This entertaining and thoroughly researched little book starts off
with a crafty escape involving glue and plastic trays. Then we get into a
brief history of the prison system as it developed in Canada, after
which follows a series of case studies in escape.
Taken altogether, they
showcase the inventiveness of Canadian criminals, and the loopholes in
prison security. As the author puts it in her introduction, “the stories
highlight the attempts of masterminds, tricksters, villains, and
innocents to claw their way to freedom – – sometimes successful, mostly
abortive, occasionally deadly.”
The book more than delivers on this promise to the reader. The
writing is clean and competent, and ideas are presented
in logical and consistent order. Research into the individual
criminals, their escapes, and the prison system in general is obviously thorough, well presented, and referenced.
From the notorious squalor and
child punishments of the first Kingston penitentiary through the early 20th
century shenanigans of Ernest Cashel around Calgary, and on up to the
21st-century, this is more than just an entertaining tale of criminals
versus prison guards,. It’s a look at a whole section of Canadian
history that is not generally taught in school.
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