A Gangster's Life

Bestselling author Peter Edwards exposes Canada's evolving criminal underworld in this unflinching account of Shane Dankoski, a gang member who rescued himself from certain death by turning his back on criminal life.

In this gripping tale of a modern-day outlaw, Shane Dankoski meticulously recounts his time as a high-ranking member of the United Nations gang of British Columbia in the early 2000s. Under constant threat from other gangs, including the Wolfpack and Hells Angels, Shane spent a decade evading the law and building his drug empire. 

Shane seemed destined for gang life. He grew up in a violent home on a small block in a neighbourhood of Surrey where a nation-spanning gang war woudl later take root. After losing numerous friends and becoming addicted to the very drugs he helped put on the street, Shane would eventually be picked up by police officers whom, recognizing a man with enough conscience to want out, turned him into an agent of their own. Now retired from crime and settled down as a family man, Shane's story proves that it's possible to triumph over life's obstacles.

Peter Edwards deftly weaves a tale of betrayal, grief and astounding resilience, in this gut-wrenching portrait from the inside of Canada's criminal underworld. Millennial Gangster brings alive the structure and international scope of modern gang life, and of ultimately finding a way out of it.PETER EDWARDS is the organized-crime beat reporter for the Toronto Star and the bestselling author of seventeen non-fiction books and one young adult novel. His works have been published in four languages. Edwards is a member of Top Left Entertainment, a production development company, and an executive producer for the Citytv series Bad Blood, created by New Metric Media and aired on Netflix. His book One Dead Indian: The Premier, the Police and the Ipperwash Crisis was made into the Gemini Award–winning movie One Dead Indian by Sienna Films that aired on CTV. Edwards was awarded an eagle feather from the Union of Ontario Indians and a gold medal from the Centre for Human Rights. His book Delusion (published in Europe as The Infiltrator) is on the CIA’s recommended reading list for staff and agents.