Life Sentence

MARK BOWDEN is the author of fifteen books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down. He reported at the Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years and now writes for the Atlantic and other magazines.

“Most of the TTG gang members are now serving life sentences, but as Bowden starkly illustrates, neutralizing one criminal enterprise won’t solve the great ongoing tragedy of violence in poor, isolated urban Black communities, nor will it fix the devastation fueled by racist policies from the 19th and 20th centuries.” —The Washington Post“A ground level view… The masterful yarn is a riveting true narrative about an FBI investigation that landed eight criminal bosses behind bars in the city profiled in the popular American television crime drama ‘The Wire.’” – Associated Press"Life Sentence is 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, Washington Post contributing columnist and author of All the Truth Is Out“Gripping and revealing. . . A powerful, nuanced depiction of gang violence in America that makes a strong case for meaningful reform beyond policing.” —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)Praise for Mark Bowden:“A Woodward that outdoes even Woodward.” —Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker“Amazing . . . One of the most intense, visceral reading experiences imaginable. . . The individual stories are woven together in such a compelling and expert fashion, the narrative flows so seamlessly, that it’s hard to imagine that this is not fiction.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer on Black Hawk Down