All the books by Thomas E. Gaddis adapted to cinema and television, ranked

While serving a life sentence at Alcatraz, Robert Stroud, a convicted murderer, nurses a sick bird that enters his cell back to health, eventually transforming into an internationally recognized expert in ornithology.

After being convicted of burglary, Carl Panzram is incarcerated at Leavenworth Prison where he is subjected to brutal beatings by a guard. However, neophyte guard Henry Lesser develops empathy for Panzram and establishes a friendship with him, persuading him to pen down his life story. As Lesser delves deeper into Panzram’s past, he discovers that the convict’s history is far more violent than he had initially thought, but also comes to believe that Panzram has the potential to be a better person than the rest of the prison staff perceives.