"Newjack" is an extraordinary piece of undercover journalism. When Ted Conover was denied permission to follow a recruit through the academy for correction officers, he applied. After two months of training, Conover (like almost all new COs) was sent to New York's infamous Sing Sing prison.

With an unprecedented viewpoint into the American penal system, Conover often drifts unnecessarily into social commentary. However, his account is gripping, but without a trace of humor, and often depressing. It's clear that corrections officers are prisoners of sort - except they go home at night. Conover notes that at the heart of the job, correction officers (by the way, never referred to as "guards") are charged with the unenviable position of denying men their freedom.