How Long to Read Sing Sing

How Long Does it Take to Read Sing Sing?

It takes the average reader 4 hours and 26 minutes to read Sing Sing by Denis Brian

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

...an excellent history for anyone interested in the history of prisons and prison reform in America.- Publishers WeeklyAmerica's most notorious prison is also America's most mysterious. Denis Brian's book figuratively opens the gates of Sing Sing and permits readers to learn the tales locked inside the confines of this famous prison and meet the remarkable array of inhabitants, keepers, and luminaries connected with its two-century history.- James McGrath Morris, author of The Rose Man of Sing Sing and Jailhouse JournalismProvides a penetrating, unforgettable look into the horrors as well as the acts of kindness and generosity that make the true story of Sing Sing so compelling.- Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man WalkingIt is impossible to read this book and still be in favor of capital punishment.- Frederik Osborne, Grandson of Sing Sing Warden Thomas Mott Osborne, and President of the Osborne Association, which works to improve the criminal justice system.On May 14, 1825, one hundred mute, dispirited convict-laborers disembarked from steamers at Mount Pleasant, New York. They had been transported in chains nearly three hundred miles from Auburn Prison in upstate New York for the purpose of constructing a new maximum-security prison near a village on the Hudson. Wielding pick axes and shovels, they worked under brutal supervision for five years, building the grim structure out of the rock underfoot, rusty scrap iron, and granite from a local quarry. Overseeing their slave labor was the sadistic Elam Lynds, formerly the warden in Auburn and soon to be the first master of Sing Sing prison.So begins Denis Brian's gripping history of one of America's most notorious prisons. For most of the 19th century Sing Sing was a bastion of inhumane treatment, where guards made every effort to break the spirit of inmates by a fanatic rule of silence enforced by shockingly brutal punishments and tortures-floggings with metal-tipped whips, the Chinese water cure, the Cage, the Crucifix, the Ball and Chain, and more. In 1891, Sing Sing witnessed its first electrocution, which was reportedly a terrible fiasco. This was followed by 613 additional electrocutions of both men and women. In addition, we learn that electricity genius Thomas Edison was a great proponent of this method.Based on extensive research with original sources, Brian's narrative covers every period of the prison's checkered history, from the awful conditions of the 19th century to the relative improvements of the 20th century to today. In 1920, a dramatic turnaround occurred, when one of criminology's most progressive wardens, Lewis Lawes, took over. In command for twenty-one years, Lawes-who believed in reforming prisoners, not just punishing them-brought almost miraculous changes for the better.During the 20th century Sing Sing held such infamous prisoners as members of Murder Incorporated, the Lonely Hearts Killers, Albert the cannibal Fish, Lucky Luciano, Louis Lepke, and Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Brian recounts their stories and throws in cameos of such diverse visiting luminaries as Harry Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle, Johnny Cash, John Cheever, and Mother Teresa. Sing Sing has witnessed it all: from daring, ingenious escapes and the first blood donations by prisoners to inmates volunteering to be injected with syphilis in the interest of medical science.Brian's story ends with a glimpse of Sing Sing in the recent past and today, based on his interviews with the present warden, Brian Fischer; prison guards; a prison psychiatrist; and the daughter of Sing Sing's last executioner.A must for fans of true crime, criminology, and urban American history, Brian's powerfully told story is both a dramatic page-turner and a definitive history.Denis Brian is the widely acclaimed author of Einstein: A Life, Genius Talk, and The True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him, among other works.

How long is Sing Sing?

Sing Sing by Denis Brian is 263 pages long, and a total of 66,539 words.

This makes it 89% the length of the average book. It also has 81% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Sing Sing Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 6 hours and 3 minutes to read Sing Sing aloud.

What Reading Level is Sing Sing?

Sing Sing is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Sing Sing?

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