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sophiabooks's review against another edition
4.5
very interesting and gave me a lot of perspective on correctional officers for sure and how they’re also harmed by the system
syslog's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
ladyfives's review against another edition
5.0
"These were the guys, the source of my pain, the source of their own pain, the source of their victims' and of their families' pain. My first few days, they had seemed like one big green-clad undifferentiated mass. Now, of course, they all had faces to me."
a book has never given me so much secondhand stress
a book has never given me so much secondhand stress
elainenotbenes's review against another edition
1.0
The first time I saw this book was 20 years ago when I was in college studying criminal justice and was taking a penology course. I bought a copy but I never got around to reading it until now. I think if I had read it back when I was still a college student, I probably would have liked it because it gave insight into a world I didn’t know about…yet. Fast forward to now. I’ve been a PO for a decade, involved in CRJ research since I was 19, have a masters degree in criminal justice from John Jay, and handle violent defendants inside and outside of jail and prison. That experience led me to actually feel disgust for this book. Conover became a CO for the sole purpose of writing something he could sell. He got the information, dirt, and anecdotes he needed to put something out, then left a year after starting. He lasted ONE YEAR. Which, for most, is a probationary period. He complains about the CO culture and prison experience - all of which are valid but terribly uninformed because he was a newjack who did his shifts without really understanding the reasons prisons are run the way they are
I see reviewers commending Conover for going into a prison and not telling the other COs and inmates what he was really there for. Instead he was vague about his past because he knew it was wrong, and still later used their tragedies, bad days, and stress for his own benefit. These are people’s lives. He was not there for the reasons real law enforcement are: either because they care about community safety, want to help people, or they simply need a job because they have family to feed. Conover, on the other hand, is a journalist born with a silver spoon who was never going to know the reality of this work because he had a light at the end of the tunnel, a luxury most people don’t have.
Sing Sing, Auburn, Clinton, Elmira, and Attica - all tough prisons in New York State. We know this. The inmates and staff alike are under incredible stress. And yes, situations arise that should and could have been prevented and weren’t. Fellow colleagues are mean, and will bully you. It’s not right, and I myself have been at the end of that. That said, this “expose” will not teach you anything you can’t read about on Wikipedia or see in a jail documentary on Netflix. This was not written by a seasoned and dedicated law enforcement official like Serpico, who served others, not just their own interests, by coming forward about police culture and systemic changes that need to happen.
I probably would have given this five stars before I lived the life I’ve lived. Since that day I purchased it from my college book store, I’ve worked in a field in which experience is what gives you license to speak out. Not someone who did it for a year for a book deal. Not cool.
I see reviewers commending Conover for going into a prison and not telling the other COs and inmates what he was really there for. Instead he was vague about his past because he knew it was wrong, and still later used their tragedies, bad days, and stress for his own benefit. These are people’s lives. He was not there for the reasons real law enforcement are: either because they care about community safety, want to help people, or they simply need a job because they have family to feed. Conover, on the other hand, is a journalist born with a silver spoon who was never going to know the reality of this work because he had a light at the end of the tunnel, a luxury most people don’t have.
Sing Sing, Auburn, Clinton, Elmira, and Attica - all tough prisons in New York State. We know this. The inmates and staff alike are under incredible stress. And yes, situations arise that should and could have been prevented and weren’t. Fellow colleagues are mean, and will bully you. It’s not right, and I myself have been at the end of that. That said, this “expose” will not teach you anything you can’t read about on Wikipedia or see in a jail documentary on Netflix. This was not written by a seasoned and dedicated law enforcement official like Serpico, who served others, not just their own interests, by coming forward about police culture and systemic changes that need to happen.
I probably would have given this five stars before I lived the life I’ve lived. Since that day I purchased it from my college book store, I’ve worked in a field in which experience is what gives you license to speak out. Not someone who did it for a year for a book deal. Not cool.
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.