An ABA Indies Introduce Top Ten Title for Winter 2018
William A. Noguera has spent thirty-four years at the notorious San Quentin Prison, home to the nation’s largest and deadliest death row. Each day, men plot against you and your life rests on a razor’s edge. In Escape Artist, he describes his personal growth as a man and artist and shares his insights into daily life and the fight to survive in the underworld of prison culture.

After being sentenced to death, he arrived at San Quentin Prison and was thrown into a rat-infested cell—it was there that he discovered the key to his escape: art. Over the next three decades, Noguera rebelled against conventional prison behavior, and instead forged the code he lives by today—accepting responsibility for his actions, and a self-imposed discipline of rehabilitation. In the process, he has explored his capacity to bring focus and clarity to his artistic vision.

Escape Artist exposes the violence, politics and everyday existence within the underbelly of society that is prison life. In an unprecedented narrative, Noguera reveals the emotional and heart-wrenching loss that landed him on death row and the journey he has taken to become an award-winning artist, speaker, and author—a tale of one man’s transformation through tragedy. “Escape Artist is a gripping, sad, inspirational and amazing story of being on death row in America's worst prison and, more interestingly, the emotional journey that got Mr. Noguera into prison and how he evolved into a world-class artist and rehabilitated human being. This book is fascinating on many levels.”—Chris Morrow, Northshire Bookstore (Manchester Center, VT)

"The book is a chilling look through the eyes of a man who has nothing to lose in this life except going to his grave without being understood. Noguera is a gifted storyteller whose story is not only valuable, but must be told." —Forbes.com

“...An inmate in a brutal, violent climate for more than 30 years and never formally trained as a painter or writer, [William A. Noguera] nonetheless produces expressive, award-winning art that is astonishing, as is the clarity and well-crafted technique of his literary voice.” —Bay Area News Group
 
“William Noguera’s road from “the world” to San Quentin prison was a hard one. Even harder was life in the confines of the prison for 34 years, on death row, awaiting his end. But that life brought him to a realization about the value of life and he turned to art to express his new-found ideas, insights and feelings. Now an award-winning artist and speaker, as well as author, he wants to share the story of his move from roid-rage, caused by his use of steroids, to the life a new life – found where he expected his physical life to end. This is an insightful, encouraging autobiography that explains much and asks some hard questions about our system of justice and what it means to be a criminal.” —Linda Bond, Auntie’s Bookstore (Spokane, WA)
 
“This Memoir is rich with sincere storytelling. It is inspiring to know after reading that even in the harsh and unforgiving place like prison, it is possible for someone to produce such a creative expression. His art goes beyond the physical bars and expresses themes that represent his experiences and ideas.  Readers will finds that William A. Noguera is not only an award-winning visual Artist; he is also a model of compassion and generosity.” —Alyson Turner, Source Booksellers (Detroit, MI)

"Escape Artist is a riveting self-portrait of a man with tremendous talent as a writer and artist, who takes us into the dark, and darker realms of American prisons. His candid, colorful, and often chilling description of the life that led to San Quentin's infamous death row is one of the most compelling accounts I've seen." —Peter B. Collins, veteran San Francisco radio host and podcaster at PeterBCollins.com

“William A. Noguera is proof that the arts transcend the worst hells on earth. I’ve been saying this all my life. And I’m not the only one. This book begs the question—can we become more humane, more human, in face of the inhumanity around us? Noguera did, confronting his traumas and the pain he caused others, facing death and choosing life.” —Luis J. Rodriguez, author of Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. and It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing

“[A] gripping insight into an unimaginable life . . . . The sensitivity with which Noguera writes about his art and emotional state is juxtaposed with his descriptions of the violence he witnesses, and perpetrates, among fellow inmates." –Adam Gabbatt, The Guardian