Newjack

Guarding Sing Sing

By: Ted Conover

Narrated by: Ted Conover

National Book Critics Circle, Nonfiction, 2001

Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing is the story of Conover's rookie year as a guard at Sing Sing. It is a nerve-jangling account of his passage into the storied prison and the culture of its guards - both fresh-faced "newjacks" like Conover and brutally hardened veterans. As he struggles to be a good officer, Conover angers inmates, dodges blows, works to balance decency with toughness, and participates in prison rituals - strip frisks, cell searches, cell "extractions" - that exact a toll on inmates and officers alike.

The tale begins with the corrections academy and ends with the flames and smoke of New Year's Eve on Conover's floor of the notorious B-Block. Along the way, Conover also recounts the history of Sing Sing, from draconian early punishment, to fame as the citadel of capital punishment, to its present status as New York State's "bottom of the barrel" prison.

This book will become a landmark of American journalism - the definitive presentation of the impasse between the need to imprison criminals and the dehumanization of inmates and guards - that almost inevitably takes place behind bars.

©2001 Ted Conover (P)2005 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Newjack is an astonishing work by a gifted - and dedicated - journalist. Ted Conover takes us into the dangerous, sad, amusing and instructive soul of one of America's best known prisons." ( Tom Brokaw)

Orange is the Newjack

What did you like best about Newjack? What did you like least?

Newjack was an eye opener to many things I didn't know about the prison system. It highlighted many of the stresses of being a guard but also had retained some sense of empathy towards the prisoners.

What did you like best about this story?

Very well-written.

Great book

Going through the process of becoming a correction officer, and I must say this is a great book coming from both sides of the spectrum.

5 star awesomeness from top to bottom!!!

So good it could honestly be described as "CAPTIVATING"!!! (Sorry sorry sorry ;)

The author reads his own fantastic prose, which adds even more "oomph" to an already fantastic piece of journalism!!!!!

Truly among the best on audible!!!

Intimate view into prison life

I was expecting this book to contain a bit more violence than it did. I would appear that confinement and boredom is one of the biggest punishments served up.

Worth Every Penny!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Newjack to be better than the print version?

This was my first audio book ever and it was so good that I'm having a hard time trying to find something that grabbed and held my attention like New Jack did.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Newjack?

Just the fact that Ted Conover was willing to undergo the grueling training, hard work and over time, not to mention the treatment he endured from both inmates and staff ALL in the name of journalism. Just so that he could actually report the FACTS of Americas prison system, or lack thereof, amazed me.

What does the narrator bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This was his story to tell. He lived it and his experience really shines through by having him tell it himself.