1000 books (original) (raw)

Author: Tony Thompson, the crime correspondent for the Observer in the UK. He has also done crime reports for Timeout, GQ and the Guardian.
Title:

Gangs: A Journey Into the Heart of the British Underworld

This book is absolutely phenomenal. It reads like the Sunday papers, but you won't put these papers down until you've finished. In Gangs, Thompson takes the reader through a fascinating journey of Britain's underworld. There are chapters on armed robbery, human trafficking, kidnapping, drugs syndicates, money laundering, gun running and more. The most incredible thing is that this is investigative journalism at it's best. It's not some toff sitting behind his desk and speculating. Thompson actually goes in there and meets these people, he goes into prisons and travels to Jamaica, he chats to men who are proud and men who are frightened for their lives, but mostly, he just listens... as is evident by the stories he relays.

If you've ever watched (and enjoyed) Trainspotting, Snatch or Layer Cake, I recommend you read this book. It's as close to the real thing you're going to get.