Prisoner of the State


Book Description

Prisoner of the Stateis the story of the man who brought liberal change to China and who, at the height of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, tried to stop the massacre and was dethroned for his efforts. When China's army moved in, killing hundreds of students and other demonstrators, Zhao was placed under house arrest at his home in Beijing. The Premier spent the last 16 years of his life, up until his death in 2005, in seclusion. China scholars often lamented that Zhao never had his final say. As it turns out, Zhao did produce a memoir, in complete secrecy. He methodically recorded his thoughts and recollections on what had happened behind the scenes during many of modern China's most critical moments. The tapes he produced were smuggled out of the country and form the basis for Prisoner of the State. Although Zhao now speaks from beyond the grave, his voice has the moral power to make China sit up and listen.




The Secret Prisoner


Book Description

The Secret Prisoner Book is a first hand insight into what prison is like in the UK. This truely is Prison in the UK Exposed! I was sentenced to 5 years and experienced first hand one of the worst prisons in the UK, Wandsworth Prison. I kept a prison diary throughout my journey, as a normal business family man, going through one of the worst times in my life in one of the worst prisons in the UK. TIme to lift the lid on what prison is really like in this true, prison uncovered, warts and all book. This book is as raw as it gets, ive self published so i apologise now if its a bit rugged in places and gramatically incorrect here and there, Ive literally taken it direct from my prison diaries and formatted it in a readable format for you to see first hand, what it is like to be placed in the middle of hell. I wanted to share, first hand, what it is like to be placed in the middle of hell. I heard all the horror stories of prison, the rapes, beatings, gangs, drugs, violence and it terrified me and no one could prepare you for what was to come or what stories were true or not. This is why I decided to keep a diary of all the events, feelings, politics and the good and bad things that go on inside prison. Prison is a big scary and dark place but as you will read in my book, there is light in the darkest of places and humanity does shine through in the last place you would expect. There's selfishness, charity, brutality, compassion and corruption.Feel through my eyes what, being in one of the worst prisons in the UK, HMP Wandsworth prison, and being in prison for the first time is really like! Then there's the other side of prison, the craftiness, ingenuity to survive and pass the time and suppress boredom, then there's the heartbreak, from the children that suffer due to their parent being imprisoned, partners that must face life alone now and family members who are without their loved ones. Ive tried to cover my first hand feelings exactly at that moment, all aspects of living in prison and what it is like for a normal family man whose business activities have landed him in this situation, to now be in a completely alien environment and trying to survive. Some snippets of the book to wet your whistle: "Ice cream shop for druggies" "The Pregablin Tazmanian Devil" "Alladins cave of Contraband" "like a scene from oliver" "He was blatently having phone sex" "Getting toilet roll is like finding rocking horse shit" "Pigeon shit, mice and rats" "Throwing Poo" "More Phones here than carphone warehouse" "He chiseled through his cell wall" "wedding tackle flopping" "She went down like a sack of shit" "Wanking wakes me up" "Hot Spot For Suicide" "Killed for fish fingers" "Moldy, Riddled in pubes and like a crime scene" "Im in prison for being a cannibal" "OAP Bare Knuckle Boxing" "Ive befriended a murderer" "The seagull shat everywhere" "Shipped out for KFC" "Inducting a Terrorist" "A Hitman at Ford" "Shanked for a pair of trainers" "Corona Virus" "Lockdown Prostitute" Prison is really an unreported world and i hope this gives you a real insight into what prison is really like for someone that is a total prison virgin, not accustomed to this life and what it would be like if you were to find yourself in this position. First we had the secret Barrister book, then the Chris Atkins Bit of A Stretch followed by The Secret Magistrate book, now we have the secret prisoner book.




Tazmamart


Book Description

A memoir from a political prisoner in Morocco's notorious Tazmamart prison. On July 10, 1971, during birthday celebrations for King Hassan II of Morocco, attendant officers and cadets opened fire on visiting dignitaries. A young officer, Aziz BineBine, arrived late and witnessed the ensuing massacre without firing a single shot, yet he would spend the next two decades in a political prison hidden in the Atlas Mountains—Tazmamart. Conditions in this now-infamous prison were nightmarish. The dark, underground cells, too small for standing up in, exposed prisoners to extreme weather, overflowing sewage, and disease-ridden rats. Forgetting life outside his cell—his past, his family, his friends—and clinging to God, BineBine resolved to survive. Tazmamart: 18 Years in Morocco’s Secret Prison is a memorial to BineBine and his fellow inmates’ sacrifice. This searing tale of endurance offers an unfiltered depiction of the agonizing life of a political prisoner.




Voices from S-21


Book Description

The horrific torture and execution of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge during the 1970s is one of the century's major human disasters. David Chandler, a world-renowned historian of Cambodia, examines the Khmer Rouge phenomenon by focusing on one of its key institutions, the secret prison outside Phnom Penh known by the code name "S-21." The facility was an interrogation center where more than 14,000 "enemies" were questioned, tortured, and made to confess to counterrevolutionary crimes. Fewer than a dozen prisoners left S-21 alive. During the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) era, the existence of S-21 was known only to those inside it and a few high-ranking Khmer Rouge officials. When invading Vietnamese troops discovered the prison in 1979, murdered bodies lay strewn about and instruments of torture were still in place. An extensive archive containing photographs of victims, cadre notebooks, and DK publications was also found. Chandler utilizes evidence from the S-21 archive as well as materials that have surfaced elsewhere in Phnom Penh. He also interviews survivors of S-21 and former workers from the prison. Documenting the violence and terror that took place within S-21 is only part of Chandler's story. Equally important is his attempt to understand what happened there in terms that might be useful to survivors, historians, and the rest of us. Chandler discusses the "culture of obedience" and its attendant dehumanization, citing parallels between the Khmer Rouge executions and the Moscow Show Trails of the 1930s, Nazi genocide, Indonesian massacres in 1965-66, the Argentine military's use of torture in the 1970s, and the recent mass killings in Bosnia and Rwanda. In each of these instances, Chandler shows how turning victims into "others" in a manner that was systematically devaluing and racialist made it easier to mistreat and kill them. More than a chronicle of Khmer Rouge barbarism, Voices from S-21 is also a judicious examination of the psychological dimensions of state-sponsored terrorism that conditions human beings to commit acts of unspeakable brutality. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 2000. The horrific torture and execution of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge during the 1970s is one of the century's major human disasters. David Chandler, a world-renowned historian of Cambodia, examines the Khmer Rouge phenomenon




Foo, a Japanese-American Prisoner of the Rising Sun


Book Description

During his time as a POW, Frank "Foo" Fujita kept a diary of daily happenings, embellished with drawings of life in the camp. He secreted the diary in the walls of his barracks, as the practice was forbidden. That diary forms the basis of these memoirs. Fujita's memoirs are also unique in that he was one of the fewer than nine hundred Americans taken prisoner on the island of Java. The bulk of American POWs in Japanese hands surrendered in the Philippines, and most of the published POW memoirs reflect their experience. Fujita's account of the defense of Java and of the fate of the "Lost Battalion" of Texas artillerymen serves to distinguish this memoir from others. At one point while a POW in Japan, Fujita was forced to be part of the Japanese radio group broadcasting propaganda. After the war, he testified at some of the war crime trials in San Francisco, and the diary on which this book is based was used as evidence in those trials.




A Bit of a Stretch


Book Description

'Shocking, scathing, entertaining.' Guardian 'Incredibly compelling.' The Times 'Heart-breaking.' Sunday Times Where can a tin of tuna buy you clean clothes? Where is it easier to get 'spice' than paracetamol? Where does self-harm barely raise an eyebrow? Welcome to Her Majesty's Prison Service. Like most people, documentary-maker Chris Atkins didn't spend much time thinking about prisons. But after becoming embroiled in a dodgy scheme to fund his latest film, he was sent down for five years. His new home would be HMP Wandsworth, one of the largest and most dysfunctional prisons in Europe. With a cast of characters ranging from wily drug dealers to senior officials bent on endless reform, this powerful memoir uncovers the horrifying reality behind the locked gates. Filled with dark humour and shocking stories, A Bit of a Stretch reveals why our creaking prison system is sorely costing us all - and why you should care.




Prison Secrets: The Untold Truths about One of Americas Notorious Murderers


Book Description

This book uncovers the untold prison secrets on one of America's most notorious murderers. Once recognized as a ruthless killer and remorseless criminal, Lyle Menendez remains housed in a maximum security correctional facility with other notorious murderers and gang members. In this level 4 maximum security prison, even one of America's most notorious murderers could be victimized. This novel will unlock the doors to all the prison secrets; weapons manufacturing, drug smuggling, prison rapes, gang politics, officer corruption and much, much more. This book is used by state and federal officials for training purposes.




The Secret Prison Governor


Book Description

Unedited, uncensored and unbelievable: this book shows the harsh reality of life behind bars from a real prison governor who spares no details. How do you bring order to the lawless? The Secret Prison Governor has spent decades surrounded by every type of prisoner known to man, from petty thieves and street-level drug dealers to crime bosses and dangerous serial killers. Since starting as a rookie, he has experienced the reality of the UK’s harsh prison system and the hard challenge of ruling those within it. In his own words, the Secret Prison Governor spares no detail of prison life, whether that’s breaking up shiv fights, crushing vast underworld networks, negotiating with hostage-takers or dealing with full-scale cellblock gang wars. This is the truth of what life is like behind bars.




The Secrets of My Life


Book Description

Peter M. F. Sichel, a fourth-generation wine merchant, found the path he was destined to walk interrupted by the Nazis while growing up as a Jew in Germany. He moved to France in 1939 but was imprisoned as an enemy alien at the outbreak of World War II. When he was released, he hid in the Pyrenees before reaching the United States in 1941. After joining the Army, he served with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, sending spies into Germany, before becoming a senior official with the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served in key positions in Berlin, Hong Kong, and Washington. In this memoir--which needed to be cleared by the CIA--he describes how the Nazis took over Germany, the odd attitude of German Jews to being Jewish, the fault lines in U.S. intelligence during the Cold War, and the life lessons he learned in the wine business. “Peter Sichel was a true insider during the heyday of the CIA during the late 1940s and 1950s. From Berlin to Hong Kong, he served in a global secret war that was, by turns, gallant, necessary, dangerous, and wrongheaded. ... His memoir is clear-eyed, charming, and fascinating.” --Evan Thomas, author of The Very Best Men: The Daring Early Years of the CIA “Peter Sichel is an iconic figure in the history of wine. With his European upbringing and early years in the CIA, his story is both fascinating and compelling. His success with Blue Nun is nothing short of classic marketing.” --Marvin R. Shanken, Editor & Publisher, Wine Spectator




Prisoner of Ice and Snow


Book Description

Valor is under arrest for the attempted murder of the crown prince. Her parents are outcasts from the royal court, her sister is banished for theft of a national treasure, and now Valor has been sentenced to life imprisonment at Demidova, a prison built from stone and ice. But that's exactly where she wants to be. For her sister was sent there too, and Valor embarks on an epic plan to break her out from the inside. No one has escaped from Demidova in over three hundred years, and if Valor is to succeed she will need all of her strength, courage and love. If the plan fails, she faces a chilling fate worse than any prison ... An unforgettable story of sisterhood, valour and rebellion, Prisoner of Ice and Snow will fire you up and melt your heart all at once. Perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell, Piers Torday and Cathryn Constable.