In the last five years, Britain's criminal gangs have changed. Their members are younger than ever before, with children as young as six joining them. The tragic slaying of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool in summer 2007 threw the issue into the media spotlight. Since then, it seems not a week goes by without another senseless killing. Already by summer 2008, London has seen over 20 brutal slayings of teenagers by teenagers, proving that the consequences of hyper-aggression and knife crime affect every community. This is the first full-length study of Britain's new gang culture, centred on the words of the kids themselves. The author has secured access to dozens of young men involved in the lifestyle, from high-ranking to low, and every chapter is based on first-hand testimonies of their day-to-day reality. None of them has been previously interviewed. There are contributions also from psychologists, academics and the police, providing the most comprehensive analysis of what gang life does to society and individuals. With a strong narrative that travels the country, One Blood provides a novelistic impression of what life is like for those who belong to a gang.It also investigates how the authorities are attempting to combat the problem, and analyses the social evils of which gang life is a symptom, not a cause. This explosive book will be an abiding portrait of an unfortunate section of British society, how it ended up this way, and what can be done to help it.