A Breed Apart

Victor Woods enjoyed a distinctly privileged childhood. Born to an affluent Chicago family -- the son of a Fortune 500 executive and a dedicated schoolteacher -- Woods attended all the best schools, and was never in want for anything. He lived safe in the bosom of a loving home. But like so many African Americans who came of age in post-segregation America, newly entitled to the benefits of racial integration, Woods felt alienated and enraged.

Frustrated by the lack of positive enforcement in his predominantly white community and school system, and his well-intentioned tough-love parents, Woods, at age fifteen, ran away from home and didn't look back. Fascinated by street life and fast money, he turned to petty theft before graduating to armed robbery and credit-card manufacturing. At the height of his larceny, he had amassed forty million dollars' worth of counterfeit credit cards. His high-stakes grifting eventually got the attention of the law and landed him in prison. Six years later, he was released from prison, where many moments of truth brought him to the realization that crime does indeed not pay and he needed to change his life.

Today Victor Woods stands as a man reborn, having dedicated his life and work to speaking to young people, motivating them to get on and stay on the straight and narrow. He tells his incredible story to help others sidestep the darkness and pain that once consumed him. In charting the winding path of his own hard-won journey toward redemption, Woods manages to reach out to readers with the startling emotional immediacy of a letter from an old friend. At once a bracing cautionary tale and a work sure to inspire readers from all walks, "A Breed Apart" is an invaluable work of penetrating honesty, depth, and passion.