Topic: Alcatraz

9 chats with top true-crime authors

In 2012, writers pondered murder and mayhem across the globe and across centuries.

Chapter & Verse
'Les Miserables': Is the story of Jean Valjean a model for newly released inmates today?

I should have tried to get Jean Valjean into a couple of local prisons. 

Escape down high-rise jail has Chicago wondering: how'd they dare? (+video)

The two convicted bank robbers, cellmates, apparently escaped the high-rise prison in downtown Chicago by rappelling down from the 15th floor on knotted bedsheets in the middle of the night. 

Opinion: Make #GivingTuesday a US tradition like Black Friday and Cyber Monday

The holiday season starts with one day to give thanks followed by two days (Black Friday and Cyber Monday) for bargain hunting. Today, nonprofits, businesses, and individuals are coming together to launch #GivingTuesday – a day to celebrate the great American tradition of giving.

9 best books featuring notorious figures

Thomas Craughwell lists these books as the best myth-busting histories centered on notorious figures. 

Chapter & Verse
'Alcatraz' author Michael Esslinger: Why a prison fascinates us

With a new TV show focused on the famous penitentiary, author and historian Michael Esslinger debunks some of the most enduring Alcatraz myths.

Whitey Bulger caught: why he topped FBI most-wanted list

Who is Whitey Bulger, and why does Wednesday's arrest of this aging crime boss matter so much to the FBI?

Classic review: The Count of Monte Cristo

A swashbuckling new edition of a story that never grows old.

Jack LaLanne remembered: five of his amazing feats

Jack LaLanne, the 'Godfather of Fitness,' died on Sunday at the age of 96. We remember Jack LaLanne by looking back at his five most amazing feats.

Mafia arrests: Four of the most famous mob busts in history

The FBI announced one of the biggest mob busts in history on Thursday. Here are four other major law enforcement wins against American gangsters.

Life sentence for Faisal Shahzad, could join shoe bomber in Colorado

The judge sent Faisal Shahzad to prison for the rest of his life. His crime – attempting to bomb Times Square – was serious, and he was defiant in court appearances.

Why intriguing 'Inception' is the Hollywood exception

'Inception' has pulled in more than $150 million with its unique premise and striking visuals – so why aren't there more films like it? Hollywood is risk-averse.

Opinion: South Africa and the 2010 World Cup: the great leap forward

The first African World Cup in South Africa is already having a dramatic effect on social cohesion in a country with a legacy of deep racial inequality.

Chapter & Verse
5 books for kids of all ages

Five books intended for young readers – but good enough for the rest of us as well.

The rocky shores of Alcatraz bloom once again

Alcatraz is a forbidding landscape, but its rocky gardens – once tended by prisoners and families of the guards – are being restored, and bloom once again.

The Book of Eli: movie review

Another postapocalyptic adventure, ‘The Book of Eli’ stars Denzel Washington as a pacifist warrior who becomes a sort of messianic figure.

Best children's books of 2009

Earth Talk – hybrid engines for boats

The boating industry is making efforts to offer a greener product.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes

This sequel continues the adventures of the children whose parents work on Alacatraz Island.

The Count of Monte Cristo

A swashbuckling new edition of a story that never grows old.

Shanghai Girls

A pair of Chinese sisters battle their way through the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and on to America.

Italy to stem a human tide of immigrants

The Italian Navy this week will begin turning back Africans who have transformed Lampedusa, Italy, into the site of a humanitarian crisis.

Mighty oaks from little eggcorns grow

The Monitor's language columnist considers ways that words go wrong in the hands of human beings.

One man's memoir of growing up in the 'gang-ridden' suburbs

I went for tradition and joined the gang my dad belonged to when he was growing up on the mean, rose-bushed streets of suburban Chicago – the chess club.