Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets
By:
Sudhir Venkatesh
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Lowest New Price: $9.32
List Price: $16.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Description:
In this "riveting"(The New York Times) work of nonfiction, a sociologist infiltrates the world of Chicago's crack-dealing gangs
First presented in Freakonomics, the story of a young sociologist who embedded himself in Chicago's most notorious gang and captured the world's attention. Gang Leader for a Day is the fascinating full story of how Sudhir Venkatesh gained entrance into the lives of a group of drug-dealers and went on to witness-and participate in-events that have rarely been described in print. A brazen, page-turning, and fundamentally honest view of the morally ambiguous, highly intricate, often corrupt struggle to survive in an urban war zone, it is also an emotional and complicated look at the friendship that develops between the sociologist and a gang leader, two ambitious men a universe apart.
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
great page turner - i read this book on a beach in Jamaica. Very quick read, easy to get into and out of. It kept my attention and was very interesting. I could recommend to anyone interested in sociology in general or to learn more of the gang culture of Chicago. Amazing work, I hope to see more from the author in the future.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Great Read - Awesome read. Dont think there are that many books that give you an opportunity to se this side of gang life
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
A Sneek Peek of the Ghetto - I loved this book. When we think of the poor/working-poor African American experience, the curious have few options. We have BET, the radio, and obviously television. I like how the reader gets a product that's obviously not to the benefit of the gangster or police officer.
Simply put, you get the experience of what goes on behind the scenes. I feel like many questions I had were answered, but I did have so many more after the read. Sudhir Venkatesh will be the next author I buy ever book for. Much like many others, I learned of this author from Freakonomics (another important read), but this book really goes further than the numbers of Freakonomics.
Sudhir really goes beyond to explain the dynamics of living with a crack distribution syndacate. If my promise to you the reader of being informed is not good enough, allow me to say this: Sudhir Venkatesh is more entertaining as a sociologist than most comedians as comedians. BUY THIS BOOK AND YOU WON'T REGRET IT!
Customer Review: 3 out of 5
Interesting, but flawed. - This book would make an interesting 100 page book, but drags on a bit and can be overly preachy. Alex Kolowitz's there are no children here...a far better read.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Excellent - Excellent, scary, thought provoking, intriguing! This was an excellent sociological study of urban gang relationships and structure.
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