My Shadow Ran Fast

by Bill Sands

Who is Bill Sands? As a youngster, he was a violent, law-breaking, convention-defying young thug. He would probably have committed murder had he not been stopped. Bill Sands admits this fact. And the police, the judges, the prison guards, and Clinton Duffy, former Warden of San Quentin, who know Sands, verify it. Today, Sands is a different man. What happened to convince this man to lead a worthwhile, purposeful life makes for fascinating reading in the pages of My Shadow Ran Fast.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography

212 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMGOSH!!

I have been searching for this book for Y E A R S. I read this in 10th grade and loved it. And then when I got older, tried to remember the name so the ex could read it and never could come up with it. Even Google failed me.

Tonight, my mom said "I found some tests of yours from HS -its about some book called "My Shadow Ran Fast". I said I had never even heard of that book [DUH] and looked it up here and lo and behold, it was THE VERY BOOK I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR FOR YEARS!!!!!! We had just had a discussion about it too a couple weeks ago.

I cannot believe it. It is so freaking awesome.

[David Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Bill Sands when he came to speak about his life in prison at the high school. My mother was instrumental in getting to come to Phillipsburg, Kansas, so I was also privileged to spend time speaking to him as we drove him around town. Great book!

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trip into my readerly past. Found this while browsing at my favorite used bookstore (Frugal Muse in Darien IL....consider this an unsolicited advertisement!) and jumped at the chance to revisit an old friend. I first read this book when I was around 12 years old and struggling to reconcile my Catholic school education, admiration for the good things the Catholic church did and/or funded and my deepening knowledge that, like perhaps most large organizations, persons and organizational traditions could hide a multitude of, in the parlance of the church, sins. My Shadow Ran Fast opened the door to the realization that a life of service did not have to come from a devotion to any particular religion system of belief or organization. It seems obvious now but at the time it was a mind blowing concept and Sands' journey, while very different than my own, was one of my first steps to finding my own way. Nowhere near as impactful now, I am 58 after all, but still a fascinating read of redemption that was a pleasure to revisit.

[01michaelA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Adkins
Prd 7 English
November 12th 2011

Book Review: My Shadow Ran Fast by Bill Sands
191 pages

My Shadow Ran Fast is the autobiography of Bill Sands a troubled adolescent who throughout his life learns the truth about today’s prison and rehabilitation. The story starts out during Bills abusive childhood in which one night Bills mother wakes him up and brings him into their houses library. There the dreadful new is delivered of Bills mom and dad getting divorced and from their Bills life spirals into oblivion.

Seeing that his parents no longer love him and his mom who now abuses him Bill walks along the path of self devastation running away from home and becoming both a stick up artist and social punk. Until one day his stick up friend rats him out to the police. Bill is then sent to San Quentin prison where the true story unfolds; there he meets arguably the most important character of the book Warden Clinton T. Duffy.

I really liked this books theme and I think the theme of Bills story really speak for itself, “a man can be both very good and very bad in a lifetime.” So as both Bills story of self acknowledgment unfolds so does the stories excitement. I think my 2 favorite quotes that happen midway through the story show this. “Hey, world. Don’t stop turning. I want to get on!” (pg 76) and “Don’t panic. I said aloud, or you’ll sure find a cloud with a rock in it.” (pg 135)

I found that the setting of this book really isn’t as important to the story as if it were in other books I’ve read. Really the setting could be in Europe for all I know, just as long as it includes at least one prison the story will still practically turn out the same. This is probably one of the unique things I really like about this book, because it shows that Bills story can truly apply to just about anywhere and that’s really good for the audience this book is aimed at.

The audience this book is trying to get to would most likely be people who are into self help books, people who teach, and social delinquents. I don’t really know anybody that would need such a book so I can’t really recommend My Shadow Ran Fast. Over all I would give this book 4/5 star I definitely enjoyed it but it’s not as good as other books I’ve read.

[Clyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this story long ago when I was a young man. A very powerful story of abuse, anger, and violence that somehow turned to redemption -- it has stuck with me ever since.

[Genny MacLellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it’s very telling that so many of the reviewers share that they first read this book when they were young adults. This book is written simply and clearly, but not condescendingly so, and though the author shares advice on “how to be a good man”, he rarely seems didactic or pedantic. The narrative cuts a pace, with the author distilling his whole life story into a mere 191 pages, and it’s a story well worth reading.

My main criticism is that the book is dated. Perhaps it’s not fair to judge a book written in the past by today’s standards. I simply don’t have much patience to listen to a white male of wealthy parentage tell us how to revolutionize a penal system that disproportionately incarcerates people who are Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and overwhelmingly poor, especially since the onus is put on individuals to “do better”.

I would like to give Sands the benefit of the doubt and say that if he was writing today, he would take into account these systematic disparities. He seems like a “forward thinker” with an abundance of compassion for his fellow man. Ultimately, he touts the goodness of people, and I put down this book with a smile.

[Mark Hodgson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this when I was kid, maybe 5th or 6th grade. It was eye-opening. It was one of the first "adult" books I read. The vivid portrayals of abuse were riveting and frightening. His adventures abroad inspired me and aroused my imagination. The real take-away, and the reason I still remember this book, is that it endowed me with an understanding of what causes delinquency and criminality, and how it can be overcome.

As a fledgling public defender, and maybe this book is partly responsible for my empathy for people like young Bill Sands. I'd recommend it for anyone, but especially young men.

[Jordan Douglass · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ An oldie but a goodie. The author was incarcerated at a young age and even prior to release from prison, knew he wanted to do better. He made the hard choices to stay out of trouble and up making a name for himself. A good read if youre needing some motivation to realize that goog men can be bad, and bad men can be good. It's not always easy to give bad men a chance to be good.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I ever read! I received it from a good friend as a teenager, re-read it many times as an adult. You can always find a better version of yourself, you just have to start. As much as your family love you, they might not be or teach you the best.
Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, you can achieve!

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intimate view into the life of an interesting and dynamic man who changed his life and remade himself for the better.

[Amanda Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me three months to get to this neighborhood book club book, but once I started I had to finish it in one sitting. This is the autobiography of Bill Sands, who has done almost everything there is to do in life: he has been a race car driver, comedian, pilot, dance studio owner, swim instructor, soldier, oil man, and construction manager just to name a few. But he started out the spoiled and abused only child of two politicians, eventually ending up in prison for armed robbery. The warden took an interest in him and Bill put together a successful program to shorten the gap of communication between guards and inmates of his prison, leading to many great reforms and an early release two years later. He spent his life working hard and trying his hand at everything--succeeding at almost everything he put his mind to. But no matter how well settled he was, he was never content and continued to move on from one thing to another. This is the story of the people he met along the way, the development of his faith and ideals, and how he discovered his life's calling to make a difference in the lives of youth and give them more options than a path to jail.
The book was very well written and a joy to read. There were so many quotable, excellent points of reason that I found (even though I had borrowed the book) I immediately had to order my own copy so I could mark it up to share its wisdom with others. I couldn't find much online about Bill Sands, which greatly disappointed me, but this book was sure a great legacy to leave behind him.

[GSS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book, the 1964 edition, as a kid and loved it. Would give it five stars. Nevertheless. I see that this later edition from is paired with material from positive thinker Napoleon Hill (Rhonda Byrnes's The Secret was possibly based on Hill's stuff). The Google Books copy of the original version has no mention of Napoleon Hill, although in this new edition, Sands mentions Hill once or twice, alongside Norman Vincent Peale and others. Just to mention one example, Hill claimed to have been a key advisor to two presidents, for example, guiding Wilson through the World War - no president ever mentioned this, but Hill has decades of legal troubles including fraud, money laundering, and so forth.

Pretty sure Hill's shady group co-opted Sands's story for their own purposes. Imagine a new edition of Hamlet, but the opening speech of each act now shows how it proves Scientology.

I urge readers to look into Napoleon Hill and his various operations - there is a damning piece on him in Wikipedia.

[Shelby Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think people should read this book because it has a good moral to it. My Shadow Ran Fast shows the reader that no matter how bad life is, a person should not give up but keep going and use what was bad to motivate him. Bill Sands goes to help other people who are in jail and are going through what he went through which helps them realize there can be a good ending to things.
I like the style of Bill Sand’s writing because he tells it like it is. He does not try to give the reader the soft and sweet version but instead lays it out just the way it happens.
Bill Sands wrote a real life story. It is not fiction but is his life story from childhood to adulthood. He tells the real-life version of what he went through and how he dealt with it.

[Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nowadays, book stores are filled with books of redemption. Not so much in the sixties when this book was written in simple, clear and unapologetic language. Sands, a punk and petty criminal on the fast track to oblivion is "saved" by prison. Likely to die or kill on the streets if not arrested, Sands rehabilitation was so dramatic that he was released from a life sentence after less than three years. I read this many years ago and it has been mostly lost in the onrush of other books, but it has retained for me the power of love and hope to smooth out the cruel bent life often gives to our character.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read this book for many years, but the things this man went through in his life and how it all ended up are really an amazing story. I can not recommend the book because it's been more than 10 years since I read it and cannot say as to how graphic it is or how well written it is. According to my memory, I loved the book and could not believe that it is autobiographical, it reads like fiction.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography follows the life of Bill Sands. Raised in an upper-middle-class but brutally abusive household, by nineteen he was a vicious punk and stickup artist who was on his way to becoming a murderer if he hadn’t been caught by the police. The judge gave him a sentence that could have kept him behind bars in San Quentin for life. What finally changed Bill is what made this a truely inspiring read.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very intriguing. It is a man who landed himself in prison when he was still a teenager. It describes how he changed and how he found meaning in life. I felt like it got a bit slow for a while, but I really liked the principles it taught about our power to change and our power to help people.

[Mommy Farris]

I have very vivid memories of reading this book in the eigth grade. The book has images of abuse that still haunt me today. I wish certain adults would be more careful about the type of literature they recommend to children. I've heard many teachers, and other adults, say that they don't really care what kids read, as long as they read. This book is a good example of why I adamantly disagree.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Sand's story influenced me when I read this, while I was a senior in HS, and still influences me now. About 45 years later. He travelled down a hard road, one I would certainly not want to emulate, and was surprisingly upbeat about it all. With an attitude of, here is what happened, there were the consequences for me, and yes -- I survived.

[Dianne Throop · Rating 3 out of 5]

True story of a man who turned his life around after spending most of his life in prison. He spoke at Abilene High School in the mid 1960's. After hearing him, I read the book and enjoyed his story again.

[Martine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this memoir in high school around the same time I read Go Ask Alice. Bill Sands describes how he rehabilitated in prison. I remember not wanting to put this book down.

[Pandemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was teaching at the Iowa Juvenile Home then, and it sure filled a need.

[Dennis Berard]

Being flayed with a rose bush; always stays with me.

[Monique Mcfaddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandmother knew him.She always loved this book.She always spoke highly of his book. I nver read it. I will now..

[Frank]

An inspirational book written by and ex-con by the name of Bill Sands. A good insight into the difficulties when trying to change a criminal lifestyle.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good true story of a criminal who changed his life.

[Tracey Bocksnick]

Bill was a family friend and a business partner of my father. A wonderful man.

[Carsie]

A memoir from the 60s about a guy who ended up in prison and turned his life around. Well written, inspirational, and gritty. There's more than one kid at the school where I work that need a copy of this book. If only they'd sit still long enough to read it