Never Die Alone

Book excerpt: Donald Goines, one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century, has influenced many of today's urban writers with his gritty, realistic look at the streets. For the first time in over a decade, his classic expose of a drug dealer's brutal rise to the top of Cocaine Mountain is now repackaged and reissued in trade with a whole new look to attract new readers, as well as long-time fans of the legend himself. King David was determined to claw his way out of the mean streets of New York City any way he could. It didn't matter if that meant battering and robbing old people, conning the innocent, or even killing a kid's mother. Lacing cocaine with battery acid for revenge was acceptable too. Ultimately, it meant leaving town. Now King's made it big, and made his way back, flush with cash and a Cadillac. But he hasn't been forgotten--or forgiven. And when payback time hits, he's only got one wish--not to die alone.