At first, City Time: On Being Sentenced to Rikers Island is slow-moving in that it sluggishly speaks to some of the architectural and historical aspects of this most infamous of prisons; but once those few chapters are finished, the book starts to pick up and it does a sensational job introducing readers into a smarmy and seedy institution that holds the worst of the worst, along with those who are on, what is called, “city time.” As is discussed in the summary on Amazon, if someone is doing “city time,” they usually earned a sentence that ranges “from a few days to a year, and are generally served within large, open dormitories lacking in privacy and sanitation.” The writers, David Campbell and Jarrod Shanahan are familiar with these dormitories, because they themselves were city timers who experienced what Rikers had to offer: “structural racism, class violence, and the disastrous lack of mental health and substance abuse resources for poor New Yorkers, who are shuttled in and out of city time sentences as ‘frequent flyers’.” Thus, the work becomes an effective and informative exposé on what has been deemed as a brutal facility by many former and current convicts, administrators, and city officials, for decades and decades.

Rest of the review: https://greatbutunknownperformances.wordpress.com/

I have mixed emotions about this book, or maybe I was expecting more. It was a good read and then it became very heavy. It was like this throughout the full book. It became a bit too much quite a few times. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Having spent over 20 years working in Federal prisons, I was drawn to this book. Riker's Island. Just the name conjures up a whole host of thoughts to me. I met many inmates who have been incarcerated at Riker's, and not one of them ever had anything good to say about it. In fact, they hated it more than the maximum security Federal institutions.
I was impressed with the book the authors turned out. They do a good job of describing the layout of the detention facility. Honestly, I had no idea that the place was as big as it is. They discuss everything from a prisoner's first day up to the day he is released.
It's a very good book. Very thorough, although at times a bit too thorough. It's a moderately easy read, and kept me engaged and interested throughout.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is involved in corrections. You will learn a lot. I did!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book was interesting and I know it was supposed to be a factual book but I must admit that it was a little bit heavy with information. The book seemed to flow and then suddenly there was a huge chunk of information that was so long that it was hard to take in.

Overall, not my favourite

This was a little too factual for me. I like prison books and shows and wanted to get stuck into a gritty book about rikers island as the premise sounded very interesting. Reading it felt largely like a textbook. It didn’t grab me so I didn’t decide to dnf relatively early. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc.

City Time offers an amazing unfiltered glimpse into life at New York City’s Rikers Island. Written by David Campbell and Jarrod Shanahan, both of whom experienced incarceration there, the book paints a vivid picture of survival, rituals, and relationships within the notorious correctional facility. From intake to late-night release, it sheds light on structural issues and the lack of mental health resources for detainees. A powerful and urgent read.” 📚🗽🔒