Bergner,who I should begin by saying I've known personally for some 13 years, has done an in incredible thing in this his first work of non-fiction. He's written a book that at once takes the reader to a deceptively verdant-death-row in Louisiana (the Prison was formerly a Plantation, think Tara times ten) to the born-again-warden's living-room,to the inmate's families less-than-Tara-like-homes. Bergner has focused all of his novelist's empathy and amazing acuity, and attention to detail on the lives of a few good----though very Bad men. The book becomes increasingly spiritual as the writers' year with the inmates draws to a close---as did this reader's experience of the writing and of Bergner's subjects'lives. Ultimately it's a book that, eventhough I work in publishing and could get them for free, I've just ordered six copies of to give to friends who Dan and I do not have in common.

Bergner has written a brave and fascinating book about the Angola prison in Louisiana. Not at all your standard prison fare, Bergner focuses not on the dark side of prison life but on the day-to-day lives of the prisoners and the events which make their existences bearable. The author was given the unusual opportunity to spend a year, basically unsupervised, wandering the grounds of this dreary but beautifully-set institution. This book is about hope in a place where there is none. It is about hope that is created, in part, by a freak-show-like rodeo hosted by the prison in which the virtually untrained prisoners take the dangerous roles of riders. In a sense, it is a heartbreaking look at the futurelessness of these life-term inmates. The inmates themselves tell us about their life-altering crimes and the demons that haunt them. At no point, however, does Bergner ask us to pity these men and we don't. Bergner's run-ins with the prison warden are books in themselves bringing into the light what we fear most in these situations: even the good guys are bad. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction and is looking for a beautifully written and truly remarkable tale. I couldn't put it down!

This is a fascinating book. I thought it would focus on the rodeo that Angola holds each October, but that's just a starting point. The rodeo gets him there, but like all good writers, Bergner realizes that a larger, deeper story exists. He sets out to spend a year at the prison. But, as often happens to good writers, the story that he expects to find is not the one that he finds. The book goes into a completely different direction that he, or readers, ever expected. Once the twists take place, I felt pulled into the book. There are times when I wanted more information, such as the end when he relates what happened to the people he discussed. And there are times when I skimmed, feeling like there were more details than necessary. But, overall, the book is a winner.

It is truly a pity that people will actually read glop like this and come away thinking themselves to be well informed. Right from the impossible event portrayed on its cover to forward as far as the reader can stand, this book is a fraudulent, wrong-headed depiction of a very real hazard. Its readers, if they don't start out ignorant of science, will surely be rendered that way if they accept any part of this text. I cannot be more plain: don't bother buying it, borrowing it, or reading it. A hundred thumbs down on this epically bad work.

This is a classic waste of good white paper.