Mobster Al "Scarface" Capone; "Machine Gun" Kelly; Robert Stroud, a.k.a. the Birdman: only the most violent, desperate criminals went to Alcatraz Island, called "The Rock". This federal prison's conditions were so harsh that escape, riot, even death, were an inmate's only hope.

This gripping true-crime classic, originally written in 1963 and newly reissued, tells the story of life on The Rock and of fourteen ingenious escape attempts by the prisoners. The chapters describing the attempts of Frank Morris became the basis for the 1979 Clint Eastwood film, Escape from Alcatraz. Author J. Campbell Bruce chronicles in spellbinding detail the absorbing saga of Alcatraz, where America's most violent and notorious prisoners resided in tortuous proximity to one of the world's favorite cities.