The research and writing of this book has, literally, taken years. There were times when I almost felt like I was being help captive by the Human Squirrel Cage. The publication deadline has been extended twice, in large part because many new pieces of information came to light and reading and careful consideration. In fact, up to the last few hours I was gathering information. I am glad to say:
WHEW! IT'S DONE!
The final book is 424 pages and over 90,000 words. A good-size chunk of text is included in the Acknowledgement section at the beginning, thanking everyone who has helped along the way, directly or indirectly, either by verifying information, providing leads and new information and leads to yet more people who might have information, and a huge thanks to those who have submitted pictures. On that last point, I want to especially thank:
Joan Houston Schneider
Public-Historian-Shutterbug-Extraordinaire
Joan's decision to go and visit the jail just prior to its demolition resulted in a lot of fine photographs, all of which she graciously granted me permission to use in this book. I hope I did them justice. I wish I could have fit them all in to these pages, but I think I selected the best of the best for readers to enjoy and they will provide a good overview of the jail.
I wanted to include the pictures of the sheriffs themselves, as I have collected a great number of them, but I am going to hold those for the book signing and for inclusion in the future book that will, Lord willing, include brief biographies on each of them.
What would a jail be without escapes? The Human Squirrel Cage had fifty, as well as nineteen attempts. The companion book to this one, Thanks For The Hospitality But We Gotta Go, will be following shortly and will provide additional details on those. I hope you will keep a sharp look out, as I'm not sure on what date it will break out. I'll post ordering information on this site, as well as my Facebook page.
In the meantime, I hope you'll take time to read through this new book. I would appreciate your comments/reviews on Amazon. I've tried to keep it modestly priced. I hope to post a link here and on Facebook for the official book signing date and location and I hope that those of you purchasing advance copies will bring them to the signing. For those anxiously awaiting local copies, I should have them in the next few weeks. Happy reading.
Articles about the book:
Interview on the KMA Radio Dean and Friends Show
Nodaway News Leader
