Critics of America's criminal justice system have assailed the rise of mass incarceration, emphasizing its disproportionate impact on people of color. As James Forman Jr. points out, however, the war on crime that began in the 1970s was supported by many African American leaders. In this book, he seeks to understand why. Forman describes how the first substantial cohort of black mayors, judges, and police chiefs took office amid a surge in crime and drug addiction -- and thus embraced tough-on-crime measures that would have unforeseen but devastating consequences for residents of poor black neighborhoods. He tells stories of politicians, community activists, police officers, defendants, and crime victims -- individuals trapped in terrible dilemmas.