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clwils982's review against another edition
3.0
I started this book mainly bc I wanted some background before I watched Escape at Dannemora. I finished it bc I work 10 hour days and I’m desperate to hit my reading goal for the year.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)
I first heard about the escape in Dannemora on a true crime show and was interested in knowing more about the case. This was a well-written and researched book. It outlines the timeline and also the history of the town and prison. It was a quick read for me as the story was engaging as a novel. I did read another book on the topic [b:Wild Escape: The Prison Break from Dannemora and the Manhunt that Captured America|37536702|Wild Escape The Prison Break from Dannemora and the Manhunt that Captured America|Chelsia Rose Marcius|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513281326l/37536702._SY75_.jpg|59137752] and found it very dry. I was hoping to watch the mini-series Dannemora but couldn't get into after reading Wild Escape. I need a bit of a distance before trying the mini-series again.
(Review Not on Blog)
I first heard about the escape in Dannemora on a true crime show and was interested in knowing more about the case. This was a well-written and researched book. It outlines the timeline and also the history of the town and prison. It was a quick read for me as the story was engaging as a novel. I did read another book on the topic [b:Wild Escape: The Prison Break from Dannemora and the Manhunt that Captured America|37536702|Wild Escape The Prison Break from Dannemora and the Manhunt that Captured America|Chelsia Rose Marcius|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513281326l/37536702._SY75_.jpg|59137752] and found it very dry. I was hoping to watch the mini-series Dannemora but couldn't get into after reading Wild Escape. I need a bit of a distance before trying the mini-series again.
aireee's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This book has been written by a current municipal judge and former correctional officer lieutenant who had worked at Clinton Max years before the inmate escape became national headlines, and who also lives in the town the inmates escaped from. Fascinating story. Amazing prison break.
Overall, I appreciated the backdrop of the NYS prison systems, the obvious politically-driven policy changes over the years, the cost-saving cutbacks, the obvious breakdown in security (due to these cutbacks), the backdrop of the inmates upbringing and subsequent life of crime leading to the escape, and the descriptive environment of the escapees routes, etc.
The repetitiveness was apparent but not too irritating. However what I did NOT appreciate was the author’s opinions, “peanut gallery” and biased comments he made a point to include regarding other people involved. Nobody asked him for his views and opinions. Just the facts, that is all I wanted to read. If he wanted to state his opinions or grievances, even with respect to the faulty manhunt and lack of proper protocols, he should have included an “afterward” in the book - not throughout the book. That was hella tacky.
This book has been written by a current municipal judge and former correctional officer lieutenant who had worked at Clinton Max years before the inmate escape became national headlines, and who also lives in the town the inmates escaped from. Fascinating story. Amazing prison break.
Overall, I appreciated the backdrop of the NYS prison systems, the obvious politically-driven policy changes over the years, the cost-saving cutbacks, the obvious breakdown in security (due to these cutbacks), the backdrop of the inmates upbringing and subsequent life of crime leading to the escape, and the descriptive environment of the escapees routes, etc.
The repetitiveness was apparent but not too irritating. However what I did NOT appreciate was the author’s opinions, “peanut gallery” and biased comments he made a point to include regarding other people involved. Nobody asked him for his views and opinions. Just the facts, that is all I wanted to read. If he wanted to state his opinions or grievances, even with respect to the faulty manhunt and lack of proper protocols, he should have included an “afterward” in the book - not throughout the book. That was hella tacky.
laurengent's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
emathys93's review against another edition
4.0
This book provided an interesting backstory to the prison break that happened just a short distance from my hometown.
aireee's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This book has been written by a current municipal judge and former correctional officer lieutenant who had worked at Clinton Max years before the inmate escape became national headlines, and who also lives in the town the inmates escaped from. Fascinating story. Amazing prison break.
Overall, I appreciated the backdrop of the NYS prison systems, the obvious politically-driven policy changes over the years, the cost-saving cutbacks, the obvious breakdown in security (due to these cutbacks), the backdrop of the inmates upbringing and subsequent life of crime leading to the escape, and the descriptive environment of the escapees routes, etc.
The repetitiveness was apparent but not too irritating. However what I did NOT appreciate was the author’s opinions, “peanut gallery” and biased comments he made a point to include regarding other people involved. Nobody asked him for his views and opinions. Just the facts, that is all I wanted to read. If he wanted to state his opinions or grievances, even with respect to the faulty manhunt and lack of proper protocols, he should have included an “afterward” in the book - not throughout the book. That was hella tacky.
This book has been written by a current municipal judge and former correctional officer lieutenant who had worked at Clinton Max years before the inmate escape became national headlines, and who also lives in the town the inmates escaped from. Fascinating story. Amazing prison break.
Overall, I appreciated the backdrop of the NYS prison systems, the obvious politically-driven policy changes over the years, the cost-saving cutbacks, the obvious breakdown in security (due to these cutbacks), the backdrop of the inmates upbringing and subsequent life of crime leading to the escape, and the descriptive environment of the escapees routes, etc.
The repetitiveness was apparent but not too irritating. However what I did NOT appreciate was the author’s opinions, “peanut gallery” and biased comments he made a point to include regarding other people involved. Nobody asked him for his views and opinions. Just the facts, that is all I wanted to read. If he wanted to state his opinions or grievances, even with respect to the faulty manhunt and lack of proper protocols, he should have included an “afterward” in the book - not throughout the book. That was hella tacky.
jessferg's review against another edition
3.0
I must've been in a "media blackout" period when this escape happened because I don't remember shit about it. But that means I'm the perfect reader for it, right?
What a crazy and frustrating story about neglect, mental illness, criminal behavior, prison ineptness and the stress of law enforcement.
Gardner seems to struggle a little in determining the appropriate "moment of reveal" to keep the reader engaged and to avoid repetition but despite this occasional flaw he manages to pull lots of threads together into a fast-paced story.
I was into this enough that it kept me up a night or two but I can't bring myself to up the star rating because the bias is undeniable and yet mostly unacknowledged. Gardner is a retired prison worker and he lives in the area, which he is upfront about. While both of these things probably gave him access to information unavailable to others, he isn't able to use that info completely objectively. His anger at those who helped these criminals escape, directly or indirectly, is understandable, and his dislike of former Gov. Cuomo is palpable, but unnecessary to what is being presented as a non-fiction account of the facts. I suppose the opposite view of the issue is that Gardner was upfront about his bias so it's up to the reader to decide if anything smelling like opinion is worth taking as fact.
This is one of those "you can't make this stuff up" stories that true crime reader will love and that general readers will enjoy because of the fast pace and detailed character studies.
What a crazy and frustrating story about neglect, mental illness, criminal behavior, prison ineptness and the stress of law enforcement.
Gardner seems to struggle a little in determining the appropriate "moment of reveal" to keep the reader engaged and to avoid repetition but despite this occasional flaw he manages to pull lots of threads together into a fast-paced story.
I was into this enough that it kept me up a night or two but I can't bring myself to up the star rating because the bias is undeniable and yet mostly unacknowledged. Gardner is a retired prison worker and he lives in the area, which he is upfront about. While both of these things probably gave him access to information unavailable to others, he isn't able to use that info completely objectively. His anger at those who helped these criminals escape, directly or indirectly, is understandable, and his dislike of former Gov. Cuomo is palpable, but unnecessary to what is being presented as a non-fiction account of the facts. I suppose the opposite view of the issue is that Gardner was upfront about his bias so it's up to the reader to decide if anything smelling like opinion is worth taking as fact.
This is one of those "you can't make this stuff up" stories that true crime reader will love and that general readers will enjoy because of the fast pace and detailed character studies.
booksrbrainfood's review against another edition
4.0
This book attracted my attention because I work in a state system as well that is similarly structured in a way to a prison, a mental health facility. When I began working in this field it was at a time after the states were being held accountable by the Department of Justice for poor conditions within state hospitals or institutions. As I researched the legal side of this issue, I came upon the Willowbrook Hospital in New York state, as a "ground zero" for deinstitutionalization of people. This was because of all the cost-cutting that had been done, over-crowding, under-staffing, poor conditions and zero accountability. The conditions in the prison system are very similar, and now since the writing of this book, another NY prison was without power for several days during the most severe cold weather of the year. I think that this book did a great job, a frightening job of showing what is wrong in the prison system, in this particular case and going forward. It feels focused on NY but it is a more widespread problem than that.
#Dannemora ##NetGalley
#Dannemora ##NetGalley