*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of Alcatraz written by prisoners *Profiles the most famous escape attempts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “You were a number, you weren’t a name; I wasn’t Jim Quillen. Hell, I was Number 586 and nobody wanted that.” – Jim Quillen “It’s mighty good to get up and leave. This Rock ain’t good for nobody.” - Frank Weatherman, the last prisoner to leave in 1963 Alcatraz Island has been home to a lighthouse, a military fort, a national park, and gatherings of Native American protesters, but say the name Alcatraz to any American and they will immediately associate it with prison. This is somewhat ironic since the island, just a mile and a half away from San Francisco in the Bay, was a federal prison for only three decades, but in that time, “The Rock” became notorious for being the most secure prison in the nation. In addition to harboring the legendary likes of murderous names such as Robert Stroud and “Whitey” Bulger, to public enemies Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, “Machine Gun Kelly,” and mob boss Al Capone himself, this was a last resort for inmates who plain refused to abide by prison rules. It would seem even the private cells and gourmet meals of baked meat croquettes, puree mongole, and bacon jambalaya were not enough to wheedle some inmates to submission.