Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Survival

  • FEDERAL PRISON HANDBOOK – The Definitive Guide to Surviving the Federal Bureau of Prisons by Christopher Zoukis – Survival Guide, Non-Fiction, Federal Prison

    FEDERAL PRISON HANDBOOK – The Definitive Guide to Surviving the Federal Bureau of Prisons by Christopher Zoukis – Survival Guide, Non-Fiction, Federal Prison

    In the Federal Prison Handbook-The Definitive Guide to Surviving the Federal Bureau of Prison, Christopher Zoukis has meticulously identified, collected, and organized a compendium of information regarding life in federal prison. Zoukis’ straightforward writing, free of personal bias or opinion, is neither mysterious nor titillating—reality is not sensationalized—it’s not fiction, it’s the facts.

    However, if through some twist of fate, you or a loved one finds yourself in the unthinkable situation of going to prison, it may become the best book you’ve ever read.

    Consider. You’ve been sentenced to serve time in one of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ 125 stand-alone facilities, a private contract facility, or a satellite prison camp scattered throughout the United States. You, who need directions to find your way through Costco to the deli, must now enter an unfamiliar world with its own lexicon, rules, and consequences. How will you survive?

    As a thirty-year-old federal prisoner, incarcerated since he was a high school senior, Zoukis speaks authoritatively to that question—and other issues you haven’t even considered—and, why would you, with no previous experience or points of reference.

    Zoukis has created a comprehensive guide to seemingly all aspects of prison life—from entering the front doors to the time you leave. He provides annotated, specific information regarding life in this mandated setting, a community which exists within both real and figurative walls. Its written and unwritten rules allow little latitude for divergent behavior or personal desires. And, perhaps equally important, Zoukis delineates the unique customs and unwritten social mores of prison culture.

    Each handbook section cites and explains rules and regulations in detail, as well as providing practical tips, based upon the author’s experiences, observations, and information garnered from extensive interviews of fellow prisoners.  The Federal Prison Handbook disabuses some of the sensationalism created by fiction, tell-alls, and media in general, regarding sexual abuse, gang violence, power hierarchies, and such. The topics are objectively elucidated within the context of the prison rules, consequences, and the overall prison culture.

    Unlike many popular “survival” books, the Federal Prison Handbook will probably not give the reader an emotional rush or provide an epiphany regarding the meaning of life. However, it could prove invaluable to counselors, lawyers, families, and individuals who find themselves facing incarceration in the federal prison system.

    Federal Prison Handbook-The Definitive Guide to Surviving the Federal Bureau of Prison won First Place in the Instruction & Insight Awards in 2017.

     

     

     

  • An Editorial Review of “His Father’s Eyes, His Mother’s Manners” by Kenneth Stokes

    An Editorial Review of “His Father’s Eyes, His Mother’s Manners” by Kenneth Stokes

    In 2003, an inaugural flight took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia, bound for Los Angeles. On board was a group of passengers who had nothing in common except that they were on a doomed flight. Few survived the crash on a remote island, but those who did would face the greatest challenge of their lives. His Father’s Eyes, His Mother’s Manners by Kenneth Stokes explores the nature of survival and the theme of inheritance in this literary work.

    The details of the crash and the reasons for it are never revealed to the reader, because they aren’t important to the story. Why the downing of the flight isn’t immediately detected by search and rescue teams, and why, after days, no help has arrived, are inconsequential questions. Rather, the author uses the crash to examine in depth the aspects of each character’s personality characteristics along with revealing past events and experiences. Stokes explores the impact they have on the ability of each character to survive when faced with catastrophic events.

    In the face of such extreme adversity, each character’s personality, their reactions to the situation in which they find themselves, affects the safety and survival of the entire group. Skills that are revered by a modern society are useless in this situation. People who have been led to believe that they are successful and deserving of the accolades they have earned in a more material, commercial society are now virtually helpless.

    Stokes has chosen as his main character Glen Reyes, a man who travels the world in search of rare plants and understands how to survive without the trappings and conveniences of modern society. Reyes is a teacher and a seer, capable of leading others. His constant companion is a small boy who has lost both parents—his father prior to the crash, and his mother as a victim of the crash itself.

    The boy sat next to Reyes during the flight, and from the beginning, he was thrilled to find in Reyes a man patient enough to answer the boy’s questions and to tell him stories from his family’s history. Once orphaned by the crash, he quickly comes to trust Reyes and then entreats Reyes to adopt him once they are rescued.

    Through Reyes’ work to create shelter and sustenance, and to teach the other stranded victims survival skills, he helps them face their own weaknesses and turn them into strengths. As time passes and no one comes to rescue them, those who haven’t learned to assimilate and work together become more at risk, as well as more of a risk to the others.

    The author presents a unique perspective on what might have been a more typical disaster story, weaving together truths taught from the harsh conditions the characters face, and from lessons learned from Reyes’ re-telling of ancient myths and historical events. Through his diverse cast of characters, Stokes reveals truths certain to resonate with his readers in “His Father’s Eyes, His Mother’s Manners.”