Crash Out: The True Tale of a Hell's Kitchen Kid and the Bloodiest Escape in Sing Sing History

Displaying polish and a gift for crafting a gripping narrative, Goewey's debut brings to life an episode that will be unfamiliar to most: the 1941 escape from the legendary Sing Sing prison that claimed the life of a guard and a local policeman. The author, identified as "the grandson, son, and brother of Sing Sing officers," has done extensive research and makes the depressed atmosphere of Hell's Kitchen between the world wars vivid and three-dimensional. His account achieves balance by alternating between the perspectives of Whitey Riordan, one of the thugs in the "crash out" from the prison, and progressive warden Lewis Lawes. The escape itself is less memorable than the grim depiction of Riordan's dead-end world and the warden's attempts to run his fiefdom without diminishing the humanity of the inmates. The author's failure to elucidate the significance of the prisoners' attempt to gain freedom will make the whole less than the sum of its parts for some, but the skill Goewey demonstrates will lead many to hope he turns his attention to other forgotten tales. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW . Agent, Brettne Bloom. (Nov.)