In the Name of the Father: The Story of Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four: Tie-In

I have read this book many thrice now and it never fails to amaze me. I don't know how the British government can repay Conlon and his friends. 2 decades is no joke. They will never get the best years of their lives back again.

This is a shocking, blood true story. I read it again and again after the first time I finished reading it. Gerry Conlon was a petty thief who paid his attention on horse-racing results, hanging out at pubs with his mates, and betting. Basically a carefree lad in his own early twenties. But suddenly, he was accused of being an IRA member who had bombed a bar in Guildford. And it was not only him, but as well as his friends, acqaintances, relatives and even his old, unhealthy father. They were all brought to court and found guilty. Gerry Conlon was sentenced to 30 years inprisonment, and his father, Guiseppe Colon, miseralbly died in jail and had been seriously ill before he died. The Guildford Four - Paul Hill, Carole Richardson, Paddy Armstrong and Gerry Conlon's youth had been taken away with one of the most scandalous, unbelievably ridiculous miscarriage of justice that had ever happened. While the police questioned these people they seemed able to do whatever they wanted to them - including physical abuse. The following paragraph is a quote from 'In The Name Of The Father': (Page 93) '...She (Kate Maguire, Gerry Conlon's aunt) had her period at the time but they gave her nothing. She had to wash her panties in the toilet bowl, she had bare feet the whole time...Kate took her detention and interrogation very hard. When they let her go home at the end of the week without any charge - or apology, she was in a very bad way. Ever since her seven days in police custody, my aunt has not been able to eat any solid food and has existed on a diet of Complan and milk, even fifteen years later. She attempted suicide after her release because of the treatment she'd had. She used to be a very bubbly, cheerful woman. Now she is terrified of the police.' By reading the truth of these innocent people being wrongfully accused you will see how inhuman the police can be, how they can torture a person savagely, how awful prison life is. I think it does need a change. At last, Gerry Conlon and the rest of the Guildford Four were proved innocent. Let us hope that there shall be no more innocent people being charged with something they have never committed. I strongly recommend you to get a copy of this book. It is a must read.

I bought this book because I'd seen the film 'In The Name Of The Father' stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson. But after I read the book I realised that the whole story had been changed a lot in the film version. This is a very well-written book and it has become my favourite book ever. It is a very true story and I think Gerry Conlon (the author) wrote what had happened to himself with great genuineness. I personally think that it takes very much courage to write your own true, bad experiences and publish them. This book has uncovered the savage, brutal treatment of the police, how inhumanely, cruelly they can treat/beat a suspect when they question him. It has also tell people that how miscarriages of justice can be ridiculously happened, how the innocent people can be charged for something they had never done and spent decades in gaol. If you have read this book you should remember that how the RUC hit and kicked Conlon. They even punched his kidneys and this is what had caused Conlon kidney problems for the rest of his life. However, I wonder what would it be if what happened had never happened. Before being wrongfully accused, Conlon had been simply a wee thief who spent his free time on drinking, gambling, drifting etc. He could have gone on like this forever. He would not have been sentenced 15 years inprisonment, he would not have written the book 'Proved Innocent' (Retitled 'In The Name Of The Father'), his father probably would not have died so early and tragicly and he probably would not have have problems of his kidneys. I am also impressed that Conlon could remember so many things happened within his thirty-five-year life so vividly. I believe he has told the truth, and this book is definitely worth reading.

One of my most treasured possessions is Gerry Conlon's In the Name of the Father, a vivid, brutal, passionate, honest, and outstanding account of Irishman Conlon's unjust trial and subsequent conviction of terrorism. Most of these political sob stories feature mundane description and unabashed sentimentality. Conlon never falls into these traps. The writing always rings true, and he presents his real-life characters so vividly that you feel as if you've just tallked with them. The neglect of this book is as unjust a crime as Conlon's incarceration. Conlon writes with the compassion for human suffering of Dostoevsky, the fiery wit and consciousness of Orwell, and the humanity and emotion of Harper Lee. This is one of the great books; if I were trapped on a desert island with no company, this is the book I'd take along.