- Title:
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A Bit of a Stretch (MP3)
- Written by:
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Chris Atkins
- Read by:
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Chris Atkins
- Format:
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Unabridged MP3 CD Audio Book
- Number of CDs:
-
1
- Duration:
-
9 hours 32 minutes
- MP3 size:
-
396 MB
- Published:
-
July 01 2020
- Available Date:
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July 01 2020
- Age Category:
-
Adult
- ISBN:
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9780655679295
- Genres:
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Non-fiction; True Crime
- Publisher:
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Bolinda/Audible audio
Qty
Format
Price
Bolinda price
Welcome to Her Majesty's Prison Service, a creaking and surreal world that has been left to rot for decades in the shadows of polite society.
Where can a tin of tuna buy you clean clothes? Which British education system struggles with 50 percent illiteracy? Where do teetotal Muslims attend AA meetings? Where is it easier to get 'spice' than paracetamol? Where does self-harm barely raise an eyebrow?
Welcome to Her Majesty's Prison Service, a creaking and surreal world that has been left to rot for decades in the shadows of polite society. Like most people, documentary-maker Chris Atkins didn't spend much time thinking about prisons. But after becoming embroiled in a dodgy scheme to fund his latest film, he was sent down for five years.
His new home would be HMP Wandsworth, one of the oldest, largest and most dysfunctional prisons in Europe. Horrifying, moving and darkly funny, this is the unvarnished depiction of what he found. With a cast of characters ranging from wily drug dealers to corrupt screws to senior officials bent on endless (and fruitless) reform, this is the reality behind the locked gates. Full of incredible and hilarious stories, A Bit of a Stretch reveals the true scale of our prison crisis and why it is costing us all.
'Shocking, scathing, entertaining ... If you thought you knew how bad British prisons are, you haven't read this book ... It's an inside story to make you weep at the incompetence, stupidity and viciousness of the current system.'
Guardian
'Incredibly compelling.'
The Times
'Surreal, darkly funny, at times horrifying but always humane account of what it's like to be locked up.'
The Observer