Gang Leader for a Day
A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets
-
-
4.5 • 164 Ratings
-
-
- $8.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Bestseller
"A rich portrait of the urban poor, drawn not from statistics but from vivid tales of their lives and his, and how they intertwined." —The Economist
"A sensitive, sympathetic, unpatronizing portrayal of lives that are ususally ignored or lumped into ill-defined stereotype." —Finanical Times
Foreword by Stephen J. Dubner, coauthor of Freakonomics
When first-year graduate student Sudhir Venkatesh walked into an abandoned building in one of Chicago’s most notorious housing projects, he hoped to find a few people willing to take a multiple-choice survey on urban poverty--and impress his professors with his boldness. He never imagined that as a result of this assignment he would befriend a gang leader named JT and spend the better part of a decade embedded inside the projects under JT’s protection. From a privileged position of unprecedented access, Venkatesh observed JT and the rest of his gang as they operated their crack-selling business, made peace with their neighbors, evaded the law, and rose up or fell within the ranks of the gang’s complex hierarchical structure. Examining the morally ambiguous, highly intricate, and often corrupt struggle to survive in an urban war zone, Gang Leader for a Day also tells the story of the complicated friendship that develops between Venkatesh and JT--two young and ambitious men a universe apart.
Sudhir Venkatesh’s latest book Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York’s Underground Economy—a memoir of sociological investigation revealing the true face of America’s most diverse city—is also published by Penguin Press.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Honest and entertaining, Columbia University professor Venkatesh vividly recounts his seven years following and befriending a Chicago crack-dealing gang in a fascinating look into the complex world of the Windy City's urban poor. As introduced in Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's bestseller, Freakonomics, Venkatesh became involved with the Black Kings "and their charismatic leader J.T. "as a first-year doctoral student at the University of Chicago. Sent to the projects with a multiple-choice test on poverty as his calling card, Venkatesh was, to his surprise, invited in to see how the drug dealers functioned in real life, from their corporate structure to the corporal punishment meted out to traitors and snitches. Venkatesh's narrative breaks down common misperceptions (such as all gang members are uneducated and cash rich, when the opposite is often true), the native of India also addresses his shame and subsequent emotional conflicts over collecting research on illegal activities and serving as the Black Kings' primary decision-maker for a day "hardly the actions of a detached sociological observer. But overinvolved or not, this graduate student turned gang-running rogue sociologist has an intimate and compelling tale to tell.
Customer Reviews
Great book
Such an interesting book and great writing. Very raw and honest. I've been in Chicago my whole life and love books about the city. This book does not disappoint.
Love this book
I originally chose to read this book due to an independent reading project. For the most part I hated the books that we were allowed to choose from, and I thought this book might not be too bad. It wasn't until I began reading it because the project was due that I got into the book. Being raised in Chicago and my mom being a paramedic I have heard of all these stories about how horrible the projects were. Also how the gangs interacted with people, but in a negative way. It wasn't until i started reading this book that i got to see things from the other side. Venkatesh goes into detail about how the projects were and operated, although they still were pretty nasty, and how the gang was seen as part of the community. While reading this book you cant help but feel like your apart of the story actually being there during the drive bys or with the gangs. For a Sociologist Venkatesh does a very good job in making everything very descriptive much like an english teacher reading to a group of young children. As you get farther in the book you also can't help but feel emotionally attached to J.T. like Venkatesh was. you get the real feelings of everybody. i definitely recommend this book.
Great Book!
I lived blocks from Sudhir was embedded with the gang and never had a clue about live in the projects. Robert Taylor was an area we avoided. He ran to it and delivered a great lesson.