I need to be better about thoroughly reading synopses. I can see now, looking at it more carefully, that this wasn’t what I wanted. I was interested in a critical examination of the prison system, primarily in terms of punishment versus rehabilitation, and I wondered how the use of solitary confinement did or did not benefit a prisoner. I already have my philosophy, but I was seeking a journalist’s perspective.

I did not want a book that aimed to foster sympathy for killers. I can appreciate that they led hard lives, but not everyone comes out of such dysfunctional childhoods in the same way, and it frustrates me that despite leaving victims behind (those victims also being living loved ones forced to grieve the lives these men took), one of Earley’s main objectives was to fill the reader with a sense of compassion toward the early life these killers endured. I find myself too easily sympathetic toward undeserving recipients, and I don’t like that Earley preyed upon my compassion in this way. I don’t really want a murderer’s tragic history. I, like many others I know, had a difficult childhood, and I, like many others I know, have never killed anyone. When the synopsis asks if these men were born bad, I suppose you know my answer, as negligent nurture doesn’t guarantee crime. Perhaps early intervention could have helped these men, but this cannot be proved or disproved.

Anyway, I appreciate Earley’s thoroughness in his investigation. He had an amazing opportunity in having actual contact with Silverstein. I wish the focus had been solely on the prison system and the effects of solitary confinement. Perhaps he would have end up with an article instead of a book then, and perhaps there isn’t much money to be made there, but responsible journalism isn’t a money grab.

This was a solid listen on an important topic. I appreciate how complicated our justice system is and how many layers of corruption are built in.

This book was very interesting, but incredibly sad. I expected it to be more of an essay on the ethics of the criminal justice system, the psychology of isolation, etc, and instead it was a lot of detailed biographical content explaining the life history of the two criminals. The author's experience and perspective were fascinating. Fans of true crime would probably love this, but it was just a bit too intense for me.

The lens of this story is told in the biographies of two inmates. Their experiences in the prison system, their upbringings and their beliefs impacted their overall experience and made them voices for change in the area of prison reform.

My main gripe with this audiobook is that it speaks more to the backgrounds of the two inmates than it does to the changes that were made as a result. Only in the final chapter do you get to heart what reform was made due to their experiences. Instead 90-95% of the book is the personal stories of the two main characters. While interesting, I think that information could have been shortened to play up the actual reform.

Thanks to Tantor Audio and Citadel for the ALC!

**Thank you to NetGalley, Tantor Audio, and the author for the review copy of this audiobook**

I have a hard time with audiobooks and with nonfiction in general so my personal rating is closer to a 3 - I am bumping it up because I know I'm not the target audience and I do think this book was well done.

This was an interesting look into the lives of two convicted murderers, their histories, and what led to their "unique" and horrible punishment of no human contact. My only complaint about this book is that the majority of the book didn't feel like it matched the description. From the synopsis, I was led to believe that this book would be primarily about the prison system and social injustices, but a major emphasis was placed on the early lives of the convicts.

Overall, I thought this book was informative and interesting, it just wasn't what I was anticipating.

No Human Contact by Pete Earley audiobook was narrated by Rich Miller.
He was good and I highly recommend listening to this one. This was true crime fiction at its ugliest. It was disturbing at times and difficult. The mother was a real piece of work and I really can’t believe Tom survived her.
It’s unbelievable to me that both men lasted as long as they did and this book goes over so much detail that I don’t have any questions about their lives. I really enjoyed it because I’m a true crime junkie!
Thanks Tantor Audio via NetGalley.

An excellent and engaging study on the isolating life of men in maximum security prisons in the US and how it impacts a human, being kept in lifelong solitary confinement.

Following the life of Thomas Edward Silverstein with candid interviews and evidence that really gives an insight into his life. Silverstein is kept in a basement cell with no human contact in perpetuity, but how did he get here and is there a ‘cause’ that led him along this road, he has undeniably had a life of abuse at the hands of both the prison system and those that were supposed to protect him as a child, regardless of this his incarceration in this manner is nothing less than inhumane and at times torturous.

This book delves into his past, his relationships, changes throughout his life and what he has experienced through spending the majority of his life incarcerated. It makes pulls no punches no apologies for Silverstein’s behaviours, but in turn shines a glaring light on the failures and the extremely problematic systems used within the US Prison system. It was educational, shocking, abhorrent and terribly sad all at once. A fantastically researched piece of writing which kept me engaged throughout. As Silverstein himself said ‘You can’t put us in cages and treat us like animals, not expect repercussions’

The narrator was excellent and a good pick for this type of book.

4.25 rounded down.

This is a brutal listen. I'll be honest, I did not finish this book- I stopped about halfway. It was just too brutal and I do not think I am the right audience for this book.

While I really admire the author's commitment to these men and extensive research, the book spent way too long describing some of the most tragic and horrible things that both happened to the subjects & were committed by the subjects. I feel this is the right choice to garner sympathy for these men, but as someone who is already deeply committed to prison reform and abolition, I just didn't need it and was disturbed by the content. Again, not the author's fault. I think the right audience will find this book & be deeply moved by its content.

I’m relatively new to audiobooks and I’ve been sticking to non fiction audiobooks as otherwise I can’t focus. This is non fiction but I kept losing focus - maybe an issue with the content, the narrator or just me.

I’m one of those odd true crime fans, particularly documentaries, so it’s not like this isn’t an area of interest to me. I was expecting an ‘Inside the world’s toughest prisons’ type story (great show!). So I requested this book and was expecting more about the prison and justice system, solitary confinement and reform (see first paragraph of book description) but found the first half at least to be more history about two criminals and their lives (see last paragraph of book description). It seems like these should’ve been swapped based on the actual focus of the book and tbh, I probs would’ve scrolled by and not requested.

It felt like the book was being told in such a way that we were supposed to feel sympathy for the two murderers before even getting to the ‘no human contact’ part of the book. I agree that the nature nurture debate is interesting and some people have horrific upbringings, and for that I do feel sorry for people, but it’s not what I was expecting as a focus or in the way it was told.

I also found there were a few side bars or tangents that didn’t really seem necessary and quite a few quotes that either seemed out of place or frustrated me because, as above, it seemed like we were supposed to sympathise with murderers if they were abused or had a very hard childhood. Just for clarity, I do feel sorry for the inhumane conditions of no human contact and individuals who experience horrific childhoods, but it’s the parts of the book that made it sound like the victim is the murderer and forgetting or bypassing the fact that there were victims of the actual crime, including the families who lost the murdered victims.

In the end, I couldn’t really summarise the prison and justice system parts of the story because it got lost in the other stuff I have described. Or, did I just lose focus too much? 🤔😆

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While listening to this book I spread my arms wide and then above my head trying to imagine living in a cell like the ones described. I couldn’t imagine that, let alone imagine not having any human contact. Ever since I learned about Silverstein and Fountain I’ve wanted to research more about what they endured. This book more than answered any questions I had. A disturbing glimpse into the US prison system and it’s flaws. Let’s learn from our mistakes.

NO HUMAN CONTACT is an intriguing look at the life of two inmates (Silverstein and Fountain) who killed correctional officers and were both sentenced to solitary confinement in the smallest of cells (the size of a single mattress) in which they had no contact with anyone, the guards, outside family, anyone. Their lives were utterly ensconced within this small area, night and day, never being able to distinguish between the two. The lights were always on so they could be observed, another factor keeping them from telling the days apart. After nine months, this inhumane treatment was somewhat lifted in order to grant them a little more and the ability to occupy their time with something other than their minds.

Pete Earley was allowed to interview Thomas Silverstein to learn about his early life and how he became the man behind bars. The stories he tells are very sad and seem to be ones that could have been avoided (at least some of them) with the assistance of social services and their follow-up.

A poignant reminder that so much of life doesn't happen in the black and white, but in the gray.

Earley did an exceptional job telling the story of two inmates confined to a level of solitary colloquially known as "no human contact." The research done into the lives of these inmates, both of their time in the penal system as well as their "outside" lives that led them to the depths is so well-done and fully baked. His words and storytelling are so thought provoking that, while enjoyed doesn't feel like the right phrase, I was fully engrossed in their stories.

I would highly recommend - especially for those interested in prison reform, incarceration, restorative justice, or even just extremely well done non-fiction in general.

Big thanks to Pete Earley, Citadel, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Well researched and thought provoking.

There were times I felt it dragged on a bit. Or went down a tangent that was not crucial.

It is easy to view the penal system as a whole and say it isn't harsh enough. But when you look at an individual human, it is hard not to feel compassion.

Especially in the case of Thomas Silverstein, he was set on that path practically at birth. When your whole life is abuse and violence, it is all you know. Why are we (as a society) surprised that kids raised in abusive homes grow up to be violent, abusive adults?

The audio version is narrated by Rich Miller, who does a good job.

I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was good. This audiobook truly had me thinking about the way people should treat one another. It's a catch 22 because the 2 men in this book did horrible things to people. You learn about their childhood. You learn how they were treated by their parents. Just one horrible story after the next.
Nevertheless, a lot of people have horrible childhood experiences and are able to control their emotions and live their lives as good citizens.
A lot of swearing. Graphic sexual content in some parts. Graphic description of fighting.

This was well-written but not an easy read. I feel like the author did attempt to lay out the circumstances that the two men endured as they were in solitary confinement for DECADES and abused by the system. They were punished way beyond what the original incarceration called for. I did feel that the author leaned a bit toward protectiveness toward the prisoners. (Which does make logical sense.) Both young men had known abuse from early in life, and so logically, they chose to follow the path that first education exposed them. Their experiences with brutality, depravity, and scarcity set them up for failure.

However, I do believe that there were windows of opportunity for them to change and choose differently. I am not justifying the treatment they received. I do believe it to be unreasonably cruel.
I don't believe that the author fully established his claim that they changed the system. But their actions did create a rallying cry for the men that wanted to forward their own interests. I certainly believe we need prison reform in America. Did both men deserve punishment? Absolutely. Was No Human Contact right? Absolutely Not. I was especially disgusted by the psychologist stating that there was nothing wrong with him being left in isolation for ten years. It's just appalling.

No Human Contact is a very interesting story with harrowing facts about the American prison system and the corrupt power structures within. I found this audiobook unique because unlike most history and true crime I've read this book heavily featured the voices of the actual people these things happened to. I thought that aspect made it feel very real and personal and gave depth and conflict to the scope of the story and how I felt while I listened. It took me a while to adjust to the narration because the reader is consistently using the same tone even when quoting other people so I found that hard to follow at first but I got used to it as it went on. All in all I stayed engaged and feel like I really got a glimpse into what the prisoners featured in this book experienced.

"No Human Contact" by Pete Earley is a gripping nonfiction book that delves into the lives of two of the most notorious criminals in the American prison system - Thomas Silverstein and Clayton Fountain. Earley provides a detailed account of their crimes and the consequences that led them to be incarcerated in some of the most secure and isolated prisons in the United States.

What makes this book stand out is Earley's ability to tell the story from the perspective of the criminals themselves. He does an excellent job of humanizing these individuals and illustrating the impact that long-term isolation had on their mental health and behavior. The author's skillful writing allows the reader to empathize with Silverstein and Fountain, despite their horrific crimes.

The book also sheds light on the dangers of prolonged solitary confinement and the negative effects it can have on prisoners. Earley argues that the prison system's use of isolation and sensory deprivation can contribute to creating even more dangerous criminals by exacerbating existing mental health issues and exacerbating violent tendencies.

Overall, "No Human Contact" is a fascinating and thought-provoking read. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the criminal justice system, mental health, and the long-term impact of incarceration. Earley's meticulous research and engaging storytelling make this book an important contribution to the ongoing conversation about prison reform and the treatment of prisoners.

This is a heartbreaking book. It’s something everyone should read. It’s the story of two broken men Thomas Silverstein and Clayton Fountain and how they ended up in prison. More than anything it’s the story of the cruelty of a broken prison system. It’s almost like a behind the scenes look at how we treat prisoners when we think nobody is looking.