Crash Out

September 5, 2005
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.

October 15, 2005
First-time author Goewey was born and raised in Ossining, NY, where Sing Sing prison stands, and there have been generations of Sing Sing officers in his family. Here he describes the boldest and bloodiest escape in the prison's history -the Easter 1941 -crash out - in which four prison officers were killed by inmate gangsters Whitey Riordan and Patches Waters. (The prison still holds a memorial service for the officers every April 14.) Riordan and Waters were originally from New York City's notorious Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. Goewey provides an extensive description of their tough childhoods and subsequent rise to crime and gangsterism. Waters invited small-time crook Riordan to join his thriving Shopping Bag Gang. When the gang was busted, the two each received 15 years in Sing Sing. Goewey offers a detailed history of the prison, which had named itself after the town (the town later changed its name to Ossining to differentiate itself). Ultimately, Riordan and Waters were captured, sent to trial, found guilty, and executed in the electric chair. "Crash Out" is a well-written book that may appeal to the criminal justice specialist more than the casual reader. Recommended for large public libraries." -Tim Delaney, SUNY at Oswego"

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2005
You could say Sing Sing is in this author's DNA: his grandfather, father, and brother all worked as prison guards there. He used to take sandwiches to his brother on duty, who hauled them up in a bucket on a rope because he couldn't leave his tower post. Goewey has translated family familiarity into a gripping insider's account of the biggest breakout ever at Sing Sing. This book also is a lively social history of Hell's Kitchen, the N.Y.C. neighborhood that spawned the street criminals who became regulars at Sing Sing; in telling their story, Goewey also reprises the vicissitudes of life during the Depression for the urban unemployed. The focus, though, remains on the biggest prison break (" crash out" ) in Sing Sing history, on Easter Sunday 1941. The story tracks back to a Hell's Kitchen gang that ran a series of headline-grabbing robberies; the crew, who would lead the crash out, were imprisoned after a 1939 heist from Consolidated Edison. Goewey's research is impressive: he interviewed the surviving guard on duty during the prison break, gained access to a scrapbook of news clips housed in the Ossining Historical Society, and combed the " WPA Guide to New York City " and case files from New York's Department of Records and Information Services. His writing produces a grim but fascinating snapshot of Depression-era crime. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)