The Ugly American: Memoir of a General

In jail, behind bars, this author writes of a life gone wrong. It is a story familiar to many: It is a sad Cape Flats reality. His formative years were etched with domestic violence, abuse, and despair. A gifted child, he joined the ranks of the gang at the age of nine, and before his 15th birthday, he had already committed his first murder. And so we follow the author in this eye-opening portrayal of the lived experiences of many children born in the gang-invested suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. We travel into the belly of the gang, but more so into the hearts and the minds of these young people and what informs their choices as they navigate their way through hopelessness and the likelihood of either dying young or ending up in prison. But, I guess, there's always redemption...