Inside Alcatraz ─ My Time on the Rock

One man's searing account of life inside the world's most notorious prison, from desperation to redemption

Each day we saw the outside world in all its splendour, and each day that view served as a reminder that we had wasted and ruined our lives.

Jim Quillen, AZ586—a runaway, problem child, and petty thief—was jailed several times before his 20th birthday. In August 1942, after escaping from San Quentin, he was arrested on the run and sentenced to 45 years in prison, and later transferred to Alcatraz. This is the true story of life inside America's most notorious prison—from terrifying times in solitary confinement to daily encounters with "the Birdman," and what really happened during the desperate and deadly 1946 escape attempt.

Jim Quillen (1919-1998) had a difficult childhood; by the time he was an adolescent, he was regularly getting into serious trouble. At 22—chained at the wrists and sentenced to 45 years behind bars—he saw the inside of Alcatraz Island for the first time. Many years later Quillen returned to the island, which by that time was part of the National Park Srevice system. For several years he was one of the island's most popular volunteers—retelling his story as part of the audio tour, and sharing his past with visitors fascinated with his life experiences.