Book excerpt: A real peek behind the walls of a federal prison and into the lives of the many poor youngsters that this country so exuberantly incarcerates. Entwined with captivating and colorful stories, it will bring you from the inside of a small frame church house to behind closed doors of political deal making. In a letter exchange with his daughter, this veteran politician and now prison inmate tells all. Not only the details that landed a once ordained minister and prominent Oklahoma lawmaker behind bars, but describes his interaction with the younger inmates as well. The author’s unique take on religion, law and gutless politicians bleeds through these unfiltered accounts. From his humble beginnings in the sun-bleached fields of southeast Oklahoma, he allows the reader to examine life from a view “beneath the vines.”