This book takes students on a guided tour of the gang phenomenon through history, as well as current representations of gangs in literature and media. It includes:

- A detailed global overview of gang culture, covering, amongst others, Glasgow, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Shanghai

- A chapter on researching gangs which covers quantitative and qualitative methods

- Extra chapter features such as key terms, chapter overviews, study questions and further reading suggestions.

Alistair Fraser brings together gang-literature and critical perspectives in a refreshingly new way, exploring ‘gangs’ as a social group with a long and fascinating history.