Alcatraz Escape Files: From the Official Records

by Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

When the 23-year-old kidnapper Theodore Cole arrived at Alcatraz in 1935, he already had two violent escape attempts on his record. Not surprisingly, within twenty-four months, he made yet another run for freedom.

Freedom: men locked up in maximum-security, minimum-privilege USP Alcatraz spent their time thinking about it, dreaming of it, plotting ways to achieve it. Though the odds against their schemes succeeding were high, that didn't stop some of them from trying. And when it came to way to get off the island, these men --- who had time on their hands and plenty of motivation --- came up with some remarkably daring getaway plans.

During the Rock's 29-year history, the Bureau of Prisons documented fourteen official escape attempts. Driven men broke out of solitary confinement, slipped away from the dock, tunneled out of their cells, (&) used improvised tools to saw through "tool-proof" bars.

Drawn from the official files of the Bureau of Prisons, these accounts show exactly how far desperate men will go to regain their independence. A more inventive gallery of escape artists would be hard to find.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Crime

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Owen Gunn]

In the book Alcatraz Escape Files many of the inmates are well know people for the crimes they have committed. In the early nineteen hundreds Alcatraz was known as the highest secured prison in the world. Every inmate’s thoughts were how to get out of Alcatraz. Most inmates worked as a team with other prisoners, and very few worked alone. Only one group of prisoners ever got out without being found, no one knows for sure if they were dead or alive. A major step for the prisoners was crossing the cold San Francisco Bay. The prisoners that wanted to escape were willing to risk their lives to escape.
Alcatraz Escape Files was an interesting book on the prisoners at Alcatraz that had tried to escape. Reading the book made me feel like I watching the prisoners escape. It seemed like I was working and looking at the criminals while I was engaged in reading the book. The book is made to make you seem like you are with the inmates. The author engaged me to what I was reading.
Alcatraz Escape Files is engaging and grabbing. This is a recommended book to anyone who wants to read how prisoners planned their escapes. It is also for readers who want to be were the escapes happened.

[Dana]

I was able to visit Alcatraz Island (The Rock) recently, after it being on my bucket list for forever. There was so much history and so many things to see. I grabbed this book before leaving and thought it was great. While it's only 171 pages, it had such a great layout, tons of pictures and documents scans, descriptions of each of the 14 escape attempts of Alcatraz, and little additions from correctional officers, wardens, and newspapers. It described so many things about life at that time and what it means to be placed in a penitentiary, and a maximum security one at that. I thought it was a great, short book to learn about each escape attempt and to learn about The Rock. While there was one typo I found and one instance where it felt like they were paraphrasing what actually happened, I generally thought it was great. Definitely want to learn more!

[Chelsey M. Ortega]

I have only toured Alcatraz twice, and the only escape attempt covered in the tour is the famous plaster heads in the beds. The four men who truly disappeared from the island and were never seen again. On my most recent visit, I strolled through the giftshop with the plan to purchase at least one book, and this one caught my eye. A total of fourteen escape attempts? How fascinating! While the writer didn't make a noted connection in the text, I found it really interesting that the majority of the men in this book committed their first crime during the early 1930s - a.k.a. The Great Depression. Obviously, they still might have led a life of crime with or without a national financial crisis, but it's sad to think that such a devastating time might have contributed to them ending up in Alcatraz. Another interesting historical connection I noticed was WWII. According to the writer, even the prisoners became extremely patriotic after the attack on Pearl Harbor. They worked hard on the war effort jobs given to the island. Only one escape attempt happened during the war compared to the half dozen in the decade before. The format is really simple, which provides the opportunity to use this in my high school history lessons. Definitely an informative read.

[Kailyn]

I loved this book and really enjoyed the layout of each escape chapter. It was cool seeing the copies of the paperwork and the various pictures throughout the book. Reading this made me want to learn even more about Alcatraz :)

[Harry]

This book amazed me of how these people tried to escape and some managed to do it! It has lots of short chapters of different escape attempts and one group of people escaped and never got found. But this is because there body’s are on the bottom of the ocean. You have to read this book!

[Brian P]

Exactly as advertised. Each escape details the history of the convicts, their plan, the attempt and the aftermath. Right amount of sidebars to add context and the addition of copies of documents add to the "files" feel.

[Lauren]

A few typos and grammar errors but an excellent compilation of the facts surrounding these 14 escape attempts and a brilliant effort at compiling the connections, theories, and questions surrounding the popular narrative.

[Sarah Hayes]

Really interesting accounts of the 14 escape attempts. I wasn't keen, however, on the reports being put mid story, meaning you had to read around and go back, etc., plus a few jarring grammar/ spelling errors which jarred the flow.

[moxie]

If you’re interested in each of the 14 official escape attempts, this one is pretty solid. There is a little background about each inmate, their plan, what actually happened, and the outcome. I think some details might be left out but a great summary of the Alcatraz escapes

[Sierra]

Great overview of the 14 escape attempts including brief bios on the prisoners & copies of official paperwork. The maps & pictures added much!

[Sarah Giglio]

A fascinating look at Alcatraz, its prisoners and how detailed their escape plans were. Very much enjoyed this one.

[Amelia Richards]

very cool. they put so much documentation and told the stories so easy to follow.

[Shannon]

I love stuff like this! They even included copies of the inmate's original paperwork. I felt like I was snooping I'm classified documents. It was all rather thrilling.

[Nicole]

I would have liked more information on the background of the men who tried to escape, but it was very interesting.

[Jessica Nohmy]

Very interesting but honestly reading this made me realize that the guards were kind of stupid at the prison.

[Aleah]

This book was so interesting! I loved seeing all of the old letters and records!

[Lina Boehmer]

scaryyy

[Jodie Hermann]

Very interesting history

[Ashlyn]

This book was good but the stories of the escape was the same every time.

[Willow S.]

Well organized and easy to follow, especially with the photos and recorded documents.

[Tim Falk]

Informative, but paints a somewhat rosy picture of life as an inmate.

[Shannon Glaittli]

Read this while Hunter finished a book report. This is all the escape attempted from Alcatraz, complete with prison records,legal documents,etc. Informative and interesting.

[Amelia Austin]

Educational and informative. A fun quick read. I loved the biographies and the maps. Couldn’t have chosen a better airplane read!

[Nina J]

Interesting book, and I like that they kept to the facts. I would've given it a higher rating if there weren't as many language mistakes (double words at least 3x) and if the layout made more sense. TLDR: good book, terrible editing and formatting.

[Valencia]

Clear descriptions of the escapees and very detailed book with lots of info. Very good book that's worth the Alcatraz viewing and purchasing the book!

[Sebastian H]

The perfect companion to the Alcatraz tour and the award-winning audio guide. Well, and maybe also to the Michael Bay movie starring Nic Cage and Sean Connery, but that's a slightly embellished story, so it doesn't really count that much. It does have much more explosions though, which the book sorely lacks.

But explosions, car chases and a killer British accent (or was it Scottish, really?) aren't needed when displaying the will of men who, after losing everything and being trapped in the most inexpugnable prison of its time, still manage to cling to a thread of hope and come up with plans to escape their guards. Mind you: violent plans, some relying a bit more on stealth and patience, some carried out without any planning at all. Even when time was all they had, after all. Time, and a window into San Francisco Bay, so close to hear the celebrations on the piers during the holidays, yet so far that even successfully escaping the island didn't meant surviving the cold swim to the mainland.

Fourteen escape attempts. These are their official stories.

[ashes ➷]

What it says on the tin: a little context, some basic details of the escapes, and a solid base of references. As someone who’s obsessed with Alcatraz (apparently I hassled my mother into buying this), this is always an enjoyable read, even if the books sold in the Alcatraz gift shop don’t quite like acknowledging the flaws of the prison industrial complex.

[Donna]

An interesting account of escape attempts and outcomes. Nicely put together.

[Anna]

Great book to read before touring the island