While working for the U.S. Forest Service during high school, Ted Nace learned about the plans of several major corporations to develop coal strip mines and other energy projects near his hometown of Dickinson, North Dakota. During graduate school, Nace worked for the Environmental Defense Fund, where he helped develop computerized simulations that demonstrated the investor and ratepayer benefits of replacing coal-fired power plants with alternative energy programs. The EDF simulations led to the cancellation of a multi-billion-dollar coal-based power complex proposed by two California utilities. After completing his graduate studies, Nace worked for the Dakota Resource Council, a citizens group concerned about the impacts of energy development on agriculture and rural communities. Nace moved to California, where he wrote and edited for PC World, Macworld, and other computer magazines and book publishers. Hoping to create a more supportive environment for authors like himself, he founded Peachpit Press. Under Naces leadership, Peachpit developed a number of innovative book series, including Little Books, Visual QuickStart Guides, and Real World Guides. The company won renown for its harmonious and creative arrangements with authors, and it produced dozens of best-sellers. Peachpit outpaced older and larger publishing companies to become the worlds leading source of books on computer graphics and desktop publishing. After eleven years as publisher, Nace sold Peachpit Press to British conglomerate Pearson Plc, and he returned to freelance writing. In seeking to understand the institutional structure of power in America, he investigated the historical roots of the corporation, as well as reflecting on his own experiences as a community organizer and a publishing entrepreneur. Gangs of America is the result of that research and reflection.