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Description
God of the Rodeo: The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola PrisonNever before had Daniel Bergner seen a spectacle as bizarre as the one he had come to watch that Sunday in October. Murderers, rapists, and armed robbers were competing in the annual rodeo at Angola, the grim maximum security penitentiary in Louisiana. The convicts, sentenced to life without parole, were thrown, trampled, and gored by bucking bulls and broncos before thousands of cheering spectators. But amid the brutality of this gladiatorial
Never before had Daniel Bergner seen a spectacle as bizarre as the one he had come to watch that Sunday in October. Murderers, rapists, and armed robbers were competing in the annual rodeo at Angola, the grim maximum-security penitentiary in Louisiana. The convicts, sentenced to life without parole, were thrown, trampled, and gored by bucking bulls and broncos before thousands of cheering spectators. But amid the brutality of this gladiatorial spectacle Bergner caught surprising glimpses of exaltation, hints of triumphant skill. The incongruity of seeing hope where one would expect only hopelessness, self-control in men who were there because they'd had none, sparked an urgent quest in him. Having gained unlimited and unmonitored access, Bergner spent an unflinching year inside the harsh world of Angola. He forged relationships with seven prisoners who left an indelible impression on him. There's Johnny Brooks, seemingly a latter-day Stepin Fetchit, who, while washing the warden's car, longs to be a cowboy and to marry a woman he meets on the rodeo grounds. Then there's Danny Fabre, locked up for viciously beating a woman to death, now struggling to bring his reading skills up to a sixth-grade level. And Terry Hawkins, haunted nightly by the ghost of his victim, a ghost he tries in vain to exorcise in a prison church that echoes with the cries of convicts talking in tongues. Looming front and center is Warden Burl Cain, the larger-than-life ruler of Angola who quotes both Jesus and Attila the Hun, declares himself a prophet, and declaims that redemption is possible for even the most depraved criminal. Cain welcomes Bergner in, and so begins a journey that takes the author deep into a forgotten world and forces him to question his most closely held beliefs. The climax of his story is as unexpected as it is wrenching. Rendered in luminous prose, God of the Rodeo is an exploration of the human spirit, yielding in the process a searing portrait of a place that will be impossible to forget and a group of men, guilty of unimaginable crimes, desperately seeking a moment of grace.Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine
Published: 10/05/1999
ISBN: 9780345435538
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.42h x 5.60w x 0.80d
Review Citations: New York Times 11/21/1999 pg. 78
New York Times 12/05/1999 pg. 104
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4.3 ★★★★★
Based on 8 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Durable & Bright - Great for Heavy Chewers
Size: One-Size-for-Most
Pros:
Extremely Durable: Survived an aggressive chewer where tennis balls failed.
Dual-Visibility: Features both internal flashing lights and a glow-in-the-dark "chargeable" surface.
Perfect Size: Fits comfortably in the mouth of a 40lb medium-sized dog. Same size as a tennis ball.
Cons:
Battery Life: Unsure how long the internal flashing lights will last (though it has held up well so far).
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Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Great for night time play!
Size: One-Size-for-Most
This ball is great! It is a 2-for-one light up feature so we love the flashing lights and if she drops it in the snow after those lights stop, we can still find it because of the strong glow that gets its charge from the flashing LED lights. Our first one lasted a few years, we lost it on a trip so now back for our second one so we can keep the night time fetch going! She is a golden retriever for size reference. Any bigger of a breed and I would worry it might be too small for her mouth. It’s a bit smaller than a tennis ball. Just don’t make the same mistake I did and let them have it in the house at night, she walked up to my bedside while I was asleep one night and squeezed it to activate it. Those lights are so bright it was a rude awakening!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2025
★★★★★ 4
Good option for playing at night
Size: One-Size-for-Most
This ball is a good option if your dog likes to fetch at night. It stays lit for about 20 minutes or so, but that is me only leaving it out of the counter, being "charged" by whatever house lights are on. My dog isn't a big chewer, but it seems as though it would hold up well. I like that it is easy to rinse and clean. It seems to be a good value.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Night play
Size: One-Size-for-Most
My dog like many other dogs loves to play. We needed a ball that fit into the handheld thrower we had but something that we could find it at night. This has been wonderful!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2026
★★★★★ 1
It stopped working after three play sessions
Size: One-Size-for-Most
I thought this ball was great until a week later it stopped blinking and got lost in the snow. We only played with it for three days for 20 minutes at a time. It should’ve lasted a lot longer.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2025
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