Synopses & Reviews
When convicted murderer Gary Tison broke out of an Arizona prison with the help of his sons in 1978, it was an embarrassment to the state. Then it became a nightmare. Tison and his gang murdered six people before they were stopped near the Mexican border. Clarke's story of that manhunt is a chilling account of both cold-blooded murder and astonishing corruption within the state penal system. Last Rampage is a tale of criminal ruthlessness that has been called the In Cold Blood of the American West. Twenty years later, overtaxed law enforcement and overcrowded prisons can only make us wonder if such an incident could happen again.
Review
"Illuminating and absorbing. . . . The book is more than a simple cops-and-bandits tale: It is a psychological study in the machinations of a master manipulator. . . . Last Rampage is one of those rare books that is both highly entertaining and thought-provoking." Arizona Republic "The killings alone are chilling enough to place this fascinating book alongside Joseph Wambaugh's The Onion Field or Joe MicGinniss' Fatal Vision. . . . Though the details of corruption in Arizona's prison system are absorbing, the story of Tison's psychological control over his three sons provides the most riveting reading." Chicago Tribune "Gripping and violent . . . a strong sense of place and culture; an intelligent look at the . . . factors that allowed a manipulative killer to exercise his influence." Kirkus Reviews "A riveting account of a bloody crime spree and a first-class study of a cunning sociopath in action." Publishers Weekly "[A] vivid, frightening, and fascinating portrait." New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
In 1978 convicted murderer Gary Tison escaped from an Arizona prison with the help of his three sons. Over the following two weeks, Tison and his gang roamed the Southwest, murdering six people before confronting police in a bloody shootout near the Mexican border. Next to the Gunfight at the OK Corral, this is the most sensational crime story in Arizona history.
Description
Includes bibliographical references and index.
About the Author
James W. Clarke is Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona. He is also the author of American Assassins: The Darker Side of Politics; On Being Mad or Merely Angry: John W. Hinckley, Jr. and Other Dangerous People; and The Lineaments of Wrath: Race, Violent Crime, and American Culture.