Inside: Life Behind Bars in America

Michael G. Santos

Apr 2007 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

American jails and prisons confine nearly 13.5 million people each year, and it is estimated that 6 to 7 percent of the U.S. population will be confined in their lifetimes. Despite these disturbing numbers, little is known about life inside beyond the mythology of popular culture.

Michael G. Santos, a federal prisoner nearing the end of his second decade of continuous confinement, has dedicated the last eighteen years to shedding light on the lives of the men warehoused in the American prison system. Inside: Life Behind Bars in America, his first book for the general public, takes us behind those bars and into the chaos of the cellblock.

Capturing the voices of his fellow prisoners with perfect pitch, Santos makes the tragic--- and at times inspiring---stories of men from the toughest gang leaders to the richest Wall Street criminals come alive. From drug schemes, murders for hire, and even a prostitution ring that trades on the flesh of female prison guards, this book contains the never-before-seen details of prison life that at last illuminate the varied ways in which men experience life behind bars in America.

Ratings and reviews

I love this book great eye opener for the public! Must read if you want to learn what a glance into prison life is like from a inmate's eyes! The stories will have ur mas to the floor ! Love it !

darkly interesting!!! Give an edgy feel to the reader about terrible things both inmates and staff do

What a great read!!!!!

About the author

Michael G. Santos was convicted in 1987, at the age of twenty-three, of crimes relating to his participation in a drug-trafficking scheme and sentenced to forty-five years in prison. He has earned a bachelor of arts, a master of arts, and was pursuing a Ph.D. until the Bureau of Prisons rules blocked his progress. He contributes to an extensive website as a resource for the families of people behind bars. He currently resides in the Federal Prison Camp in Lompoc, California, and based on his impeccable disciplinary record, looks forward to his release in 2013.