I really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the chance to read.

3.5

Roy Gardner, a gambler and a train robber in the early 1900's finally gets caught and spends time in many of our country's well-known prisons, a few he escaped from! He seemed to be a man with heart. He married and was put in prison when their daughter was only two, yet his wife and daughter seemed to love him and stand by him for many of the years he was imprisoned. She fought hard for him and his health. But the part of the story that really grabbed me was when he was imprisoned at Alcatraz. I visited there long after the prison was shut down and the place really does give you the creeps. I met a man selling his book about his experience in prison in there and I'll never forget his words: "This was a bad place, a really evil place."

This was a wild story of Roy Gardner - his escapades, his many prison experiences, and even his love for his wife and daughter.

My thanks to Net Galley and Skyhorse for an advanced copy of this e-book.

Wow! What an outrageous life. A thoroughly researched book about a fascinating and wildly flawed individual. This is a true labor of love from an author who literally lives and breathes Alcatraz (he works on the island). The writing is solid and playful, detailed without being academic, and particularly shines when filling in historical context. If you like non-fiction crime-writing authors like T.J. English, this is for you.

Roy Gardner was pretty impressive… even if he was also abhorrent as a human being. This reader found him perversely interesting, like a train wreck you can’t stop staring at. There is an element of action movie magic here, a kind of wonderment and expectation that the hero (Gardner) may not survive the next car chase. But he does.

Alcatraz Ghost Story is a biography of Roy, the man, but in true prosopographical fashion it paints a landscape of the early twentieth century through Roy’s life.

The result is a compelling read on multiple levels: Roy himself led an amazing life, if an unethical one, and tracing it reveals much about the expectations and norms of his life, as well as others in his orbit. His wife, for instance, and her reactions and behavior through his incarceration reveal the gendered notions of their age.

Readers who enjoy true crime, history, and biographies of so-called ordinary individuals will find that Stannard successfully develops a textured experience for the reader.

I struggled with this book. I was not a fan of the writing style I think was the main issue. I also thought it was going to be a little bit more about Alcatraz and Roy but Alcatraz really only had a chapter or two related to it. It took me a long time to read this but I did not give up because part of me was very interested in Roy's story. It was a fun story. I think it had alot of extra fluff that did not need to be in there and the writing style was just not for me. I think I could have really loved the story otherwise. Roy Gardner was a very interesting guy and that was kept me reading until the end because I wanted to know more about him, what he would do next, and what happened to him in the end.

Following the story of Roy Gardner, from his many criminal activities, to his family, and ultimately his death, Alcatraz Ghost Story is both a true crime story and a cautionary tale. I enjoyed the deep dive into his history, as it was a story I was totally unfamiliar with. The story was definitely an emotional one. However, the book did get in its own way sometimes. At times it was overly wordy, and some of the emotion didn't come across well because of this.

Thank you to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

Fascinating true story about Roy Gardner lesser known resident of Alcatraz prison. The book is rather long but entertaining.

This was a good, historical read of the exploits of a train robbing escape artist most people have never heard of. The title, to be honest, is a bit misleading. The story of Roy Gardiner reads like a dime store novel and it's amazing that a movie has never been made of his life. But the title makes the reader feel like there is going to be some sort of climax where Roy is killed escaping from the Rock or that people claim to still see his ghost wandering there. But, as someone who has been to Alcatraz a few times, I don't remember his story standing out like it is told here. The story also seems to have parts that are told very well--details and points-and then drops off and ends abruptly. not a bad read but a bit of a climax killer when the actual Alcatraz portions of the story aren't the main point.

I enjoy a true crime story and I’m fascinated by Alcatraz, this book is well researched and I appreciate the opportunity to learn about Roy Gardner.
This amazingly well written story delves into the criminal activities of Roy, his prison life and the love of his life! Roy was in Alcatraz with some well known and hardened criminals but Roy has his own story that matches others, plus more!
I think that Roy had a wonderful time, testing the authorities and proving that he could do as he pleased! A life of theft and really, excitement as Roy worked hard at his chosen career!
Roy loved Dollie and their daughter, he provided well for his family, little did they know about Roy’s history.
I would recommend this book to all lovers of true crime and interest in Alcatraz, a great read!

Much appreciation and thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Alcatraz Ghost Story by Brian Stannard is the captivating true story about the "Smiling Bandit" Roy Gardner who was once a generous employer, attentive husband and father and respected community man. He married his sweetheart Dollie when he was 32 and she 18. They doted on their daughter.
But advocating on his behalf and working in vaudeville for income while he was in prison eventually grew old and Dollie felt like bait and media fodder. Fifteen years after marrying they divorced and she remarried.

Unbeknownst to Dollie when they married, Roy was a train robber, jewelry thief and prison escapee. Not only that but his adventures included mining, running guns for the Mexican Revolutionary Army and a tour of duty. He was a gambler who gambled with his and his family. Through it all he sustained a serious head injury and a knife wound but never injured anyone. He pleaded for the chance at reform. Was he truly sincere? How much did his head injury affect his reasoning? Why did he rob US mail trains?

His connection to Capone at Alcatraz is interesting; in fact, I would have loved more about prison life as I had the pleasure of visiting The Rock. The 1920s and 1930s is a special era to read about...thugs, robberies, heists and women in the workforce. The interwar years were indeed unique.

The author certainly did his research! Do read his fascinating story and inspiration, too.

My sincere thank you to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this engrossing book.

You always hear of the usual suspects when Alcatraz is talked about, but I had no clue about Roy Gardner before this book. What an interesting life he led! This book is full of his life experiences and since Alcatraz has always been a fascination of mine I was happy to be approved to read it.

I was really hopeful that I would love this book! The topic was interesting, but it felt more like a summary of report than an entertaining story. While I did learn something new, it was not the easiest read.

Roy Gardner is not one of Alcatraz's well known convicts but his life and crimes were quite interesting. A unique indict with an odd journey to The Rock.

This story was a bit wordy and could seriously benefit from condensing. It also lacked on the entertainment, reading more like a school report.

Alcatraz Ghost Story is about Roy Evans and his incredible life love and death. Before Roy started his criminal life he met his one true love at a candy store in Vallejo California in 1914 he was 32 and she was 18. Her name was Dolly and they would have one daughter together and he would always refer to Dolly as the love of his life the one true romance. They settle down and asked for Roy he made a good husband and father even owning his own welding company and when it burned down he would become a standout employee at another welding company he would even rallied the employees to support down on their luck coworkers when war broke out he would be the top bond seller and even though he would go to jail later in life for robbing trains and stagecoaches his coworkers money never had a penny missing when in Royse custody. He was well liked and much respected in his little community but things would change and Roy would be known for other endeavors such as train robbing escaping the police more than once and much much more. It seems whatever Roy did he did it in a big way in this book tell lol about it I’m always amazed when I run across the story I didn’t know and I totally didn’t notice one and so I couldn’t read this book fast enough he had a truly amazing life and a really sad death. This is a book I definitely recommend to those who love biographies True Crime an adult non-fiction you will definitely enjoy this book Brian Stanart did a wonderful job telling Roy Gardner story so kudos to him. as I said this is a truly amazing read in one I am so glad I got the opportunity to know more about. I want to thank Skyhorse publishing and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I got this book from Netgalley so I can read and review it before its published. I actually kept scrolling past this book on Netgalley, but a few days ago, I stopped and clicked and was intrigued.

I have always been a bit fascinated with Alcatraz, and when I took a trip to San Francisco in 2005, Alcatraz was one of the places I visited, and it was pretty amazing and eerie!

I didn’t know anything about Roy Gardner, but after reading, I learned he robbed a jewelry store, he robbed and escaped from a quite a few delivery trains and, he escaped from prison (not Alcatraz). Throughout the book, a lot of people everywhere think they saw him.

He was at Alcatraz from 1934 to 1938 and during that time, the Golden Gate Bridge was under construction. If things had turned out differently for Roy, he could’ve easily been one of the construction workers on it.

He was married to Dollie, and they had a daughter named, Jean. Even though he was a criminal, Dollie stayed true to him and did some vaudeville theater tours to help him. One of the police officers who captured him, Louis Sonney, also did the same. Dollie eventually left Roy after 15 years and remarried.

Dollie and Louis were trying to get some money so Roy could have brain surgery as earlier, he was working in a mine, and there was an accident. Roy had to have a steel plate inserted. He claims that’s why he did criminal things.

Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Alcatraz Ghost Story is written by Brian Stannard. I had not heard of Roy Gardner before this story. The author has done some careful research to bring this part of history to life. Gardner was an gambling addict with a charismatic personality. His wife, Dollie stood by his side Gardner also led a very shady life. He had a metal plate in his head that was the result of a mining accident. Some feel that this led to his lawless life. He went on to rob trains and run guns for the Mexican Revolutionary Army.
I enjoyed this author's work on Roy Gardner. IT's well written, and the author has done careful research.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this book so much. This is the kind of microhistory that I love. Sure, we know some famous faces of Alcatraz, but to hear about a run of the mill criminal ending up there was so interesting. I loved learning about Gardner and was always wondering what wild trouble he would get up to next. Overall, I thought this book was well written and well organized, but could have been a little cleaner, some parts are clunky, and words are added and missing in some spots. I also feel like the first part could have benefitted more from at least a few pictures, especially with the introduction of the characters; they don't appear until part 2 I believe. Other than that, I thought it was fantastic. I also really loved that we got back stories to the main characters in Gardner's life, I found myself constantly inquiring about them and was happy to get the wrap up at the end. I'll be waiting around for more of Stannard's books on the other prisoners of Alcatraz!
Wanted to come back & update this to say that I read this book while listening to Jonathan Eig's Get Capone, & it was really awesome to see Gardner & Capone's story overlap in Stannard's book!

It's not what I expect from this book. Some part were interesting some very badly written. It looks like the whole story was written by different people. Mixed feelings.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Skyhorse Publishing for an advance copy of this biography about one of the most popular criminals on the Pacific Coast, a man who was arrested and escaped prisons with regularity, with a smile on his face, and love for his wife in his heart.

America loves the bad guy. This country loves to make legends of criminals, making Robin Hoods out of people who were just robbing hoods. Add a smile, a care in not hurting people while doing crimes, and even better making fools of the police and authority, one gets a criminal with more songs and stories than court appearances. Below the legend though is always the real person. With doubts, drives, fears, and mistakes with violence always possible. The might act nice, but their occupation is crime, robbing, stealing, and even if not liking to use force, the threat is always there. Along with what made them turn to crime. Addictions, maybe a bang on the head, or maybe they have just given up on themselves, even as others wives, even lawmen keep fighting for them. Alcatraz Ghost Story:Roy Gardner's Amazing Train Robberies, Escapes, and Lifelong Love is a biography of criminal who thrilled the populous of the West Coast in the early part of the century, written by Brian Stannard, with a look at what drove Gardner to crime, and how that life eventually paid out.

Roy Gardner seemed like a catch to his wife Dollie. A man with a strong work ethic, a good father who provided for his family, even when life was making things hard. A welder respected by his employers and his co-workers, a man of respect within the community. And a man with a past that his wife had no idea about. Gardner was an Army deserter, a miner, a gunrunner, an escaped Mexican prisoner, a boxer, and a criminal. A lot of life in a short time. Gardner's time as a miner might have ruined the rest of his life after a cave-in crushed his skull, giving him a metal plate and headaches for the rest of his life. Combined with his love of gambling, and need to provide for his family, crime seemed the only solution. Gardner began to rob people, buildings and trains, smiling and polite, without hurting anyone. Numerous arrests lead to numerous escapes, until he found himself in Alcatraz, and things really began to change.

A true crime book that is very deeply researched and very well written. Also the book has a unique look at it's main character by looking at the demons that drove the man, from an author who also shared a problem with addiction. Gardner did have a traumatic brain injury needing a metal plate that might have damaged Gardner enough to make him think that crime could pay. In addition his addictions to gambling and other things, might have driven him to feats that were sometimes successful, more times not. Stannard is like a said a good writer, able to balance a sort of boy's own adventure, running guns, prison escapes, tales of wrong ammo for weapons, with a deeply nuanced look at why people are driven to do the things they do. Stannard has a good sense for the time and the place, and his writing on Alcatraz is very insightful. A different kind of true crime book, but one that will really hold a reader's attention .

Recommended for true crime fans, and people who like to read about early 20th century underworld stories. Also for readers interested in Alcatraz and stories about people who really lived life on their own terms.

Being into true crime and history lately this seemed like an interesting read about a bandit I'd never heard of, and it was definitely interesting! A lot of history of the times was interspersed with the story of Roy Gardner, a criminal with a conscience who never killed anyone and who, despite his impressive escapes, never seemed to really actually make off with anything except more train rides to jail. Roy wasn't in Alcatraz for very long, but as one of the first group of convicts sent there, he wrote a book about his time there which I'm tempted to look up. I was a little bothered that there were so many chapters (more of a me problem than anything), some of which were just a few sentences - but I think the author was trying to make the back-and-forth less confusing as he wrote perspectives from the different places/characters at different times. Overall a good read and I'd recommend it!