Hard Time: Life with Sheriff Joe Arpaio in America's Toughest Jail - True Crime Story & Prison Experience for Book Clubs and History Buffs

Shaun Attwood is a compelling writer. Prior to his imprisonment Attwood's party and drug-dealer lifestyle could have made him the poster boy for "Generation Narcissist". Having read the prequel to this book "Party Time", Attwood downplays his criminal activity in "Hard Time". One of Attwood's major beefs in "Hard Time" is that the police do not have proof of his crimes, not necessarily that he didn't commit them. My other problem with Attwood is that he also takes the stories that his fellow inmates tell at face value, and unfortunately having had my own experience with addicts and criminals, they tend to be consummate liars and spin their stories to make themselves appear to be the victims of an unjust system. However, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has always struck me as a self-promoting publicity whore, and I find his treatment of prisoners reprehensible and inhumane. Yet there is a reason that most people are in jail. Like many of Attwood's fellow inmates, I suspect Attwood was not particularly sorry for his crimes until he got caught. He is particularly adept at describing the horror that rained down upon his family due to his nefarious and selfish activities. Fair or not, drug addiction harms a lot of people who have absolutely nothing to do with drugs.As much as Attwood annoyed me with his occasional naïve attitude and his white-washing of the seriousness of his offences, "Hard Time" is a heck of a good read. The characterizations of his fellow inmates are absolutely fascinating. Attwood's description of the unspoken social structure of the sub-cultures within the jail was enlightening. Much like "Party Time", I could not put the book down. One suspects that Attwood would make the most out of whatever situation he was in and he figures out the frightening world of the jail quite quickly. He discovers and astonishingly racist sub-culture the prisoners employ to control what little power they have within the jail. The filth and unsanitary conditions within Arpaio's jail were not that surprising, given Arpaio's well-publicized pride in allowing such horrible, humiliating conditions to proliferate, and his electorate's tacit approval of such inhumane treatment. It is sadistic and needs to be reformed. This is quite an interesting book and Mr. Attwood is an excellent writer. I look forward to his next book.