The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison

by Pete Earley

Book Overview

A stunning account of life behind bars at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, where the nation's hardest criminals do hard time. "A page-turner, as compelling and evocative as the finest... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553560239
• Release Date: February 1993
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.3" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Hot House was luke warm

Not a bad read just not nearly as "exciting" as I thought.

The hot house might of inspired the HBO show OZ

Deeply engrossing account of daily life inside a maximum security prison. Free Julius Jones!

Excellent Read!

Loved this book and couldn’t put it down. You won’t be disappointed, jump in and be amazed.

A Must Read for All Correctional Workers

This book was written by a civilian (a person who was neither a correctional employee nor an inmate) about life in a federal correctional facility. It is held in such high regard as a factual and honest account that it was recommended by the instructors from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Since personally reading The Hot House more than ten years ago, I have purchased copies of The Hot House and "Games Criminal Play" for every friend who has been hired by, or who has considered applying for a federal, state or county prison or jail facility. Each person who has received these books has given them rave reviews. This book should be required reading for anyone considering a career in corrections and it is certainly worth reading for those of us who don't work in the field!

Enter the prison world through this book

This is an incredibly interesting book that describes life in prison from a candid, insider's perspective. And, from both sides from the inside, guards and inmates. Prison history, culture, slang, violence, lore, norms, protocols, and social expectations are explained. The author Pete Early, is the only author known to have been allowed to access all inmates at the prison, without guard escort or protection. He visited Leavenworth several times over a period of years. He was free to ask questions, discuss, and listen to whatever those confined at The Hot House told him. Inmates' crimes, thoughts about life in prison, thoughts about dying in prison, and their basic attitudes and beliefs, take the reader to think about what it would be like spend time in prison. Early also takes takes us into the Department of Corrections culture, describing the guards, correctional system SOPs, career development, and the politics of working and running a major prison. Leavenworth, or the The Hot House is named so, because of the heat and humidity during those hot Mid-western Summers, especially in the upper-elevated portions of the prison. Anyone who has had a faint interest in Prison and correctional life, from television documentaries to movies, will enjoy and learn a lot from this book. Highly recommended.

An excellent read on prison life and culture

Hot House is a great read if you are looking to see what prison life is like. Earley spent years in Leavenworth Prison observing and creating this book and it was well worth his time. He did a great job explaining the inner workings of a maximum security prison and the type of inmates it contains. You can learn all about the prison culture and slang terms used by inmates and officers. Once you finish Hot House you will have a newfound respect for the work that correctional officers perform on a day to day basis.

A Gripping Tale

This isn't highbrow reading, so if your tastes tend toward the clasics you might not enjoy this book. However, I covered these 440+ pages in less than 2 days; I just couldn't put it down.Having never lived in Leavenworth, I can't vouch for the veracity of the events listed, but it gives an evenhanded account, both from the guards, inmates, and prison administrators' standpoints. If you like "true crime" or other non-fiction type novels, spend the few bucks for this book. You won't regret it!

The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison

All I can say is Mr. Earley hit it right on the head. As a former staff member I can attest that all those character's do exsist. The best true prison story I've read. A must read for anyone in Corrections.