In gangster lore, the Almighty Black P Stone Nation stands out among the most notorious street gangs. But how did teens from a poverty-stricken Chicago neighborhood build a powerful organization that united 21 individual gangs into a virtual nation?

Natalie Y. Moore and Lance Williams answer this and other questions in a provocative tale that features a colorful cast of characters from white do-gooders, black nationalists, and community organizers to overzealous law enforcement. The U.S. government funded the Nation. Louis Farrakahn hired the gang--renamed the El Rukns in a tribute to Islam--as his Angels of Death. Fifteen years before 9/11, the government convicted the gang of plotting terrorist acts with Libyan leader Mu'ammar Gadhafi; currently, founding member Jeff Fort is serving a triple life sentence.

An exciting story about the evolution of a gang, the book is an exposé of how minority crime is targeted as well as a timely look at urban violence