Life Sentence, Mark Bowden
Life Sentence, Mark Bowden
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Life Sentence
The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore’s Deadliest Gang Leader

Author: Mark Bowden

Narrator: L.J. Ganser

Unabridged: 10 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 04/11/2023


Synopsis

In this unprecedented deep dive into inner-city gang life, Mark Bowden takes readers inside a Baltimore gang, offers an in-depth portrait of its notorious leader, and chronicles the 2016 FBI investigation that landed eight of its members in prison

Sandtown is one of the deadliest neighborhoods in the world; it earned Baltimore its nickname Bodymore, Murderland, and was made notorious by David Simon’s classic HBO series The Wire. Drug deals dominate street corners, and ruthless, casual violence abounds.

Montana Barronette grew up in the center of it all. He was the leader of the gang “Trained to Go,” or TTG, and when he was finally arrested and sentenced to life in prison, he had been labeled “Baltimore’s Number One Trigger Puller.” Under Tana’s reign, TTG dominated
Sandtown. After a string of murders are linked to TTG, each with dozens of witnesses too intimidated to testify, three detectives set out to put Tana in prison for life. For them, this was never about drugs: it was about serial murder.

An acclaimed journalist who spent his youth in the white suburbs of Baltimore, Mark Bowden returns to the city with exclusive access to the FBI files and unprecedented insight into one of the city’s deadliest gangs and its notorious leader. As he traces the rise and fall
of TTG, Bowden uses wiretapped drug buys, police interviews, undercover videos, text messages, social media posts, trial transcripts, and his own ongoing conversations with Tana’s family and community to create the most in-depth account of an inner-city gang ever written.

With his signature precision and propulsive narrative, Mark Bowden positions Tana—as a boy, a gang leader, a killer, and now a prisoner—in the context of Baltimore and America, illuminating his path for what it really was: a life sentence.

About Mark Bowden

Mark Bowden, voted the number one body language professional in the world by Global Gurus, is a renowned thought leader in the field of nonverbal communication. Principal at groundbreaking communications organization Truthplane, Mark is sought after internationally for his entertaining and inspirational keynote speeches. He has a popular TEDx talk, media appearances worldwide, and bestselling books enjoyed by millions.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sharon on May 03, 2023

Mark Bowden has knocked it out of the park again with his book, Life Sentence The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore’s Deadliest Gang Leader. During his early career, Bowden was a journalist in Baltimore which really shows in this true-crime story based in the Sandtown neighborhood in Baltimore. Th......more

Goodreads review by ♥Milica♥ on July 18, 2023

This was a fascinating and sad listen, one that I'd definitely reread. Perhaps not re-listen though, not because the audio wasn't good - it was okay - but I think having a black narrator would've been better for this book. It was quotes using the n word that made me pause, I went and double checked t......more

Goodreads review by David on May 22, 2023

I wouldn’t last 3 hours in a place like Sandtown.......more

Goodreads review by Valerity (Val) on December 13, 2022

Walk in the shoes of Montana Barronette, a young gang leader in Baltimore. He started dealing drugs by the time he was thirteen, later taking over drug turf when he was still very young. He was taken down by people he grew up with, some were former friends or competitors. A fast paced, stark read th......more

Goodreads review by Eric on May 01, 2023

While Mark Bowden’s Life Sentence is frequently described as a chronicle of the rise and fall of Montana Barronette, AKA Tana, while ruling the illicit drug markets of Sandtown, a violent Baltimore, Maryland neighborhood, it is also a social critique upon the too often found harsh life found within......more