural extension of this progression - as if his destiny was to suffer for the cause.

When you look at the evidence of all that transpired at Wounded Knee in 1973 and the years that followed, including what happened to other activists such as Annie Mae Aquash, and the now revealed manipulation of evidence by the FBI and the all-out war against Native American activism in the 1970s, Leonard Peltier's *Prison Writings* become somewhat of a manifesto and call for a better future.

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A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

This was one of the most moving Christian testimonies I have read. It is the amazing biography of Ernest Gordon, a British POW in Japanese occupied Thailand. The book is more than that though. The personal and historical account of To End All Wars provides the reader with tremendous hope born in the midst of suffering. In the same spirit as Corrie Ten Boon's the Hiding Place, this work writes about the difficulty of finding and protecting the value of human life through the power of God's love and forgiveness. Such was the key to Ernest Gordon's end to the war and for many of his fellow inmates, and it is a message that is repeated throughout the account. There are many moments when such self-sacrificing love is put to the test. One defining moment was when the prisoners administered aid to wounded Japanese soldiers who were previously their captors at the very end of the war. The title of my review comes from a quote from Mr. Gordon taken from this event. The book itself is a testament to the grace and mercy of God, which offered these defeated men a restoration of their souls through forgiveness rather than maintain in their hearts the bitterness of hatred despite the cruelty they suffered. A truly powerful and soul-stirring book!

This is one of the best books I've read so far... Though it may appear repetitive at times (there's really little else the author could write about beside what's happening in the POW camps along the Kwai), the reflection on the human condition and the supreme virtue of self-sacrifice in the footsteps of Jesus Christ is written with much poignancy and profundity. The epilogue is a tour de force for its penetrating criticism of the 'civilised' society the author returned to after the war. The reverse culture shock he experienced is a haunting reminder of how that still small voice can be so easily drowned out in the cacophony of modern society.

My wife and I had watched the movie a couple months ago (be warned: it is incredibly brutal) and been moved by the power of the story. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the book and the move are not the same story. In fact, other than the similarity of the major premise (a British officer in a Japanese POW camp during WW2), they had almost nothing in common.

However. . .

That was only disappointing insomuch as I kept waiting for certain events from the movie to show up. The movie had colored my expectations for the book, which meant I couldn't take the book on its own merits. Which is too bad, because, upon completing the book, I would say it is as powerful as the movie, perhaps even more so. But you have to let the book speak for itself. The story is truly miraculous, as this band of prisoners devolve into a wild bunch of animals at the hands of their captors, only to be transformed by the Spirit of Christ into a true Community of compassion and care. Somehow, in the midst of hell, these men found the power to love each other, to care for each other, to even forgive their Japanese tormentors. When people ask "Does Christianity work?", the story of this book says "absolutely!" And in a day and age of spiteful attacks, divisive language, polarized religions and selfish money-grubbing politicians and religious leaders, there is a real lesson here about what being a True Follower of Christ is all about.

It's a difficult, but true message. The author takes an unflinching look at the evil that men are capable of through his own personal experience in Japanese prison camps and carries you through the experience on to the brilliant hope on the other side of his own personal pain. The underlying truth you discover is the genuine potential to be found in one man's selfless, sacrificial care for another. It's an excellent read.

Formally published as "Miracle on the River Kwai" and renamed to coincide with a new movie. This book was written by Ernest Gordon a Scottish Army officer who served in the South Pacific During the war.

Back Story
During that time the Japanese advanced on Singapore, and Gordon and a few other officers try to escape on a chartered sailboat. After being captured at sea, he was incarcerated and sent to a work camp in Thailand, building the infamous railway of death, where nearly 80,000 prisoners lost their life in a little over a year. This railway and the Chungkai prison camp are the real back story to the Oscar winning film "Bridge On the River Kwai."

What the classic movie doesn't tell you is the horrific condition and constant death that the builders of the bridge met with on a daily basis.

The Book
The story is a recount of Ernest Gordon's experiences at the camp and his witness to that camps transformation from what he called "the worst that man could be" to the "best that man could be."

The book starts with Gordon laying in the hospital at Chungkai, called the "Death House" by the prisoners as there was very few he came back from the hospital. Gordon then flashes back to what led him here, and then continues from that point and tells of the camps transformation. Before Gordon wound up in the hospital the camp was very much "every man for himself" animal instinct and the law of the jungle dictated who lived and who died. During Gordon's stay at the hospital while he was suffering and near death with Beriberi, Tropical Ulcers, Malaria, and Amoebic Dysentery, he propped himself up, void of hope, and penned a last letter to his parents. That was his low point. He was nursed back to health by two other POW's Dinty Moore, and Dusty Miller. Both bartered for food and medicine, cleaned his ulcers, massaged his legs to reverse the atrophy and gave him encouragement to give him the hope he needed to recover. These two men became an inspiration to the rest of the camp, and like Ernest Gordon, many started to emulate their kindness willingness to help others. Dusty Miller a devote Christian also read the bible to Gordon which inspired him. Gordon then started to hold bible studies with other in the camp; they often shared bibles that men had smuggled in. This led to a spiritual revival of the camp, where men helped each other to survive. The camp changed from a group of individuals to a community that served each other with the same love that Christ had shown them in the bible. Many more survived the wrath of the Japanese as a result of the selfless acts of the camp members, in one part of the book one enlisted soldier, admits that he stole a shovel (which he didn't) just to save the lives of his co-prisoners, that soldier was immediately beaten to death, but his sacrifice as well as others, were what changed to mood of the camp.

The Legacy
This spiritual revival, not only led to many surviving the camp, but transcended into their life after the war. Gordon's epilogue was probably the best part of the book where he paints his perspective against the backdrop of the post-war error.

"We returned to a world divided by hatreds. We thought we had come home to a world at peace; instead we found a world already preparing for the next war. Having had as much reason to hate as anybody, we had overcome hatred."

"We had seen a vision of far horizons and caught a glimpse of the City of God in all its beauty and this vision seemed to be part of a different world."

Summary
Overall the book is very interesting, and is an intriguing story of suffering and hope. Gordon's style is very easy to read, almost like he's sitting next you telling the story. The descriptions of the people and the camp are genuine and I had no problem understanding and even "knowing" many of the characters in the book.

Editorial
It's one thing read about the word of God and the acts of Jesus, it's an entirely different think to witness it first hand as Gordon does and writes about with stunning detail. If found this to be an inspiring story of the grace of God that is given, by giving up selfishness. I have learned a lot about what true Christian's look like after reading this book. If you want my opinion, Christ looked a lot more like Dusty Miller and Ernest Gordon, than the face of modern evangelical minister today.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to see the how God's Grace can transform the most desperate situations