{"product_id":"alcatraz-ghost-story-roy-gardners-amazing-train-robberies-escapes-and-lifelong-love-hardcover","title":"Alcatraz Ghost Story: Roy Gardner's Amazing Train Robberies, Escapes, and Lifelong Love - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eBrian Stannard\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Incredible True Story of the Most Hunted Man in Pacific Coast History--and the Woman He Loved\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Before the 1920s found their roar, a charismatic gambling addict named Roy Gardner dominated news headlines with daring train robberies and escapes from incarceration. Nicknamed \"the Smiling Bandit,\" Gardner spilled no blood--except his own--as he cut a felonious path across the western United States, as the country hobbled through a recession in the aftermath of the First World War. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Once imprisoned for the long term in federal prisons, including Alcatraz, the most notorious prison's second-most-notorious inmate won over some unlikely champions. Both Gardner's wife, Dollie, and a police officer who once arrested him launched extensive campaigns for Gardner's release on the vaudeville circuit, claiming a brain operation would cure his lawless ways. Was Gardner a good man who made bad decisions as the victim of injury and circumstance? Or was his charming personality merely the poker face of a scoundrel? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Richly researched, drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts, \u003ci\u003eAlcatraz Ghost Story \u003c\/i\u003eexplores the life of Roy Gardner in the context of his great love story and the larger backdrop of drug addiction, incarceration, and the racial and labor violence of the 1920s and 1930s.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrian Stannard is a guide with Alcatraz Cellhouse Tours. Previously he delivered meals in San Francisco's Tenderloin with Project Open Hand. When experiencing writer's block, he paints, and his artwork is displayed in bars from the Mission District to Australia's Gold Coast. He also illustrated the book \u003ci\u003eYou Don't Know Jack\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and son.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 264\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 9.1 x 6.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 23, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51764555317536,"sku":"9781510778245","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/63728f5fe367bb0d5438e49e959c9fe0.webp?v=1780252000","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/alcatraz-ghost-story-roy-gardners-amazing-train-robberies-escapes-and-lifelong-love-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}