Gang Leader for a Day : A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets (Hardcover)

from RajivC

This is a remarkable book, and i am glad that I picked it up. To start with, I am amazed by his courage, and his gumption. In breaking the rules, I think that he earned a lot. He also learned a lot from the gang leaders he hung around with, though he does not explicitly acknowledge this. The reve...

from SocProf

Sudhir Venkatesh is the new sociology rock star for Gang Leader for A Day, his story of the years spent doing research in a high-rise project in Chicago, guided and mentored by a gang leader. I mean, come on, when you make it to the Colbert Report, it's the ultimate mark of celebrity, right? Can ...

from LibraryCin

Sudhir was a sociology student at University of Chicago in 1989 when he decided he wanted to study urban poverty. One of the poorest areas in the city was the Robert Taylor Homes, the "projects", which was pretty much run by the Black Kings gang. Sudhir wandered over one day and somehow managed t...

from araridan

Very compelling pop-sociology book. Sudhir, a grad student at the University of Chicago manages to befriend a gang dealer in South side Chicago during the late 1980s and early 1990s at the height of the crack epidemic. The book explores the "community" aspect of the projects, underground economy,...

from Meggo

What happens when a grad student goes to the projects with a survey on poverty? In this case, a harrowing first 12 hours under confinement by gang members, and then an entre into the world of the gang. Told with an honesty that underscores Venkatesh's ambivalence towards the gang leader, this was...