JEFFREY BROWN:
Twenty-nine inmates and ten hostages were killed in the takeover, scores more injured.
The story, much of it long kept hidden from view, is told in the new book "Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising o f 1971 and Its Legacy."
Author Heather Ann Thompson is a historian at the University of Michigan.
Now, you argue there are two stories to tell. One is the "what happened", one is the aftermath. Start with the "what happened". What did the period leading up to the riot, what led to it?
HEATHER ANN THOMPSON, Author, "Blood in the Water": Well, prisons in 1971, much like today, were these out of sight, out of mind places where people were treated very badly, and the guys inside worked through the system first to try get their conditions improved — again, very basic things, enough food to eat, sufficient sanitary supplies — and when that really fails, frustration mounts.
Ultimately, they erupt in a protest, and the book tells that story. It's a remarkable story of men from very different backgrounds who stand together, negotiate with the state of New York, with the help of observers.
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