Life in Prison

by Stanley Tookie Williams

Book Overview

"The true stories I've written in this book are my living nightmares. My greatest hope is that the lessons the stories offer will help you make better choices than I did." Stanley "Tookie" Williams, cofounder of the notorious Crips gang, is a death-row inmate. But in his two decades of incarceration, Williams has also become a respected author and activist whose dedication to ending gang warfare in the lives of inner-city children has earned him a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1587170949
• ISBN13: 9781587170942
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

Book is only 80 pages and written on a 6th grade level

I thought I was buying a book written for adults. I was wrong.

Great short read

I read this book in only a couple of hours. Simple read but great information from a real source. Urban youth definitely should be aware of this book. It teaches some lessons on a relatable level.

It Could Save Your Life

By Brandon Council Life in Prison was an excellent book because Stanley lets you know how it is in prison. I recommend students and juveniles all over the world to read it. It lets you know what you have to go through in prison if you get beat up or sick. I think if people read this book and go by what it says, it might stop people that are in gangs and are on the street selling drugs or doing wrong. I also think that if people read it they won't commit crimes that lead to life in prison. So if you read this book it might just save your life.

Life in Prison

Brandon Bynum The book Life In Prison was about Tookie Williams experience in prison. He said that when you are in prison you feel like you are a dog locked up in a small cage. He said that you only get about 15minutes on the phone and then it automatically cuts off weather you are done or not. The food is nasty and you don't get paid much. This book made me feel weird? Because there are some people are on death row for a crime that they may have not committed but some of them are lucky if their lawyer finds them not guilty. It doesn't matter how much they pay you they kept you in prison 18 to 30 some year for a crime you didn't commit that's taking 30 or 18 some year from you and your family. So I disagree with the death penalty because some of the people on death row could have been framed for a crime they didn't commit. Life in prison seems like a more logical explanation because in that time period they could have been found not guilty for there crime. So I would recommend this book for people who would like to read about Stanley Tookie Williams's experience. I think it was a spectacular book.

Life in Prison

Roy Mitchell Tookie Williams wrote this book to help chidlren stop the gang violence. He decribed life in prison so that he would help the children. In April, 19o81 he was sent to death row at San Quentin for killing four people during two robberies. I like Tookie Williams and what he wrote. I liekd reading about the things he went through. He couldn't wear jeans, couldn't get near family, and he had to go in "the hole" for seven years. I didn't know people were killed in prison. I liked the book because it is a true story. I would recommend this to pleple so it would help people who are in gangs.

All myths about prison life is ended in this book.

In this book, Life In Prison, Stanley "Tookie" Williams cofounder of the crips gang and Death Row inmate for sixteen years, offers a testimony that ends all myths about prison life in this book. In straightforward, honest prose, Williams out about what it's really like in prison-- and challenges all young people to choose the right path.Told in first person, this realistic picture of prison life is meant by the author to serve as a cautionary message for youngsters who may be misled into thinking, like he did, that prisons are so called 'gladiator', a cool and manly place to be. He does a magnificent job in describing his caged feelings, the danger, humiliations, and crime of being held in prison. Stanley Williams, convicted of four murders, does not deserve to be compared to Nelson Mandela, in my opinion for being arrested for almost no reason. While Williams says he's sorry for dropping out of school, and so on.. he never once said sorry about killing four people.I feel that Life In Prison is an outstanding bibliography of the life of Stanley Williams. I also think this book's theme is that you should watch who you hang around, and always think about what you're doing and where it could lead you to in the near future. Read Life In Prison to find out what happens on the other side of the prison wallsnd how inmates are really treated, or if you just want to learn more about The United States Justice System, Juvenile System, Law and Crime, 9-12 Sociology then this is the book for you.The strengths which this book possesses is that it's very descriptive and really tells how he feels in a formal way. The one thing that I have against this book is that it only tells one side of the story. the author, Stanley Williams, also needs to further consider the age recommendations for this book. I think that it should be 12 and up.So ask for this book and look for it in your local library. I still want to know how it is to live in prison for the rest of your life, don't you?Tyler Cook, Grade 6 newburg Middle School