National Network for Equitable Library Service

Decades before Vancouver's sensational drug wars resulting from organized crime, street gangs--many associated with individual city parks--held sway over Vancouver's unruly east side. None was considered tougher or more feared than the Clark Park Gang. In contrast to the peace-and-love hippies and be-ins of the city's west side, this was a tough, wild, two-fisted crew of characters from Vancouver's post-1960s counterculture. In 1972, after a number of headline-making riots and clashes with police--including an infamous altercation outside a Rolling Stones concert--the Clark Parkers became the target of a secret undercover police gang-squad. Their hostile interactions culminated in a notorious police shooting, resulting in the death of a Clark Park Gang member. Combining meticulous research with a keen flair for storytelling, The Last Gang in Town features previously unpublished photos and police documents, as well as testimonials by surviving gang members and police officers who speak for the first time on the subject. The book is a compelling portrait of early-1970s Vancouver, and an intriguing and sensational history that puts the spotlight on the after-dark underbelly of the city's not-so-distant criminal past.