Alcatraz

A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years

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Alcatraz

Written by: Michael Esslinger

Narrated by: Eric Medler

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$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends July 15, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

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Alcatraz - A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years is a comprehensive reference that breaks away from traditional tourist-style books. This audiobook is the result of years of intensive research. Historian Michael Esslinger thoroughly details the prominent events, inmates, and life inside the most infamous prison in American history. His research includes hundreds of hours examining actual Alcatraz inmate files (including rare original documents from Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and over a hundred others), exploring the prison grounds from the rooftop to the waterfront to help retrace events and escape routes, and conducting interviews with various former inmates and guards. His study has resulted in detailed accounts of both the 1946 and 1962 escape attempts. Hear detailed narratives of Alcatraz's most notable inmates, who included Robert Stroud (Birdman of Alcatraz), Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Frank Morris, the Anglin Brothers, Doc Barker, Joe Cretzer, Bernard Coy, Miran Thompson, Sam Shockley, and many-many others.

Michael EsslingerEric MedlerOcean View Publishing

Americas

True Crime

United States

American History

Americas True Crime United States American History

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I really liked enjoyed the book. The author does a nice job of giving a good historical overview of the island itself and it's inhabitants over the years. I really like the way he gives each persons background before diving into their stories and history on Alcatraz. The attempted escape stories are really well researched and written.
Eric Medler is a very good choice to read the book. He does some great accents and is easy to distinguish when talking about multi-person scenarios.
I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about Alcatraz or knows a bit about it and wants to learn even more.

A good comprehensive walk through

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