Men Into Beasts by George Sylvester Viereck
Savage prisonry. George Sylvester Viereck spent five years in prison and offers a straightforward and detailed account of what he encountered there. He was a Nazi sympathizer indicted for a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (an anti-propaganda bill) in 1941, and was imprisoned from 1942 to 1947. Viereck carefully avoids mentioning any details of his political leanings.
The book offers a somewhat naive perspective on prison life, but this perspective is more realistic than that of the typical braggadocio-filled lifer.
Viereck, a fairly well-known poet in his day, and a friend of Nikolai Tesla, is the father of Peter Viereck, an accomplished (Pulitzer prize-winning) poet in his own right.
My Gold Medal paperback, a first printing from September of 1952, is falling apart. I’m glad it held together long enough for me to read it. Prison is best viewed through the pages of a book. Grade: B-.
Brian Reads 