Alcatraz - A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years is a comprehensive reference that breaks away from traditional tourist-style books. This audiobook is the result of years of intensive research. Historian Michael Esslinger thoroughly details the prominent events, inmates, and life inside the most infamous prison in American history. His research includes hundreds of hours examining actual Alcatraz inmate files.

Alcatraz inmate #1186 was Charles Edward Hopkins, and Mr. Hopkins was no ordinary inmate. Not only did he serve time with the Anglin brothers who made the only successful escape from Alcatraz, but he was well-acquainted with notorious crime boss "Bumpy" Johnson, the legendary Italian mafia boss Vito Genevese, and many other infamous Alcatraz inmates. Never before has Charlie's full story been captured and shared with the public. Now at 87 years old, Mr. Hopkins is estimated to be one of the last five or six remaining inmates that served hard time in Alcatraz before its closing.

Under the cover of night on June 11, 1962, using only crude homemade tools, Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin tunneled their way out of Alcatraz, America's most secure maximum security prison. Enacting a complex escape plan, the trio broke free from the cellblock, made it undetected past patrolling guards, inflated homemade life vests and a raft, and set sail into a foggy history.

In July 1983, James Morgan Kane returned home in the evening to find a corpse in his living room. Fearing that he would be held responsible, and sensing that his wife was involved, he wanted to do all he could to protect his young family. Jamie worked through the night to dispose of the body. But his luck ran out days later, as he was arrested and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Jamie entered the American prison system and was to stay there for 34 years with stints in San Quentin, Folsom State Prison and the notorious Deuel Vocational Institution in California.

With over 20 years of research, Esslinger, author of Alcatraz: Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years, has salvaged and compiled an extraordinary collection of inmates' letters, many never before published. Letters From Alcatraz includes a foreword by former Alcatraz Officer Larry Quilligan and over 125 letters and original correspondence from inmates both on-and-off the Rock.