Inside the walls of Angola State Penitentiary, survival isn’t about rehabilitation; it’s about becoming someone you never intended to be. Michael Burge entered the system as a broken young man shaped by childhood abuse and street violence. He emerged as “Iron Mike,” a figure both feared and respected in one of America’s most notorious prisons. This accurate crime account follows Burge’s transformation from a neglected child to a hardened survivor, revealing how the very institutions meant to reform can instead destroy.

Through intimate details of prison hierarchy, unwritten codes of conduct, and the constant threat of violence, Albert Schriber exposes the brutal reality of life behind bars. When a violent incident leads to murder charges, Burge faces a legal system that seems more interested in punishment than in understanding the