In the first section, the author describes the beginning of his life as a convict in prison and the nature of imprisonment from a personal perspective. The focus is on prison violence, the underground economy, prison politics, and race relations. In the second section, interviews with fellow inmates are presented. The interviews describe the experiences of a sexual assault victim, a medication addict, and a gay inmate dying of AIDS. In the third section, several opinion essays are presented that express the author's social-activist view of the prison system and his specific views on prison overcrowding, homosexuality, and relationships between inmates and guards. Appendixes contain supplemental information on the author's prison experiences.