About this title: First introduced in "Freakonomics," here is the full story of Sudhir Venkatesh, the sociology graduate student who infiltrated one of Chicago's most notorious gangs.
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Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: New. AUDIOBOOK. NOT A BOOK! Please order accordingly! All Audiobooks are in the original factory sealed shrinkwrap box! Box may show signs of dents, etc. All CD's Are guaranteed to play! Audio CD, New, 2008, read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Date Published: 2008-12-30
ISBN-13:9780143114932ISBN:014311493X
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780143114932. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780143114932ISBN:014311493X
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780141030913ISBN:0141030917
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 320 pages. Describes the author's time living with the gangs on the southside of chicago. this book tells how in the robert taylor homes projects on chicago's south side, he befriends jt, a gang leader for the black kings. it also tells how he gains jt's trust, and in order to convince the author of his ceo-like qualities, jt makes him leader of the gang. (Paperback) read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Pr
Date Published: 2008-01-10
ISBN-13:9781594201509ISBN:1594201501
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781594201509. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781594201509ISBN:1594201501
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Spoken Word Compact Disc
Publisher: Harperaudio
Date Published: 2008-02-01
ISBN-13:9780061571138ISBN:006157113X
Description: NEW. Spoken Word Compact Disc. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780061571138. read more
Edition: First UK Edition
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Allen Lane/Penguin, UK
Date Published: 2008
Description: Very Good. No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Clean copy. pp302 inc index. Few minor marks on covers. Tight and sound. A rogue sociologist crosses the line. Life on the wrong side of the tracks. Delivery date confirmed. Our ref #07336. read more
Binding: Audio CD
Publisher: HarperAudio
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780061571138ISBN:006157113X
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
"I had mixed feelings about Venkatesh's book. It exposed and detailed a world that I knew nothing about, and peaked my curiosity to look into the subject matter of gangs and life in the projects in greater detail. Venkatesh did an excellent job of explaining the inner workings of life in the projects - the hierarchy in a gang, how a gang works with the surrounding community, the role the police play . . . the economics that drives everything.
However, he brought up a lot of important issues but made no effort to discuss potential solutions. He calls himself a "rogue sociologist". I would agree with his use of the word rogue to describe himself: "a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel". However, I wouldn't be so quick to call him a sociologist. My understanding of what sociologists do, is studying people in society with the ultimate goal of making advancements in how we function as a society. Instead, Vankatesh is simply a self serving and misleading reporter. He goes into the Robert Taylor homes allowing people to believe that he is there to help them. Instead he uses these people to make him stand out to his U of C teachers - ultimately landing teaching jobs at Harvard and Columbia. He pushed himself ahead at the expense of deeply impoverished people who had kindly taken great risks exposing the details of their lives to him. When he had completed his research he left all of his friends behind - clearly not understanding the bigger picture.
Obviously, Vankatesh's story is an interesting one: a U of C student hanging out in the ghetto. The more amazing stories though are those of the people actually living there. But the focus never really goes off of Vankatesh. Overall, Gang Leader for a Day touches upon many important issues. But it could have done so much more. Instead of just reporting on issues he should have gone into greater depth . . . answered more questions . . . offered solutions.
And how does Robert Taylor compare to other housing projects in Chicago and elsewhere? How do the Black Kings differ from other gangs - past and present? How does statistical research of the area compare to his ethnographer's approach? It's a blockbuster book. And like many blockbusters it only goes skin deep - though it does tell a fascinating story. It just needs a different narrator."
"I listened to this one as an audio book, so I can't really talk much about writing style and such. However, Venkatesh's account was really fascinating.
I think some of the criticisms I've read of this book are mostly a matter of how you approach it. Yes, he is a sociologist, but this is not an academic book and will not provide the level of academic analysis that his papers presumably do. On the other hand, it isn't a literary memoir. Venkatesh allows the community members to speak and act for themselves, without trying to flesh them out as dramatic characters.
The way I approached it was as a simple recording of what happened to him and what he witnessed in the projects. Even when he gets involved, Venkatesh only ever plays a bit part. When he's "Gang leader for a day" he's actually just following the real gang leader around and engaging in his thought process throughout his daily dealings. What I found truly fascinating were the power structures that arise when the traditional power structures of society (government, the police, community groups) are largely absent.
I will admit fully that Venkatesh's book is not perfect. But I think it is an interesting and important book, nonetheless. It will not teach you what life is like in a gang or a housing project (Sudhir himself is constantly reprimanded for his naivete, even up to the end), but it will expand your understanding a little bit. And that definitely makes it worth a read."
"For someone like me, who comes from a highly white, privileged, and non-urban background, this book is a very interesting firsthand account of black, poor, densely urban living. The author spent many years as a sociology graduate student hanging around with people in the Robert Taylor housing projects on the South Side of Chicago, often with the leader of a local drug dealing operation. He offers very interesting descriptions of the economy of the these projects: how people make things and do things for each other, the role of the gangs outside of dealing drugs, etc . . . That being said I occasionally found the writing lacking in detail. This may be because the book was written from notes and memory. Additionally, the writer/protagonist was at times incredibly naive, almost as if he was dumbing down the actual events and his reactions. And, considering the relationships he describes with many of the people in the book, the way he ends his time with them is hard to believe. If you, like me, are interested in powerful stories of contemporary urban America, and you have not seen The Wire, I would most certainly watch The Wire before reading this."
"Unlike some NYT reviews, this book really delivered. I enjoyed it very much and found it enlightening as well. I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the poor and the dynamics of survival."
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