Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [4]
I think you will enjoy reading Michael’s book. Through meticulous research, he has captured the experience of Alcatraz with an authentic voice. It is a skillful blend of history and character study, and a compelling portrait of America’s most notorious prison.
Over the years, I have returned to the island on various occasions to share my experiences with inquisitive visitors. I sometimes return to my old cell and think of that young man lying on his bunk, dreaming of this day. As Richard Nixon once said: “...only if you have been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain...”
Darwin E. Coon, AZ-1422
Former Inmate, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Dedication
Philip R. Bergen
“Lieutenant Bergen was a tall, square jawed, handsome man who looked as if he could have been the hero of every Saturday movie serial ever made. He had cool direct eyes and a natural fearlessness. On Alcatraz, he was a “high-risk” guard. He was a daredevil who thought nothing of plunging head-first into danger. In addition he was a deadly shot...”
This is how Clark Howard described Philip Bergen in his brilliant novel Six Against the Rock. Bergen is also depicted in classic novel Birdman of Alcatraz byThomas E. Gaddis and he appears in numerous and films other books. When I asked Bergen which character depiction he found most accurate, he simply replied: “Well... the birds were very well written don’t you think?”
I doubt that I will ever forget the time I first handed over my “completed” manuscript to Bergen, former Captain of the Guard at Alcatraz. He had spent sixteen years working and living on the island and had raised his two daughters on “the Rock”. I had spent several years conducting exhaustive research and I was quite pleased to hand him what I considered to be the final version of this book. A few weeks later I called Phil to get his opinion of the content and to see if he had any last minute recommendations. He stated in a very matter-of-fact tone: “Sure, rewrite the whole thing or make sure that it is marked fiction.”
Over the next eighteen months I recommenced my long journey, heading back to the archives, cross-checking references against archival records, conducting additional interviews, attending lectures, and even going out with County staff (in the rain and mud) to verify the unmarked burial sites of a few deceased inmates. Thus while Bergen did not have any formal connection to my book, his mark remains obvious. Even when the perspectives presented were not favorable to him, he pushed me to become an objective listener and then to document what I had heard, rather than trying to interpret. That was the theme of his contribution and with that said, it has been a long and extraordinary journey.
Well into his nineties, Phil Bergen remained an Alcatraz aficionado. I attended several Alcatraz reunions and would watch in amazement as Phil rattled off names of people he hadn’t seen in over fifty years. His ability to recount specific events and their chronologies was phenomenal. Phil Bergen represents only one of the many voices of those that lived the Alcatraz experience – but his was a very prominent and authoritative voice. Getting to know Phil was a rare privilege and I feel blessed that he was able to read and comment on all but the final two chapters. Although he has passed, his voice has not been silenced.
Thank you Phil, for helping me to see Alcatraz through your eyes and leaving behind such a remarkable legacy.
Preface
My first introduction to Alcatraz came at a very young age, during a visit to San Francisco with my parents in the late 1970’s. Just as thousands of others had done before me, I peered in wonderment from across the Bay at the small and forbidding island known as “the Rock.” I had seen the books that