Serafina Mezzanotte

One prisoner's story

Reviewed: 03-19-16

Would you listen to Real Men Wear Beige again? Why?

This is an autobiography about an experience that most of us don’t see . . . that of being behind bars in a prison. The author committed a white-collar financial crime and turns himself in. The book then, deals with his experiences behind bars. We get to know his routine, the fellow prisoners he encounters and befriends, and the criminal justice workers who treated him badly. We get a lot of detail and rough language to go along with it, so this is definitely a book for mature audiences! The most enjoyable parts are the descriptions of the actual imprisonment.

Part of the interest in the story is not just the “being in jail” part but the details of the way he feels he was mistreated that call into question a lot of what we assume about the criminal justice system. He doesn’t claim to be innocent of his crime but even though this was his first brush with being a criminal he did receive a harsh sentence, and experienced a lot of things along the way that seem very unfair.

His book takes us all the way from just before jail to his re-entry as a free person. It would be nice if there were more back story to help us get to know him a little before the crime, but that part is fairly thin. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What about Donato Alfredano’s performance did you like?

The narration does a good job of providing depth and interest. The author narrates so he’s reading his own material and adding the right vocal tones. He’s got a good, easy to listen to voice that I enjoyed.

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