How better to research prison life than to become a Corrections Officer for a year? Well, there are probably more pleasant ways, but this book's author worked a year in Sing Sing prison. This is a high-security prison for more-dangerous-than-average convicts. Since most folks don't want to work there and since prison-guarding duties are chosen based on seniority, this extra-scary prison is also where lots of new guards learn the trade. And it's a strange trade; a non-trivial fraction of the folks you work with from day-to-day have killed people. People skills are very important. And it's extra-tough if you're new, or newly-rotated in to an area: you might not have much time to figure out who's who. This book talks about guard training, day-to-day existence on the job, the stigma, talking with prisoners, the history of Sing Sing, … It all goes together to make a pretty interesting book. Check it out.