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Riddle of the Rock: The Only Successful Escape from Alcatraz
Investigates the 1962 escape of three prisoners from Alcatraz and offers evidence that they may still be alive
- GenresNonfictionCrime
245 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 10, 2024
Was an entertaining read, but read mostly like a tabloid newspaper story. The first half the author relied on the word of mainly one person, a convict in Alcatraz at the time of the escape.
He seemed to put the convicts on a pedestal, he made each one he mentioned seem to be a good person- but Alcatraz housed the worst most violent.
He especially babied the Anglin brothers, going to great lengths to portray them as just a couple of good boys who just happened to break the law. He mentioned that Clarence murdered someone but didn’t mention it again.
The author and the lawyers he talked with, one a known ambulance and attention chaser treated the three escaped criminals like they were heroes. The point that the money the Anglins robbed had mostly been recovered was brought up time and again. So what? It was only recovered because the bank robbers got caught before they spent it.
The fact is the anglin brothers and Frank morris were lifetime criminals.
There is no reason to believe that if they did survive, that they would change. Why would they? They never did in any of the other times they escaped.
The author treated the scumbags like they were the good guys and the justice system had wronged them.
The author does the worst thing anyone can do to a criminal, he glamorizes them. Morris was a diagnosed sociopath, without treatment he would not change. And the anglins were money hungry but too lazy to work for it. So they became criminals.
No where in the book does denevi point that out. He makes excuses and blames the courts more than the criminals.
The second half, dealing with after the escape gives several possible outcomes but offers no definitive proof of anything.
If they did survive they are long dead now, but at the time of this bookmark weiting the author and many others stated that if they came in that they shouldn’t have to go back to prison. They made their choices, why shouldn’t they have had to pay the costs?
Overall the book was entertaining but was disappointing as a history.
I won’t be wasting time on any of Don denevi’s other books. He lets his hero worship of criminals get in the way.
He seemed to put the convicts on a pedestal, he made each one he mentioned seem to be a good person- but Alcatraz housed the worst most violent.
He especially babied the Anglin brothers, going to great lengths to portray them as just a couple of good boys who just happened to break the law. He mentioned that Clarence murdered someone but didn’t mention it again.
The author and the lawyers he talked with, one a known ambulance and attention chaser treated the three escaped criminals like they were heroes. The point that the money the Anglins robbed had mostly been recovered was brought up time and again. So what? It was only recovered because the bank robbers got caught before they spent it.
The fact is the anglin brothers and Frank morris were lifetime criminals.
There is no reason to believe that if they did survive, that they would change. Why would they? They never did in any of the other times they escaped.
The author treated the scumbags like they were the good guys and the justice system had wronged them.
The author does the worst thing anyone can do to a criminal, he glamorizes them. Morris was a diagnosed sociopath, without treatment he would not change. And the anglins were money hungry but too lazy to work for it. So they became criminals.
No where in the book does denevi point that out. He makes excuses and blames the courts more than the criminals.
The second half, dealing with after the escape gives several possible outcomes but offers no definitive proof of anything.
If they did survive they are long dead now, but at the time of this bookmark weiting the author and many others stated that if they came in that they shouldn’t have to go back to prison. They made their choices, why shouldn’t they have had to pay the costs?
Overall the book was entertaining but was disappointing as a history.
I won’t be wasting time on any of Don denevi’s other books. He lets his hero worship of criminals get in the way.
February 15, 2016
The best book there is on alcatraz!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews