You Got Nothing Coming: Notes From a Prison Fish

by Jimmy A. Lerner

A memoir of astonishing power–the true story of a middle-class, middle-aged man who fell into the Inferno of the American prison system, and what he has to do to survive.

It is your worst nightmare. You wake up in an 8' x 6' concrete-and-steel cell designated "Suicide Watch #3." The cell is real. Jimmy Lerner, formerly a suburban husband and father, and corporate strategic planner and survivor, is about to become a prison "fish," or green new arrival. Taken to a penitentiary in the Nevada desert to begin serving a twelve-year term for voluntary manslaughter, this once nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn ends up sharing a claustrophobic cell with Kansas, a hugely muscled skinhead with a swastika engraved on his neck and a serious set of issues. And if he dares complain, the guards will bluntly tell him, "You got nothing coming."

Bringing us into a world of petty corruption, racial strife, and crank-addicted neo-Nazis, Jimmy Lerner gives us a fish’s a brash, compelling, and darkly comic story peopled with characters who are at various times funny, violent, and surprisingly tender. His rendering of prison language is mesmerizingly vivid and exact, and his search for a way not simply to survive but to craft a new way to live, in the most unpropitious of circumstances, is a tale filled with resilience, dignity, and a profound sense of the absurd. In the book’s climax, we learn just what demonic set of circumstances–a compound of bad luck and worse judgment–led him to the lethal act of self-defense that landed him in a circle of an American hell.

Electrifying, unforgettable, bracingly cynical, and perceptive, You Got Nothing Coming is impossible to put down or shake off. What the cult favorite Oz is to television, this book is to prose–and all of the events are real.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, True Crime, Crime, Autobiography, Biography, Biography Memoir

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Jimmy Lerner was born June 22, 1951 and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He spent 18 years as a Pacific Bell (now part of AT&T) marketing executive, served for the U.S. Army in Panama, received an M.B.A. and spent time as a taxicab driver. He published his first book in 2002, You Got Nothing Coming, based on his experiences serving a 2½ year sentence in a Nevada State Prison for the voluntary manslaughter of Mark Slavin in 1998.

According to Lerner's account, Slavin was a seemingly ordinary person, but drug addiction left him prone to erratic and often violent behavior. When the two men visited Reno, Nevada to try their luck at the blackjack tables, Slavin assaulted Lerner, then tried to kill him in their room at the Sundowner Hotel and Casino. After Slavin threatened Lerner's two daughters, Lerner killed Slavin using a belt and a plastic bag. He then called 9-1-1 from the room, and was taken into custody shortly after. Since there was nobody else in the room at the time, Lerner's version of events could not be verified.

The police report and physical evidence contained evidence in conflict with Lerner's version of events. Slavin had been beaten badly: his eyes were swollen shut and bones protruded through his face. The shapes of a turtle and a steer's head—decorations from Slavin's belt—were imprinted on his neck. Lerner's main injuries, by contrast, were badly swollen hands. His jeans were covered with blood.[1]

In his novel, Lerner describes his victim as six foot four inches tall and well over 200 pounds, while Slavin was only five foot four, weighing 133 pounds. The police report from the crime indicates that Slavin was more likely tortured and then killed, rather than being killed in self-defense.

Lerner pled guilty to a reduced plea of voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon, and was given two six-year sentences, to be served consecutively. He began his first sentence on July 4, 1999, and after three parole attempts was released on January 4, 2002.

In 2004, Slavin's sister Donna Seres sued Lerner under Nevada's Son of Sam law, which prohibits criminals from profiting from their crimes. On December 23, 2004, the Nevada Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional and dismissed the case.

Lerner has written a book of poetry, It's All Part of the Punishment, which is published on his website. As of 2005 he is at work on a novel entitled The Therapy Ain't Working.

In 2002, Scott Adams, the author of Dilbert, pointed out that he had a cubicle near Lerner while working at Pacific Bell. Adams also jokingly claims that, indirectly, he influenced Lerner into becoming an author.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when a staunch member of the middle class (a Pacific Bell executive) with an MBA finds himself in the Nevada State Prison? He comes to understand that he has to reinvent himself if he is going to have any chance for survival. This book is an excellent etic study of extreme anomie.

[Lorin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 2/3 of this book were riveting, as Lerner described his adjustment to prison life. The last third, in which he described the events that led to his arrest, seemed to drag, but it did still give a good sense of the sequence of events that eventually resulted in his committing a serious crime.

[Jack Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

considering that Jimmy Lerner is a first time writer I found his ability to apply character development astounding. especially how the beginning of the book introduces him as an intelligent, middle-aged family man - yet as it progresses he adapts to prison slang and common phrases along with the clearly influenced prison gaurds (reverse Stockholm syndrome?). a great read, four stars.

[Blondish And Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and very funny book! Jimmy Lerner is a mild mannered, Pacific Bell Marketing Executive with an MBA. And also he’s a murderer. Well, manslaughterer. He’s almost 50 years old, and entering prison. This book manages to be horrifying and hysterically funny at the same time. Jimmy is nicknamed OG for Original Gangster (because he’s old compared to most of the new “fish” entering the system). He shares a cell with Kansas, a tattooed mountain of a Neo-Nazi. Good thing, because Kansas takes him under his wing and keeps him from getting killed when he does something dumb (like point at another prisoner in the yard. You don’t DO that!)
A lot of the story is Jimmy’s attempts at fitting in (and keeping from getting beaten up). Sometimes he falls back on techniques learned in training classes at Pac Bell, such as Dealing With Difficult Employees (Jimmy uses the “mirroring” and “echoing” that he learns). I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time, when 250 lbs of angry prisoner was in his face, but it sure is funny for us, the readers, to hear his tongue-in-cheek relating of the tale!
Jimmy navigates between the different prison cultures—which are divided by race. No one mixes, partly due to racism, partly due to “tradition”, partly due to safety. Because everyone expects everyone else to be dangerous, there is constant tension between groups (and within the groups). Jimmy tries to be friendly with the non-white groups, with varying degrees of success. I get the impression that Jimmy wouldn’t have survived his stay in prison had he not been amusing to his “cellie”, Kansas. Jimmy can’t resist playing chess with Chico (judiciously losing to him when it seems prudent), and learning mop etiquette from a black fellow kitchen-worker (until he’s “stylin’”.
Jimmy is good at talking his way out of trouble. His “active listening” skills come in handy throughout the book. He’s also a talented writer. It seems that some of the book is fictionalized, partly because he’s not dumb enough to repeatedly list additional crimes that violent criminals have committed, and partly for the purpose of entertainment. Regardless, the book is absolutely wonderful. I’ve read it 4 or 5 times and have laughed each time. Would recommend to anyone who is interested in non-fiction, or sociology or true crime, and also for fans of Orange Is The New Black. Actually I’d recommend it for anyone who likes an entertaining read!!

[Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting depiction of life inside a maximum security prison. As a criminologist, I find the book a fascinating study. As an avid reader, I find it sad but compelling.

The book starts out with Jimmy in the Suicide Watch cell of a local jail. From there it progresses through the transition from jail to prison (I assure you two very different environments). Jimmy then writes about his first two years in prison. These are the fish years. A fish is someone new to the prison system. A newbie, essentially.

Jimmy learns the prison lingo. He discovers a newfound penchant for talking "sideways" (sarcastically lying with a straight face). He meets up with a long time convict called Kansas. His "friendship" with Kansas earns him protection for a long time. I use friendship in quotes because in prison you don't have friends. You have allies.

Jimmy, having an MBA and being well trained in lawyer-ese, becomes a "lawdog" in the law library of the general population. He begins helping CO's (correctional officers) with divorces and things. He completes a section of Alcoholics anonymous in prison and his jacket (prison file) looks perfect for parole.

This isn't a perfect read. There are tales of what happens to other fish in prison that are frighteningly accurate. Jimmy's tale is rather tame for the most part. The only thing I disliked were the dramatically exaggerated sections of the book. They were obviously exaggerated. This will probably be fine for most readers. I suspect the criminologist in me is the skeptic that dislikes it.

So I would recommend this to everyone. Why? Inmates have a bad rap (often their own fault), but people tend to think prisons are hotels with free food and free tv and free rent. Prison is no hotel. When you're down (in prison), you're down hard. The fantastical ideas that society has about prisons and inmates being treated too well are so outrageous in concept that it would be funny if it weren't scary. People clamour for harsher sentences but have no idea how bad it is already. I was taught to know what you're talking about before you open your mouth. So before you join the throng of people clamouring for harsher sentences and chain gangs and the sort -- know what you're talking about.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and entertaining account of prison life by a middle-aged convict who managed to skirt the dangerous fractures of prison life, yet who captured much of the reality (not the tv version)---and it can be quite scary---of life behind bars. He is adept at presenting the warped culture developed and survival stratgies employed in lock-up, much of it humourous and compelling. You actually root for some of the miscreants. It also reveals, despite all the group dynamics in play, that people are people, and power is power, and respect can be interpreted in many ways. I certainly never want to experience life in prison, but I have done a short stint on the other side of the bars, and that is no fun either. I loved the way he paralleled corporate marketing strategies he learned in the world with survival methods he employed in prison. He took what he knew and used it effectively to navigate a foreign world. The book can be hilarious at times, and heartwarming, and terrifying. Where else would a Jewish businessman and a Nazi strongman become friends. I enjoyed the stories of his friendships with certain lifers. I heard that he passed on, which may explain how this book was published without his being immediately shived. You can probably stop (or skim over) the last portion of the book, which details how he came to be incarcerated, but the first two-thirds are really a fast and entertaining read.

[Rasheed Abdullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The excellence of this book lies in the author making the reader realize how close many of us can be to a prison sentence. Jimmy Lerner ALMOST could be me: middle aged male, good job with the phone company, divorced with two kids, living in the suburbs. I say ALMOST because unlike him I don't drink--which was one of the single biggest sources of his troubles.

Lerner didn't drink and do something stupid to get locked up, but it was because of his drinking problem he befriended a real loon who became the bane of his existence.

What this book also did is give the reader an inside look of the prison system from a regular Joe. I don't need "Scared Straight," "You Got Nothing Coming" is enough. The story is told in a very straight forward no frills fashion which lends it authenticity. I never got the impression that he was exaggerating or hyperbolizing life in prison. It is an excellent memoir.

[Dennis Littrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am down wid dis, dawg!

This is a sad, funny and diabolically authentic memoir about his life in prison (and how he got there) by a natural born, sideways-talkin' wordsmith writing with skill, verve and a kind of disarming warmth replete with a lot of "out of the side of his neck" irony. Lerner, a one-time nice Jewish boy from New York finds himself the cell mate of Kansas, a six-foot-six, three-hundred pound "Nazi Low Rider" with a swastika tattooed on his neck, a prison con who can bench press something like four-hundred pounds, a guy who controls the inner prison culture and enterprises with an iron fist. What's a fish to do? Lerner uses corporate skills, honed during 19 years at Ma Bell, to make friends and influence people. A nice irony throughout is the way Lerner compares the culture of the corporate structure with that of the prison, finding them similar except for the terminology. Lerner manages to weave corporate gobbledygook about "market repositioning" and the "pursuance of outside opportunities" into the prison narrative. He sees that the rake the "Yard Rats" and the "skinhead Phone Posse" charge the fish for using the public phone as "the same economic principle we employed at the phone company by charging customers for both access...and usage." (p. 152)

As far as the structure of this book goes I believe it was originally written in a straight-forward manner beginning with the earliest events and ending with the latest. But somewhere during development it was decided to begin in the middle as Lerner enters prison. This was an effective and tantalizing change for two significant reasons. One, the utter shock of being immediately immersed into convict culture carries the narrative practically by itself, and Two, we are enticed to read on to the end wondering just how such a person as "O.G." Lerner ever got himself to manslaughter in the first place.

Lerner's ear for the language of the convicts is something close to amazing. His absorption of their largely primitive and tribal culture is so complete that as the book ends we see him as one of them in action, inclination and loyalty as he bangs on his cell and yells out on command his blood curdling cat's meow to the disconcertion of the attack dogs of the "Dirt" (that's "Disciplinary Intervention and Response Team, and they ain't nothin' nice") and to the joy of his fellow "dawgs."

But Lerner's story is fascinating in itself. He is an alcoholic and a mighty drug imbiber who after being attacked by "the monster" (as he calls his drug-addled, "Soldier of Fortune"-reading "friend" Dwayne Hassleman) fights back and through righteous rage and superior adrenaline flow manages to subdue and then kill his adversary. The Monster is such a degenerate beast of stupidity and animalistic hate and rage that we strongly identify with Lerner and are entirely pleased that Dwayne is no longer with us.

However, this is to accept Lerner's version of the crime which is not a twit removed from self-defense, a version that the jury apparently did not entirely accept. But as I used to tell my students, the one thing that all autobiographers have in common is that somewhere along the way they bend the truth to their advantage. This is just human nature, some of it unconscious, some of it intentional. It is amazingly difficult to tell the whole, unvarnished truth about ourselves. No matter how honestly our desire to confess all, when driven to autobiography or memoir, we will ever so slightly misrepresent the strict letter of the truth.

But no matter. What counts is that the overall story be told in a vivid and convincing manner allowing us to take the fine points of blame or behavior on advisement, as it were, secure in the impression that, as Huck Finn observed about Mark Twain, "he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth."

We can see, however, by reading between the lines that Lerner (although I believe he too told mainly the truth) is more compromised that he lets on. His continued association with the dangerous and crazy Dwayne, who threatens murder and mayhem while alluding jealously to Lerner's "precious little girlie family" (p. 354), suggests not so much forgiveness, loneliness and a big heart, but perhaps something closer to the fact that Dwayne as a drug dealer has "store," the kind of store Lerner thinks he needs to get from one day to the next. We can also see that Lerner becomes not only a "righteous, stand-up con" but a pretty tough guy despite the fact that his nickname "O.G." stands as much for "Old Guy" as it does for "original gangsta" (see pages 49-50). The fact that he wins just about all his battles, physical and otherwise, and never rats anybody out, and is true to his code throughout, may suggest some selective memory device at work.

But again Lerner's ability to spin the tale and make it as vivid as new-found terror allows us to give him his self-image and hope that he will at long last kick the booze and the drugs and be the straight up kind of guy that his two girls can look up to. This narrative is a marvelous step in the right direction. Lerner has a brilliant gift for character, narrative and dialogue that will surely make this tome recommended reading at writers' workshops while being the kind of book professional writers can admire.

Incidentally, the title "You Got Nothing Coming" is the witch-cold, hopeless phrase used on convicts as a kind of sadistic way of saying "no" to whatever the request is, as in "you ain't got NOTHIN' comin', dawg."

--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”

[Alex Backshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been gifted this book by a colleague five years ago, it languished on my shelf in the 'maybe' pile. I finally ran out of stuff to read and was too skint to buy another book, so I gave this a go.

I was so glad I did! The tales of prison life are quite different to anything I'd heard before, the author's writing is hilarious and I enjoyed reading every page. Until I got to the final third.

The story dragged on a bit, and some of the stuff about corporate life could have been left out. I did find the inner workings of AA very interesting though, and it got more exciting towards the end. Overall a solid read that I really enjoyed.

[Matías · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me encantan los libros de no ficción, pero creo que este banaliza demasiado la experiencia de la carcel. Esperaba algo mas realista, más teniendo en cuenta que venía de leer Fish, que es completamente honesto.

[Ocean · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is one of the better-written prison memoirs i've ever read. i was entranced throughout the first half, impressed with the author's skillz. but then i had to deduct one star for transphobia. then, when i read the last third (where he finally reveals the details of the murder that got him sent to prison), i had to deduct another star because he revealed himself to be a creepy, un-likeable corporate slimy dude. but, despite my newfound dislike for him, i was still gripped by the story all the way until the end.
[SPOILER ALERT} the last third is about the events that lead up to the murder of "dwayne hassleman"--a huge, scary, 6'3", unemployed compulsive liar violent drug addict whom lerner meets in AA. he spins a web of his friendship with this jeckyl-and-hyde type of character & his eventual coke-fueled, daughter-threatening tussle in a las vegas hotel room that leaves "dwayne" dead. can i just say that i totally bought this story, even though there were many elements of implausibility (such as, why does he put up with this craziness? etc).
when the book ended i immediately turned on the comp and googled jimmy lerner. and, well....this giant, crazed, drug-addled "dwayne" was actually a 5'4", kind of runty, employed, widowed guy that mr. levin allegedly called his "best friend" to the cop he confessed to. now, i KNOW that taped confessions are to be taken with a grain of salt, but, um, what? i also read that, although mr. lerner talks about being on a tough tier, with murderers and lifers who'd shank someone as soon as they'd look at them, according to official prison documents he spent his time on a minimum security tier with much less violence. HMM!
i mean, looking back, there are several clues that he's lying. he confesses several times, reader--like when he tells that vivid story about going to coney island with his dad & brother as a child...only revealing at the end that his dad had to work that day and they didn't get to go at all, and that "sometimes events that should have happened are clearer in [his] head than what actually did happen" (not an exact quote].
or when he talks about catching "dwayne" in a lie and states that he can tell dwayne is a compulsive liar because he looks him in the eye when telling outrageous lies. HMM, again.
blah, i'm too tired to go on, but i deducted another star for being a fucking liar. it sucks because his book is engaging & well written & exposes a lot of shitty thingz that go on behind bars. but i just can't look past his bullshit...

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, a white suburbanite corporate drone and father of two girls, tells of his stint at a Nevada prison for voluntary manslaughter. He begins with his view of prison life: the oddballs, the violence, the jargon, the cruel guards. He adapts by acting respectful but tough, while his education earns him the respect of other, tougher inmates. The last third of the book takes us back to the events that led up to his crime, which was a clear case of self defense against a psychotic, as he describes it. (Drugs and very bad judgment are involved; can he be believed?)

The prison section is the best; it’s well-paced, shows great comic timing (Lerner’s a very, very funny writer) and yet manages to convey all the poignant sadness of the brutal system as well. The last third suffers a bit in the telling, though the events are certainly dramatic enough. I think Lerner hasn’t quite gotten that aspect of his life clear yet, and the pacing of the prose (with much repetition and melodrama) reflects that. Overall, a very interesting look into one man’s prison life.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good insight to the prison environment, from an outsider's prospective. Jimmy Lerner, later known as OG, is a prison fish - a newbie - to the whole prison establishment. He went to prison over killing someone - who he called "the Monster". Someone that had seemed bipolar, especially when in a drug haze. This book started off with Lerner becoming acclimated to the jail/prison life with his roomie, Kansas - who has seen prison on many, many occasions. Kansas is a white supremacist - while Lerner is a Jewish guy (which he never lets Kansas know, with good sense).
The only reason this book loses a star is because near the last 1/4 of it, Lerner describes the situation of why he was in prison. He delves into the past, rehashing the circumstances that brought him to prison. For some reason I was not interested in this. I'm not sure how true this story is because unfortunately there's only one side to the story.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'd like to start by saying i really liked this book. The first two thirds of the book managed to be funny in the way that he talked about his experience in prison. his sarcastic "talking out his neck" humor was well appreciated. Kansas was an awesome character and the irony that he was a Nazi who was close friends with a Jew was not lost on me. I read some things talking about the "monster" of the book that made me feel that his narrative towards the end was mostly false. Considering that Jimmy exaggerates his physical attributes to make himself look tougher leads me to believe that he might have "tweaked" the truth to look better. I wouldn't have considered that man(hasselmann) to be my friend after all the crazy shit hasselman did. My theory is that they were so close because Jimmy bought coke off the guy, and leading up to the hotel incident were a result of that relationship.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Initially I gave this book four stars. Then I looked up the author to get more information. Turns out the most crucial aspect of this book, the crime that lands him in prison, is largely fabricated in the book. He describes the man he killed as a muscle-bound, 6'4 reckless junkie, but the actual man was 5'4 and 135lbs. Suddenly I realize why he took the plea bargain. Suddenly I start to doubt everything in the book. After all, what could be verified turns out to have been falsified. What about all the stuff he "witnessed" in prison, was any of it real?

Such a shame. It's a well-written book that I enjoyed reading. Now I have a bad taste in my mouth.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This autobiography follows the life of a man who has made some unfortunate mistakes and finds himself transported to a cell, where he transforms into the O.G. (his nickname in prison, short for Original Gangsta).

This is a really good read written by a man who probably never would have realized he had the talent, as he didn't start writing until he was incarcerated, as a way to keep himself sane.

My friend Kevin recommended it to me after reading it for a graduate school class, but I would recommend it to anyone as leisure reading.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an engaging read, I flew through it. I enjoy prison memoirs, but I can't read them consecutively because they can be tedious - this one was not. I enjoyed the book, even the sometimes hokey humor of Lerner. It was an appalling insight into the Nevada corrections system.

After I finished it a few days ago I looked up the author. I was saddened to find out he'd died this month (Feb 2008). I was also surprised by the description of the real "Monster." Of course, this was from a Wikipedia entry, so...

[TCPils · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's no wonder some prisoners commit suicide. Just imagine spending 24 hours a day surrounded by people whose entire lexicon consists of a handful of clichés. AND THEY NEVER SHUT UP! Maddening!
Being a prisoner himself, Lerner shares his experience with a well written narrative and even manages to maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing. Or, as his Dawgs might say: "You be stylin' O.G." (Well, that is if they could read.)

[Jacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and easy to read while at the same time being gory and causing me to read between fingers splayed. A basic memoir of a middle aged man who commits murder and becomes an OG in prison. At the very least it made me want to incorporate into my daily speech sayings like --
I'm gonna bust your grape; I'm gonna squish your tomato; you got nothing comin'; do me a solid.

[Shannon Carrier · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have ever wanted to go stroll around inside a prison, here's your chance. Hey, and Prison Break (season 1) borrowed heavily from it. Had I not read this book, I would never have questioned the talent of Prison Break's writers. Seriously, Lerner is an upper-mid corporate guy who finds himself behind bars. Scary! Funny!

[Kevin Keast · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the kindof book that I usually have a masochistic fascination with. I could not STAND the author. He was full of ego and elitism. He wanted desperately to show that he was accepted by his inmates, but at the same time to take great pains to let us all know that he was above them. I did eventually give up halfway through. I do not reccomend this book.

[Darrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one of the funniest prison memoirs i have come across
i think it might be the only funny prison memoir actually

great dialogue
quite chilling

you see bits of it show up in the 100 Bullets comic book series

read this in Buffalo NY first

[Esme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was funny and profane. It has also been controversial, as some people claim that Jimmy misrepresented the man he killed as a monster. I, however, loved this darkly funny memoir about life in prison. One of the few books I've reread.

[Fernando Labrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone that goes to prison should be made to read this book. A regular guy goes to prison and learns a few lessons. His most valued lesson is that in prison, "you got nothing coming". Everything is gravy, everything is a privilege, everything is extra.

[Thalarctos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really well written. I'm not sure if I believe his side of the reason he got to prison, if you Google him you'll get the whole picture. Still, a refreshing viewpoint on prison from the view of an educated man.

[Wayne Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it from beginning to end. Good book about prison life. Some reviews focus on his lack of remorse for killing 'the monster' but if he's telling the truth then I would have done the same in that situation. Better still I wouldn't end up in that situation

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dude's prison experience. Glad I am not him and his experience wasnt as difficult as other inmates.

[Kywol · Rating 5 out of 5]

just put it on my bookshelf yo...

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining. Who knows how much was "artistic license" though.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved how the author described using his management training to survive in prison. Hilarious.