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Michael Esslinger is a historical researcher whose acclaimed work has appeared in numerous books, film and television documentaries worldwide, including segments on the Discovery, National Geographic, and History Channels. Esslinger is the author of two books chronicling the history of Alcatraz. In May of 2003 he published: Alcatraz A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the most meticulously detailed histories ever written the subject, it has remained a best-selling reference since its publication. His second work on Alcatraz entitled: Letters from Alcatraz, published in 2007, is a collection of letters and views from Alcatraz inmates, family members and prison officials both in and outside of the infamous prison.
He is also the author of the forthcoming reference chronicling Mans first expeditions to the moon entitled: APOLLO - A Definitive History of the Apollo Lunar Expeditions. His research resulted in one of the most comprehensive assemblages of information on the Apollo Program, derived from intensive archival research and in-depth one-on-one interviews, including the elusive Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. He remains one of the foremost historians on the Apollo Program.
He is a native California coastal resident along with his wife and two sons, and frequently participates in the guest author program on Alcatraz Island.
Michael Esslinger
Alcatraz: Rigid and Unusual Punishment
Alcatraz. The name alone said it all. It was meant to send a shudder down the spines of the nation's most incorrigible criminals, and it did from the day it opened in 1934. It stripped Al Capone of his power. It tamed "Machine Gun" Kelly into a model of decorum. It took the birds away from the Birdman of Alcatraz.
Alcatraz was the end of the line. It was the U.S. government's version of the "final solution" to combating the lawlessness that Prohibition spewed throughout the Roaring 20s and into the teeth of the Great Depression. The government needed a prison as tough and harsh as the high-profile criminals it was finally running to ground. In Alcatraz, with its damp coldness, austere isolation, rigid discipline and code of silence, it got what it wanted. By the time the government shut down the prison in 1963, "the Rock" had indisputably done its job.
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