Life In Sing Sing State Prison As Seen In A Twelve Years Chaplaincy Classic Reprint

Excerpt from Life in Sing Sing State Prison, as Seen in a Twelve Years' Chaplaincy And when he enters again upon society he should have aid and encouragement enough tosave him from an idle and vagabond life, hat he may not become desperate, and compelled to beg, steal or starve. To accomplish this great work, the author of this volume has devoted thirteen years of his life. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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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.

A groundbreaking contribution to the study of nontheatrical film exhibition, Carceral Fantasies tells the little-known story of how cinema found a home in the U.S. penitentiary system and how the prison emerged as a setting and narrative trope in modern cinema. Focusing on films shown in prisons before 1935, Alison Griffiths explores the unique experience of viewing cinema while incarcerated and the complex cultural roots of cinematic renderings of prison life. Griffiths considers a diverse mix of cinematic genres, from early actualities and reenactments of notorious executions to reformist exposés of the 1920s. She connects an early fascination with cinematic images of punishment and execution, especially electrocutions, to the attractions of the nineteenth-century carnival electrical wonder show and Phantasmagoria (a ghost show using magic lantern projections and special effects). Griffiths draws upon convict writing, prison annual reports, and the popular press obsession with prison-house cinema to document the integration of film into existing reformist and educational activities and film's psychic extension of flights of fancy undertaken by inmates in their cells. Combining penal history with visual and film studies and theories surrounding media's sensual effects, Carceral Fantasies illuminates how filmic representations of the penal system enacted ideas about modernity, gender, the body, and the public, shaping both the social experience of cinema and the public's understanding of the modern prison.

Life in Sing Sing takes you behind the iron bars of one of America's most notorious prisons. On February 11, 1897, Number 1500 went "up the river" to serve over six years in prison. In Life in Sing Sing, he takes you inside the stone walls to see first-hand what it was really like to be incarcerated there. You'll find out about the day-to-day experience of prison life, with chapters on diet, discipline, famous prisoners, executions, escapes, and much more. Number 1500 also focuses on rehabilitation, citing contemporary and potential methods for helping prisoners get back on their feet after serving time. Against the odds, the author launched a prison newspaper, Star of Hope, one of America's earliest prison newspapers. Written entirely by convicts, it ran successfully for many years and often provided material to dozens of newspapers in the outside world. Ten years after it began, The New York Times said of Star of Hope, "this production of jailbirds...is superior to half the papers in the United States...." Life in Sing Sing remains a valuable and articulate guide to prison life. It offers a rare inside look at what it was like to serve time in an American prison at the turn of the twentieth century. Includes a glossary of prisoner slang.

In this gripping firsthand account, Number, a former convict, exposes the brutality and inhumanity of life inside Sing Sing prison in the early 20th century. From the dehumanizing living conditions to the corruption of the guards, Number's narrative sheds light on a dark corner of American history. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.