I sort of stumbled over this book through my last visit of Alcatraz. Mr. Coon was signing his book and I thought it might be a nice addition to my other books. First of all, it's a very thin book of 144 pages and it doesn't tell much about Coon's experiences on Alcatraz. It's focus is more on why he got there and how easy it was back then to rob a bank.
144 pages are read in no time so when I got a signed copy I read it in two hours. The book isn't boring but it isn't written well either. People looking for new information's about the life on Alcatraz won't find much except maybe a few pages about the inmates pets.
Coon himself doesn't seem to be a likeable person to me. Throughout the book he always tried to sort of justify his crimes through blaming his childhood which in the end wasn't too bad. When I gave him my book for a signature he didn't say anything except that he wrote in his name, his Alcatraz number and when and how long he's been an inmate. So either he isn't the person he says he's become after he was set free or he's just sick of people asking questions about his former life. Whatever it is, I'm not really interested to know that.
The writing style is an easy one without much fuss. Interesting and a nice addition to an Alcatraz book collection as long as you don't expect too much info's about the island itself. It's just a repetition of already known occurrences and facts. Coon's experiences on Alcatraz seem to be limited as he covers maybe 30 pages about his imprisonment.
Rating:
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: New Desmas Press (2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0967959225
ISBN-13: 978-0967959221
2 comments:
I can't understand why you thought this book was going to be some great literary masterpiece. It's written by a simple man just talking about his life. It would have been a very depressing book if the whole thing was day to day living on the Rock. And as far as I understand from reading the book, he in no way blames his childhood, he only tells the story of what happened to him. He talks rather fondly of his parents, it just seems to be a life of hardship. i think your expectations were too high before you even picked up the book. Honestly, what were you really expecting? A Harvard Literary Documentary?
Dear Anonymous,
as I said, I stumbled over this book and expected to read about what was written on the back of the book: "He offers rare insight to the emotional journey he personally experienced while being an inmate inside America's most notorious prison. In his account he exposes readers to the harsh realities of his survival at Alcatraz."
I certainly did not expect a literary masterpeice but I did expect to get what the book was meant for.
In the end it didn´t fulfill what was promised.
Regardless of any personal feelings against the author I am not the only reader ponting this out, neither did I mention in any way that I thought the book is a literary masterpiece. If I'd want this I indeed would prefer a Harvard Literary Documentary.
And don't forget, he´s not a normal man. He's been in jail for a reason as you cetainly must know.
Post a Comment