The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison

294 Pages·2011·2.114 MB·English

by  Pete Earley

“Forget every prison book you’ve read and every prison movie you’ve seen.
… You don’t read this book as an outsider looking into Leavenworth. On the
first page, you open the gates of the prison; by the second page, the gates have
been closed behind you—and you won’t get out until the final page. Even then
you’ll never forget what you saw. A truly remarkable achievement.”
—Nelson DeMille, author of Spencerville
“A grimly fascinating tale … Earley successfully conveys the scary atmosphere
of prison, and the never-back-down code a convict needs to live by if he’s to
survive.”
—The Washington Post
“A powerful eyewitness account … The Hot House is an exciting, highly
readable book which, without question, will generate renewed interest in
prisons by both the public and the media.”
—Norman Carlson, retired director,
Federal Bureau of Prisons, in Corrections Today
“If you’re going to read any book about prison, The Hot House is the one.… For
anyone who wonders why America imprisons its criminals, this book is a must.
It is the most realistic, unbuffed account of prison anywhere in print.”
—The Kansas City Star
“The Hot House is a page-turner, as compelling and evocative as the finest
novel. The best book on prison I’ve ever read.”
—Jonathan Kellerman, author of Self-Defense
“Hypnotic … We haven’t read a book as powerful as The Hot House in a long
time.… Earley, the first reporter ever to be given free access to Leavenworth,
does more than capture what it’s like to live behind bars. In re-creating a world
governed by codes of conduct that fly in the face of accepted behavior and
morality, Earley sheds surprising light on our own.”
—Book-of-the-Month-Club News
“Before we had schools of journalism, there was a straightforward task called
reporting that took you where you had not been, and told you what you had
not known. This book is by a reporter, and gives the reader reporting at its
very finest.… [The] Hot House is a book that sucks one deep into the darkness.
… [It] makes the reader feel in the room while secret things are being said.…
[It] offers no solutions to the prison problem; for that matter, it offers no clear
statement of the problem. Earley is much too honest for such cheap tricks.”
—Los Angeles Times
“This is a book that fits the cliché: impossible to put down.”
—The Oregonian, Portland
“Searing, compelling … [A] fascinating white-knuckle tour of hell, brilliantly
reported.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“[A] harrowing book … Through Matthews, Silverstein, Bowles and others,
Earley tells us the story of Leavenworth. In the process, he creates an
exceptional work of journalism.”
—Detroit Free Press
“[A] riveting, fiercely unsentimental book … [Earley] vividly re-creates the
strange world of the country’s oldest maximum security prison with its insular
culture and attendant rituals.… And what a cast of characters Earley discovers.
… To [his] credit, he does not romanticize the keepers or the criminals. His cool
and concise prose style serves him well … this is a gutsy book.”
—Chicago Tribune

THE HOT HOUSE
A Bantam Book
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam hardcover edition published March 1992
Bantam paperback edition / March 1993
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1992 by Pete Earley.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 91-25400.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-80831-8
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its
trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is
Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada.
Bantam Books, New York, New York
v3.1
“Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!… You knew,
didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go. Why
things are what they are.“
WILLIAM GOLDING
Lord of the Flies
This book is an eyewitness account of day-to-day life inside the United States
penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, the oldest federal prison and one of the
most dangerous in the nation. I was the first writer ever to have been given
unlimited access by the federal Bureau of Prisons to one of its maximum-
security prisons. The names of a handful of persons have been changed to
protect them from physical harm or from further criminal prosecution, but all
the characters are real and the events are described exactly as they happened.
PETE EARLEY
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
PART ONE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
PART TWO
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
PART THREE
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
PART FOUR
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dedication
Other Books by This Author
About the Author