False Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Other Prisons

Like the previous two reviewers, I salute Malcolm Braly for his superb writing. I read this book more than 25 years ago, when I, too, was teaching courses on criminal justice, and included the book as "recommended reading." It was very well-received by students. I haven't taught since 1992 (I am a recovering--oops, retired--lawyer) but I wonder if today's criminal justice professionals aren't more cynical and more committed to a "throw away the key" approach. Braly was essential a small-time criminal who had trouble keeping out of trouble. Under modern "three strikes" laws, he'd never have gotten out. Abandoned by his parents, yet almost painfully understanding of their choices, he had to take what solace he could find, and the bad choices he made (unlike his parents' bad choices) hurt primarily himself. It's hard to say how Malcolm Braly ultimately managed to break free of destructive behavior. He had few resources and little support from other people. Somehow he drew strength of character from within. I'd like to see today's prisoners read this book, at least those with the intellectual ability to do so, and to understand it, which probably means that many within the incarcerated population could not.Most people --"civilians" as well as prisoners-- lack Braly's exquisite sensibility to feelings, his own and those of others. Yet human beings can learn, change, and grow, as Braly did. I highly recommend False Starts to everyone, not just to law enforcement or legal professionals.

Many years ago I used this book as corrolary reading in a criminal justice course that I was teaching. Among my students were jailers, probation officers, a sheriff, a San Quentin correctional officer (sometimes referred to as a "prison guard")and others in the field of criminal justice. Although I had scheduled the book to be read during the course of the entire semester, virtually all of my students finished it on their own in the first couple of weeks. They found this to be a compelling and engrossing account of Braly's failed attempts to stay out of prison during most of his adult life, until he finally succeeded at leaving prison permanently behind at age 40. Braly described this book as his effort to understand why he seemingly sabotaged those attempts up to that point. The quality of his writing is superb, engrossing and compelling. No one reading this book will be surprised that, after finally succeeding in staying out of prison, he became an accomplished author and university professor of English. This is an excellent book, one that I have passed on to others as a gift.

This is an autobiography of the 18+ years Braly spent in various penal institutions. He is a brave man to recount in detail many things that happened to him, things that most would not admit. His style is poetic but not romantic. A must read for everyone curious about real prison life.