“This incredibly powerful account of how the most detrimental recession our country has faced since the Great Depression pushes a middle-class, single father of twin teenage girls to make the leap from successful Stock Day Trader to becoming one of the most notorious bank robbers in Missouri history is nothing short of gut wrenching. The musings of intelligent and articulate first-time offender Keith Giammanco, communicating through the pen of the woman who is able to see beyond society’s mark of Cain and falls in love with the man beneath the “boonie hat”, provides fascinating insight into not only the inter-workings of the correctional system, but the psychological and societal impacts this excessively corrupt prison industrial complex has on our nation as a whole.
Once upon a time, the average American citizen read memoirs like this for a rush of excitement, but always felt cozy in the confident thought that “this would never happen to me”. However, as we evolve more each day into a massive criminalized society – where so many laws are now on the books it is estimated the average citizen commits 2-4 prison-sentencable crimes a day – the US population is slowly waking up to the reality that Giammanco’s situation is not such a distant improbability for any of us. As the head of Joseph Stalin’s secret police famously stated, “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.” Granted, not many people are capable of successfully robbing eleven banks and only landing in prison after a mishap during heist #12, but when homes across America’s heartland were being foreclosed on by the neighborhoodfull and millions of middle-class workers suddenly found themselves laid off and drowning in debt, I’m willing to bet the thought of robbing a bank crossed the minds of more than a few.
The shock—cultural and physical—that comes with the destruction of a cookie-cutter suburban life, the entry into a life of crime, and the off-world character of prison life is wonderfully portrayed in this book. While serving his sentence, Giammanco’s self-deprecation and incredible ability to maintain his perspective and sanity in light of a dehumanizing situation, coupled with his and Caroline’s objective viewpoints of the prison system’s inter-workings is nothing short of fascinating.
Even though he has some moral weaknesses, Giammanco himself admits he is far from perfect and accepts full responsibility for his actions, so you can’t help but root for this dedicated father who ends up with the extremely short end of a twisted stick.
This book is a “MUST READ” for anyone who professes to have a social conscience in the arena of U.S. prison reform.”
- Amanda Matti