The Governor My Life Inside Britain S Most Notorious Prisons

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER As seen on This Morning Back in the day, I was Governor of Security and Operations for HMP Wormwood Scrubs. If you’re easily shocked or offended, you best look away now...

‘Extraordinary’ Daily Mail As seen on BBC Breakfast Horrifying, heartbreaking and eye-opening, these are the stories, the patients and the cases that have characterised a career spent being a doctor behind bars.

This Sunday Times bestseller is a shocking and at times darkly funny account of life as a prison officer in HMP Manchester. 'Authentic, tough, horrifying in some places and hilarious in others . . . the author’s honesty and decency shine through' – Jonathan Aitken ______________ Neil ‘Sam’ Samworth spent eleven years working as a prison officer in HMP Manchester, aka Strangeways. A tough Yorkshireman with a soft heart, Sam had to deal with it all – gangsters and gangbangers, terrorists and psychopaths, addicts and the mentally ill. Men who should not be locked up and men who should never be let out. He tackles cell fires and self-harmers, and goes head to head with some of the most dangerous men in the country. He describes being attacked by prisoners, and reveals the problems caused by radicalization and the drugs flooding our prisons. As staffing cuts saw Britain’s prison system descend into crisis, the stress of the job – the suicides, the inhumanity of the system, and one assault too many – left Sam suffering from PTSD. Strangeways by Neil Samworth is a raw, searingly honest memoir that is a testament to the men and women of the prison service and the incredibly difficult job we ask them to do. ______________ 'A frequently shocking read' – Daily Express

Unedited, uncensored and unbelievable: this book shows the harsh reality of life behind bars from a real prison governor who spares no details. How do you bring order to the lawless? The Secret Prison Governor has spent decades surrounded by every type of prisoner known to man, from petty thieves and street-level drug dealers to crime bosses and dangerous serial killers. Since starting as a rookie, he has experienced the reality of the UK’s harsh prison system and the hard challenge of ruling those within it. In his own words, the Secret Prison Governor spares no detail of prison life, whether that’s breaking up shiv fights, crushing vast underworld networks, negotiating with hostage-takers or dealing with full-scale cellblock gang wars. This is the truth of what life is like behind bars.

‘The next stage meant that there was no going back. An Irish prisoner stepped forward and slipped a blade into my hand. I felt the ice cold metal and pressed it against the governor’s cheek. I thought to myself: would they ever release me after this?’ Bobby Cummines was only 28 when he passed through the grim gates of Parkhurst, Britain’s Alcatraz, as a category-A prisoner with a host of crimes to his name. Joining the most notorious gangsters and criminals of the day – from the Krays, the Yorkshire Ripper and Charles Bronson, to high ranking members of the IRA – nothing could have prepared him for the brutal regime, violent convicts, vindictive screws and riots on the inside. It’s the story of Britain’s most hellish prison, from one of its hardest inmates.

In his talks to communities throughout the length and breath of Ireland, John Lonergan finds himself coming back to one theme: the importance of kindness. It is an unexpected theme for the former boss of Ireland's biggest and toughest prison, Mountjoy, but then John Lonergan is an unusual man. John entered the prison service in 1968 and in the years that followed, as he saw human nature at its worst - and often, unexpectedly, at its best - he developed a deep understanding both of human nature and of Irish society. Now, after 42 years in the service, 26 of them as the most senior prison officer in the country, John tells his fascinating life story - from his idyllic childhood in rural Tipperary, to coming face to face with the ugliest face of Irish life, to grappling with the politics of working in a service that was the plaything of officials and politicians. His description of life in the prison service is not only a gripping account of humanity at its rawest, but also an invaluable primer for anyone in top level management. Revealing, surprising and inspiring The Governor gives a unique insight into modern Ireland.

'A memoir to shine a light in the darkest of nights . . . a story of redemption' – journalist Tony Parsons. Michael Maisey was excited the day he was locked up in the notorious Feltham Young Offenders Institute. He was going to be a legend to all his mates. The sixteen year old was in for attempted murder. He was innocent of this particular crime but amongst the violent and dangerous young men on his wing he was about to learn exactly how far he’d go to survive. In Young Offender we see what turned a good kid into a wanted criminal. Abused by his uncle, bullied at school, at the age of twelve he found the safety he craved in the ranks of a local gang in West London. He graduated from shoplifting to armed robbery and for five years Michael was in and out of Feltham, on a downward spiral of crime and drug and alcohol addiction. At rock bottom, he began attending AA meetings. But the road to recovery would mean changing himself in the deepest possible ways. Could Michael finally learn what it meant to be a good man? Honest and inspiring, this is a powerful story of redemption. Today Michael is a successful businessman and a loving father who spends time helping others find their way. 'Courageous and brutally honest' – Ollie Ollerton, ex-Special Forces soldier, author of Break Point.

A devastating critique of the British prison service, 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind' ignites a debate about a vital subject we ignore at our peril.