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By Root 575 0

fencing. In some ways, Alcatraz became almost two distinct entities – the prison and the myth. In many cases, the Alcatraz that people still imagine was a cruel and vile chamber of horrors and to some former inmates, this may seem a valid perception of that environment. One such case was illustrated in an informal meeting between the late former inmate Jim Quillen and myself in the kitchen basement of Alcatraz, in August of 1997. Forty years earlier Quillen and a few fellow inmates had plotted an escape in the very same location. During our brief conversation, Quillen confided that returning to the main cellhouse had been a painful and difficult journey. It was obvious that even decades later, he was still troubled by the many experiences he had endured on Alcatraz.

In my approach to assembling the information presented here, there has been no attempt to minimize the allegations of brutality, though the facts often times argue the opposite. I am bringing forward a more factual and balanced view through the eyes of those who lived and worked on the island, both inmates and officers. This book is intended to reflect a blend of perspectives, researched and derived from a variety of sources. The historical framework comes from both published and unpublished archive materials, supplemented by extensive interviews with a multitude of former inmates as well as correctional officers and their families. Statements of historical and technical fact are as precise as I could make them, given the resources at my disposal. Errors doubtlessly remain, as there are simply too many sources with contrasting perspectives to consider. I have made every attempt to verify information against archival record and the knowledge of those involved. Nevertheless, there is certainly some information included in this text that is reported as fact, but has most likely been embellished over the years. I don’t necessarily believe that anyone has intentionally set out to falsify history, but when source information is derived primarily from personal memory, details become impure with time and thus historical interpretation tends to fall into the trap of extrapolation, rather than adhering to essential fact.

During the initial phases of my research, I received a letter from former Alcatraz inmate Willie Radkay, who wrote in part: “Nobody wants to print the facts, even if it comes direct from the source himself. Artistic license is used to alter true incidents and events, and even the language used by the cons, whose jargons weren’t spoken in church circles.” This statement emerged as a common theme of discussions and interviews with former guards and inmates alike. In communicating this history, I felt it was important for the reader to understand that I am aware of the limitations of recollection and memory. I have chosen to maintain the integrity of the source material and to reconstruct events based on period documentation, unless the original sources contain obvious errors. This may challenge the opinions of many who are versed in the history of Alcatraz.

Too often in historical works, writers have filtered events in a fashion that they felt would better acclimatize their readers to the subject matter. Often as a result, the characters of individuals and the sense of place are lost. One of my favorite examples of image softening is the famous portrait of General George Washington crossing the Delaware in 1776, by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze. Most people would probably prefer to believe that Washington stood stately and commanding in the prow of the boat, a model of dignified leadership before his men. But as historian Kenneth Davis later discovered during his research, the truth was much different from this romanticized image. When documenting his experiences with General Washington, General Harry Knox made an entry in his journal commenting that on this historical occasion, when stepping down onto the boat, Washington poked him with the tip of his boot, remarking: “Move your fat ass Harry, and not too fast or you’ll swamp the boat.”

Another example of