New Jack: Guarding Sing Sing

      My book, New Jack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover, is about a former New York Times Magazine journalist (Conover) venturing into one of the most dangerous maximum security prisons. Conover seeks to discover the truth behind the prison guard stereotype of brutality and mercilessness. Also, his goal is to understand the daily lives of prison guards in the country, along with writing a good story. However, he finds that in order to get a "true-to-life" account on what prison guards experience, he finds himself enrolling into a correctional officer (CO) academy to be a prison guard at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York.
       So far, Conover is beginning his first days of intensive training at the academy. He is introduced to an array of students and authorities. A notable authority, Sergeant Rusty Bloom, is the head officer of the academy. During his imperative introductory orientation, he describes to the new students the hardships of being a prison guard simply stating that "It is not any easy job". Conover quickly learns this to be true after going on a field trip to Coxsackie Correctional Facility. He and the other students are told gruesome stories of various inmate attacks on guards at the prison, and he experiences constant verbal abuse from the caged inmates while touring the facility.
       The book is a very interesting and engrossing read. It's really thought provoking to learn about the mental stability and hardships that one must endure while working in this rough environment.  It's admirable that Conover would sacrifice his well being at Sing Sing for the sake of the story, and is challenged with "overcoming my [his] fears".