Writer Edward Bunker’s ‘Raw Candor’ Still Inspires Fans

I’m always glad to see an ex-con leave prison and make his mark on the world in a positive manner (“Edward Bunker’s Convictions,” by Robert Dellinger, Oct. 1). When I started working as a prison guard at Soledad in 1985, an old convict told me that if I wanted to understand criminals, I should read Bunker’s “No Beast So Fierce.” He was Bunker’s cellmate at San Quentin during the ‘60s, and he told me that he’d read it page by page as it was being written. I took his advice and was impressed by the raw candor of the book. I’ve followed Bunker’s progress as a fan ever since and wish him all the success and happiness he can achieve.

Don Lampson

Santa Margarita

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The term “bonarooed” caught my eye. I haven’t heard the term since 1983, when I retired from L.A. County as a corrections officer. I didn’t know Bunker, but I know he speaks the truth about the brutality shown to some inmates--mostly by young officers who have never been in positions of authority. The inmates referred to them as “bulls with 90-pound badges.” Fortunately, they were a small fraction of the security force.

Andrew P. Boquet

Seal Beach