The book contains the recollections of Ted Price as told to John Miller about the re-inventing of an economically depressed town in central Washington into a busy Bavarian village. The community development and resulting tourism, according to the authors, happened as a result of the community spirit, vision and dedication to the continued existence of a small town that was "their community."

A stunning account of life behind bars at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, where the nation’s hardest criminals do hard time. “A page-turner, as compelling and evocative as the finest novel. The best book on prison I’ve ever read.”—Jonathan Kellerman The most dreaded facility in the prison system because of its fierce population, Leavenworth is governed by ruthless clans competing for dominance. Among the “star” players in these pages: Carl Cletus Bowles, the sexual predator with a talent for murder; Dallas Scott, a gang member who has spent almost thirty of his forty-two years behind bars; indomitable Warden Robert Matthews, who put his shoulder against his prison’s grim reality; Thomas Silverstein, a sociopath confined in “no human contact” status since 1983; “tough cop” guard Eddie Geouge, the only officer in the penitentiary with the authority to sentence an inmate to “the Hole”; and William Post, a bank robber with a criminal record going back to when he was eight years old—and known as the “Catman” for his devoted care of the cats who live inside the prison walls. Pete Earley, celebrated reporter and author of Family of Spies, all but lived for nearly two years inside the primordial world of Leavenworth, where he conducted hundreds of interviews. Out of this unique, extraordinary access comes the riveting story of what life is actually like in the oldest maximum-security prison in the country. Praise for The Hot House “Reporting at its very finest.”—Los Angeles Times “The book is a large act of courage, its subject an important one, and . . . Earley does it justice.”—The Washington Post Book World “[A] riveting, fiercely unsentimental book . . . To [Earley’s] credit, he does not romanticize the keepers or the criminals. His cool and concise prose style serves him well. . . . This is a gutsy book.”—Chicago Tribune “Harrowing . . . an exceptional work of journalism.”—Detroit Free Press “If you’re going to read any book about prison, The Hot House is the one. . . . It is the most realistic, unbuffed account of prison anywhere in print.”—Kansas City Star “A superb piece of reporting.”—Tom Clancy

Leavenworth, located in the central Cascades of Washington state, was once known as Icicle, and has been home to Native Americans, settlers, miners, railroad workers, and loggers. The native tribes came to this pristine and bountiful area to hunt game and fish for salmon. The promise of gold brought miners to Leavenworth, and once the Great Northern Railroad laid down its tracks in the late 1800s, the town moved from Icicle to its present location. The Lamb-Davis Lumber Company also built a sawmill in town, but when the railroad relocated its tracks and moved its hub to Wenatchee, the sawmill closed in 1926. The little boomtown in the Cascades went bust, but it was reinvented by its residents in the early 1960s with a Bavarian theme. The Bavarian premise of Leavenworth is still intact, and today the city draws around 2.5 million visitors annually.

On May 30, 1854, Pres. Franklin Pierce signed the hotly contested Kansas-Nebraska Act. Before the ink was dry, squatters settled on the 322-acre plot of land bounded by the Fort Leavenworth Military Reservation (to the north) and Three Mile Creek (to the south). From Bleeding Kansas to western expansion, many historical figures have called Leavenworth home, including Fred Harvey, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok, to name but a few. The landscape is decorated with buildings and homes featuring a beauty and grandeur that have stood the test of time. Originally known as the "Queen City of the West," this metropolis would become one of the largest manufacturing cities in America, providing goods and services to markets all over the world. Historical churches, the Leavenworth VA Medical Center, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, and Leavenworth National Cemetery all contribute to the town's pioneering spirit that is second to none.

A gripping account of a twenty-four-year manhunt chronicles the exploits of Frank Grigware, an innocent man convicted of a train robbery and sentenced to life imprisonment, who escaped from the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth and fled to Canada, where he built a new life for himself in Alberta, until the FBI found him in the 1930s. Reprint.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1873.