In the mid 1980s Erwin James was sentenced to life imprisonment. Over recent years, he has written powerfully about prison life for the Guardian. James writes candidly about learning the who, what, why and when of the prison world. He describes the struggle to keep sane; the dynamics of paranoia and solidarity; and the commitment that it takes to prepare for life outside. Along the way, James introduces us to other prisoners. There is Rinty, the big Dundonian and enthusiastic fan of "Antiques Roadshow"; Cody, the elderly former sergeant who still protests his innocence after 24 years; and Felix the Gambler - serial schemer and sometime Buddhist. It is through their stories, told with humour and warmth, that James reveals the reality of prison life. "A Life Inside" does not glorify wrongdoing, nor does it seek to justify the crimes of its author or any other prisoners. Rather, it is a portrayal of life behind Britain's prison walls that no one who reads it will readily forget.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book contains a series of self-contained articles about prison life as observed by a 'lifer' approaching the end of a long sentence. They could be described as vignettes of the personalities and peculiarities of prison life; an existence about which most of us are ignorant. They are superficially an easy and entertaining read but you quickly find yourself gripped by the predicament of those at the very bottom of 'society's heap'. Erwin James writes beautiful prose and his own story, communicated through this book, is an inspiration.
38 of 40 people found the following review helpful
By Laura Daly
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I first started to read Erwin James in my copy of the Guardian every two weeks, and if he was not in the paper I found myself disappointed. James does not in this book dwell on himself or his crime which he is sent to prison for life for. Life as he was to learn on seening it stamped on a folder was 99 years. His tarif was 25 years changed to 20 and by the time he begins writing he has been behind bars for over a decade.
We all think we know something about prison life you know the common presceptions. They use phonecards, they have so many visits a week and so on. But on reading this book you learn what it is really like to be inside and it takes it one more step by introducing us to that unknown group of people called "lifers". It tells us of the closed conditions of the maximum security prisons where you eat, drink and even think when they tell you to. It introduces us to men who for one reason or another have been sent away for the rest of their life. And each one deals with the tarif set in very different ways some surrive, more don't. James wants no sorrow from you, he is grateful for what prison has given him. He has been educated by the prison system. He is thankful for the kind prison officers and others who have advanced him a kind gesture. He agrees with the ideals of the prison system but as only someone who has used the system and knows it he points out its failings. And indeed the failings of the Home Office and authority. He is grateful for the Home Sec. who showed his human side by putting his trust in a lifer and rewarding him with £5.00.
I am glad to say Erwin James surrvied the dispersal prisons, the spurs and the strips to write. Long may he do so.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Erwin James did not write his memoirs to gain sympathy, or to cry "I'm innocent" ... he simply wrote of his day to day life and experiences in diary form. A gripping book, his characters come to life as he describes different incidents that he encountered in his twenty years inside. At times hilarious and at other times sad, we enter a world where danger is never far away, where a simple breaking of prison "rules" can be as serious as contravening the official rules, where a hard shell is essential for survival.
Erwin's journey was hard, but along the way he learnt that hope for a better future was in his won hands and that with the right attitude, he could emerge at the end of it a better person.
Erwin's journey was hard, but along the way he learnt that hope for a better future was in his won hands and that with the right attitude, he could emerge at the end of it a better person.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
As an academic I am only too aware how biographical accounts of prison life, written by prisoners are an invaluable addition to the academic literature we already have. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Toni
5.0 out of 5 stars
un-put-downable
I was so impressed with this book, and enjoyed it so much, that I had to buy another copy (having lent my first one to someone who didn't want to return it!)
Published 18 months ago by Daphne Jowit
4.0 out of 5 stars
A LIFE INSIDE - ERWIN JAMES
This book delves into the depths of despair of long term incarceration. Writing about a series of incidents about himself and other "lifers" These were published in the Guardian... Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2010 by Robert Biffa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to real UK prison life
Erwin has done a serious amount of time, and it shows in his deep understanding of prison culture as described in this book. Read more
Published on 15 May 2010 by Shaun Attwood
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Life Inside: A Prisoner's Notebook
Interesting book that changed my thinking about prisoners and prison life. Like many people, I believed media reports of an easy life with various privileges for prisoners but... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2010 by C. Ferguson
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't buy it !
Don't buy his book! I cannot believe the reviews saying its good ! It is rubbish. Borrow the book from your local library if you want to read it, don't pay good money. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2009 by Ms. M. L. Quirke Dip
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still poignant now.
Still poignant now., 22 Feb 2009
I have just finished reading A life Inside, as part of research into life inside, and I have found this book to be the best I have read... Read more
I have just finished reading A life Inside, as part of research into life inside, and I have found this book to be the best I have read... Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2009 by Wanna be author
5.0 out of 5 stars
ONE OF THE BEST
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE READ ABOUT PRISON LIFE
IT IS ALL SHORT STORIES ABOUT THE DAY TO DAY LIVING IN A BRITISH JAIL
IT IS ALL SHORT STORIES ABOUT THE DAY TO DAY LIVING IN A BRITISH JAIL
Published on 4 Aug 2007 by A. Girvan
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you only read one prison diary, make it this one
In the early 1980s, Erwin James - a pseudonym - was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was in his early twenties at the time. Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2003 by Dr W. Richards
4.0 out of 5 stars
Learning the hard way - a life inside -
This is a fascinating and intelligently crafted series of observations reproduced as a book. Amazing to relate that it has taken until now to have such a viewpoint of prison life. Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2003
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