In Gangs in Canada, Jeff Pearce draws a portrait of an epidemic spreading across the country and infecting our youth. But more importantly, he shows how police, ex-gang members and organizations are reclaiming our young people and showing them ways out of a violent, doomed lifestyle. This is the most gripping, up-to-date chronicle of what is happening on our streets and what is being done about it: - Walk the "Battlefield in Paradise," where Vancouver's all-out gang war is getting international attention before the city plays host to the Olympics; cops and prosecutors are cracking down, relying on new tactics to keep the bad guys behind bars - See the reality of gang life beyond stereotypes; gang members don't have to come from broken homes or bad neighbourhoods--some are from privileged, well-off backgrounds - Meet a Calgary constable who visits gang members and young men at risk and with touching humanity sees their potential and is even willing to trust a couple of them with the safety of his own family - Trace the rise and fall of the notorious Bindy Johal, a vicious crime leader who is still perversely idolized by up-and-coming gangsters and wannabes years after he was shot dead in the back of the head - Learn why white supremacist gangsters are more bark than bite, manipulating the media beyond their wildest dreams; one Ontario neo-Nazi fooled Fox News into interviewing him as a "free speech advocate" - Meet Jessie McKay, once known as a crazy punk rocker chick and muscle for the Indian Posse who has reinvented herself as a caring mother and activist trying to save Aboriginal youth. Gangs in Canada goes beyond the headlines and news clips. It picks up the discussion over media and drug legalization and shakes out fresh new perspectives. Anyone who cares about the future of the community will want to read this groundbreaking volume.