Assignment Alcatraz: My Dirty, Wonderful Job

by Patrick Mahoney

An Insider's look at the prison convicts considered the "end of the line", and the story of a family's life well-lived in its shadow.

Genres: Nonfiction

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read and a fascinating look ‚behind the scenes‘ of the prison. How surprisingly unremarkable some things were (children growing up like anyone else, social gatherings, friendships), but then again, an ‚oh, wow‘ moment on every other page. That taught me more about Alcatraz than my recent visit did. The break-out stories by far aren‘t the most interesting bits about this prison. It‘s the every day life and the humanity behind the façade, that make it tangible.

[Anood K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it !

[tin_foil_tinnu · Rating 3 out of 5]

More Alcatraz stories. Read while I worked there.

[Kate See · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone writing about the day-to-day of their job is usually mundane, but as this is Alcatraz, it's anything but.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I enjoyed reading a guard's perspective of his time at Alcatraz. I've read a couple of books from prisoner's points of view, so this was a refreshing perspective.

[Cari Herrera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look inside Alcatraz. You get to hear the stories from a former prison guard.

[Lisa Goertzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having recently visited San Francisco and touring the Island, I instantly became fascinated with Alcatraz. I was very intrigued to learn more about life during the "prison years". While Assignment Alcatraz is a rather brief read, Patrick Mahoney shares snippets of a wide spectrum of topics: violence among the prisoners, details about the prison layout, some of the characters that particularly stood out, island life for families of the correctional officers, and he even included commentary from a couple of the children that lived on Alcatraz. Reading this short book and viewing the many photos left me wanting to learn more about this infamous island, and I look forward to checking out some of the suggested readings provided.

[Annmarie Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Assignment Alcatraz is a unremarkable book I could not stop reading it. If you like the genre of biographies you will love this book. This book is filled with crazy events that makes readers stuck on it. Assignment Alcatraz showed me my love for reading and I realized how much I love doing it. If you do not like reading I promise this will show you your love for it. As you can see Assignment Alcatraz is a wonderful book

[Julia White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to read especially if you have just been to Alcatraz. Really interesting to meet the Author too. I didn't really think before of the staff and families living on the island. Loved having a real life insight into The Rock