"When I was nine years old I burned down my school."

James Carr started fighting very young and never gave it up. A child prodigy of crime in the L.A. ghettos - and scourge of half a dozen boys' homes, his armed robbery career was quickly cut short. In prison, he fought harder and became one of the most notorious rebels in California's Penal System. Joining up with George Jackson in Folsom, they led the Wolf Pack, who quickly fought its way to a position of strength in the prison race war. Jimmy transformed from a rebellious con into a cunning thinker - manipulating authorities and engineering his own release.

Carr tells the story of his life with a cold passion, powerfully illuminating the horrors of daily life - race riots, murder, rape, and corruption—from the standpoint of one who has overcome them.

"I've been struggling all my life to get beyond the choice of living on my knees or dying on my feet. It's time we lived on our feet."