Mark Bowden is the author of fifteen books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo. He reported at the Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years and now writes for the Atlantic and other magazines.
Gripping and revealing...A powerful, nuanced depiction of gang violence in America that makes a strong case for meaningful reform * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * A scorching true-crime narrative. . . Bowden pulls no punches in his indictment of the ways in which the richest country in the world has allowed Black children for decades to be born into blighted urban neighborhoods, and saddled them with burdens that they must struggle to surmount to lead meaningful lives. This account of 'young men growing up in a place where murderous violence has become a way of life' will haunt readers long after they finish it * Publishers Weekly (starred review) * A masterpiece, right up there with Black Hawk Down and Guests of the Ayatollah. It's gripping, it's fast, it's deeply insightful and empathetic, and it's brilliantly and exhaustively reported. People should read it. -- Matt Bai, author of ALL THE TRUTH IS OUT [Bowden is] a Woodward that outdoes even Woodward. -- Malcolm Gladwell * New Yorker * Bowden turns his masterful storytelling talent to chronicling the gang's reign of terror and law enforcement's Herculean efforts to end it * Booklist *