In 2000, Northern Ireland's Maze Prison shut down after the release of the last terrorist prisoners. First published as the prison closed, "Inside the Maze" reveals the story of one of the worst battlegrounds of the Ulster troubles, and examines how Northern Ireland's prison system - the "third front" after the RUC and the army - has survived the years of conflict and made its mark on the province's history. The book records how the Northern Ireland Prison Service struggled to cope with the volatile forces it had to contain. After the outbreak of the Troubles in 1968 the hastily built Maze became a university of terrorism, formenting the confrontations and violence it was intended to control. Ten inmates died in the hunger strike of 1981, and two years later 38 prisoners broke out in the largest ever prison escape. Yet against all odds, and despite the continual terrorist threat, the prison that symbolized the Troubles at last became an arena for negotiations and a powerhouse for peace.
Including revealing interviews with the former terrorists and members of the prison service, and with a new foreword to take account of developments since hardback publication, the book aims to offer a definitive history of this controversial subject, casting new light on the sources of conflict and on the possibilities for reconciliation.