Battle at Alcatraz: A Desperate Attempt to Escape the Rock

by Ernest B. Lageson Jr.

One of the bloddiest battles in the history of American prisons occurred at Alcatraz in May 1946, when prisoners staged a breakout, obtaining guns from the gun gallery and taking nine guards hostage. The escape attempt was the cumination of months of methodical planning. But, when a last-minute glitch foiled their escape, inmates shot the hostages in effort to leave no witnesses. Before order was restored, thousands of rounds were fired by federal prison personnel and a detachment of the U.S. Marines. Among the guards who survived the shooting was Ernie Lageson, Sr. the author's father. Now in Battle at Alcatrz, author Ernie Lageson Jr. passes on his father's story. Meticulously researched, this compelling story offers an insider's perspective on both the notorious riot and life inside the most infamous prison in America. Eight pages of photos.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime, American History

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

Reviews

[Derrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting and fun book to read! I didn't know anything about this particular story. It was well written and at times it almost read like fiction. It was suspenseful and I had to keep turning the pages to see what would happen next. There are so many good stories about Alcatraz and this is definitely one more! My copy of the book happens to be signed by the author which I didn't even know about when I bought the book. It was a super cool bonus for sure! I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interested in a little bit of Alcatraz history.

[Glen Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book and an exciting story. As the son of one of the principals the author has both a unique perspective but an inherent bias too. Having read Six Against the Rock as my first serious book ever (back when I was my sons age), my views of the battle of Alcatraz are shaped by that telling. I found this version to be a bit more sanitized, but with more axes to grind. Again good but not unbiased book

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard stories of this riot ,but this is a first hand account of what happened. I have always found Alcatraz interesting and was able to visit the island a couple years ago with my son. As I was reading this book and looking at the pictures I could visualize the inside of the prison and other buildings. As I was reading this I kept thinking it would be a great movie.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched book.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

After touring Alcatraz recently, I remembered I had this book hiding on my shelves. I dug it out and read through it. It tells a detailed, well-researched account of the 3-day siege and gun battle in 1946 and was very interesting after having just been there and seen the places detailed in the book. But the writing is rather poor and since it's written by the son of a guard it has a bias that comes out repeatedly. It also had a difficult time trying to decide what it wants to be: researched history or thrilling true-crime book. It's filled with details only an historian could love and which I ate up, but it was interspersed with snippets of inmate dialogue all containing the f-word that seemed jarring in an historical work. It was as though the editor told the writer he needed to do something to spice it up and his response was just to pepper it with profanity that didn't really add to the tension or atmosphere. But the author isn't a professional writer, but a lawyer, so I'm willing to grant him some leeway in telling this full story of the escape attempt and aftermath.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book when John and I were on Alcatraz Island . . . along with two other books about Alcatraz. I may have gotten a teensy bit carried away! This tells the story of the bloodiest escape attempt on the island. The author is the son of one of the guards who was in the middle of the escape attempt. It was an interesting story. I just wasn't thrilled with the writing. I feel like for such an exciting event the story could have been a little more exciting. And I do find it sweet that the author admired his father so much, but it got a little sickening in the book. But I'm kind of a turd like that, so take that with a grain of salt.

[Jillinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

David and I toured Alcatraz when we went to SF last month and the author Ernest Lageson was there. His father was one of the officers wounded during the escape attempt. The tour was fascinating to me and I was excited to read a more detailed account of the escape attempt. I thought this was very well written and was glad to find it more of a story and easy to read then just a timeline of events and excerpts from case files. I wished I would have read it before we went.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written quite simply, but the story is just great. I just cannot believe the mistakes made by so many people in authority. The convicts made mistakes also of course, but you expect them to. The last few pages upset me the most because of the lies that were told to the press. I won't say any more, because I don't want to spoil anything. If you are looking to read a true account of an attempted escape from this prison, this is very good.

[Heather Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, although the writing is fairly simple. I got a bit bogged down with all the officers' names and the details of the escape plan. It was very helpful to have the diagram of the cell house in the book to refer to! I found the dialogue to be very cheesey. But taking into consideration that the author is not actually an author by trade, I have to give credit for a well researched, informative, action-packed re-telling of this event.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ernie (the author) is my cousin, and I've heard the story of the Alcatraz escape attempt all my life, especially the fact that the guards saved their lives by "playing dead." But I've never read the story or heard all the actual details before, and I found this book fascinating. The detailed account of events once the escape started moved along rapidly, and I didn't want to put the book down. I was also appalled at the misguided handling by the officials.

[Matthew Siemers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written book. The author did a very good job at laying out the events of this prison break out very clearly. Very informative, but also very interesting.

[Robin]

Briliant read and i met the man himself

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started out slow but picked up once the escape attempt began.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story. Bought the book on the island of Alcatraz. Creepy place with great history.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent account of a very dark day in the history of the Rock. Nicely written and filled with complete detail. Once read, you will know exactly what happened.

[Merkathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping story and I like how the author switches viewpoints as the situation progresses.