Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets (original 2008; edition 2008)

I decided to read this book because I was intrigued by the idea of someone seeing the inside workings of a gang; being so involved that they could become the gang leader for a day. I also wondered how that would work without the author implicating himself in illegal activities.

It takes a long time for Sudhir Venkatesh to reach a level of trust with the gang though, and becoming a gang leader for a day certainly wasn't what he had in mind when he set out to do his research. What he wanted to do was study the social structure of life in the projects. What he found though, was that the only way to understand the people who were living there was by gaining access via the local gang. Only then would members of the community open up to him, and at that point he starts to learn about the business-like social and political workings of the gang and the building leaders.

The world that the author reveals to the reader was almost incomprehensible to me, and I'm sure it would be to most people who have not lived in a similar environment. Also, the author does things in the name of research that most of us would avoid at all costs. Some of these include: hanging out with crack addicts, interviewing prostitutes, and going to gang leader meetings.

This book is a fascinating read, and one that I felt was a great tool for helping middle-class America see what life is like in inner-city gangs and the projects (or at least what it was like in the 80's and 90's). The projects that the author visited were subsequently torn down, but I am sure there are many aspects of poverty and desperation that remain the same regardless of location, and this book does an excellent job of highlighting them.

Gang Leader For a Day is a quick read, and Sudhir Venkatesh relates his experiences so skillfully that it could just as easily have been a novel that I was reading. There were some tense moments between the author and the gang members, and some scenes had me on the edge of my seat. There is a lot of swearing (the author reconstructs conversations to the best of his knowledge), and much usage of the "N" word by the gang members. Although the book does cover some heavy topics, it is balanced out with stories of friendship and a bit of humor. The author does a great job of helping the reader to see the real people behind the poverty and gang statistics, and that was what I appreciated the most about this book. ( )

I neglected to add this to my Goodreads sooner as I read it some time ago on audio book. To this day, it is one of the BEST audio books I have ever heard. There are two voices, one for the author and one for the gang leader. The book is highly entertaining, fascinating, true, funny, and says a lot about race and class in Chicago. A rare inside look into gang culture from an outsider who became one of their own while being true to himself. Highly recommended! I may even read it again! ( )

I neglected to add this to my Goodreads sooner as I read it some time ago on audio book. To this day, it is one of the BEST audio books I have ever heard. There are two voices, one for the author and one for the gang leader. The book is highly entertaining, fascinating, true, funny, and says a lot about race and class in Chicago. A rare inside look into gang culture from an outsider who became one of their own while being true to himself. Highly recommended! I may even read it again! ( )

In which I write about my feelings towards audio books, gang members and a Personal Experience.

I find it very difficult to get into audio books. The music, the different voices for different characters, the nuances of the book as interpreted - or acted - by the narrator turns the narrator into an active part of the book and the book into a radio-play. There is no intellectual involvement in listening to an audio book, or at least not for me, no need to think, just listen and be entertained.

That said, I did try to get through this book in print and failed. The first few chapters are boring, they aren't much better on audio, and if I hadn't listened to it I would never have read it. I am trying very hard to get into audio as there are a lot of books I really can't read in print because the boredom factor means I keep rereading the same paragraphs, the same pages over and over again. (I am determined to conquer Rushdie's Satanic Verses one day, so far I can't get past page 6 with somnolence setting in).

Gang Leader for a Day was interesting, but I would have liked more detail. But perhaps it really is just that simple - alternative economies run by people who are no more or less corrupt and violent than the legitimate one.

Obviously I've read much about American gangs what with rap music, but I never actually met someone in a gang until a couple of years ago when I was in San Diego. My son and I got on a bus and it was full apart from the seats at the back where two obvious gang members were lounging and taking up all the space. So we made our way past the standing people and sat down next to them. One of them got off shortly and I asked the other one where I should get off for the place I was seeking. He told me it was quite a way and not to get off at the stop the driver told me but the next one as it was closer. My son and I looked at the scenery (we were tourists) and chatted and saw the man next to me writing in a notebook. A couple of stops later he ripped out the page from the book where he'd drawn a map for us of exactly where we would need to go and got off. So much for the fear the other people had of sitting next to these men. I've never had anyone go that far helping me find my way before. What a nice man.

It probably helps that people who wear low-slung pants, hoodies and various other gang symbols in the Caribbean are considered a bit immature, going in for style-and-fashion to an extreme, and no one pays them any mind. So seeing a couple of big Black guys all dressed up like that didn't push any buttons for me or my son. Just because someone lives in a place that is the subject of inflammatory documentaries, rude videos and books that purport to be sociological testaments but actually seek to thrill and shock, doesn't mean the denizens of the ghetto are any less kind and thoughtful than anyone else.

Three stars for an interesting non-experience.

( )

Don't think of Gang Cultures as nessasarily bad, this book will show you otherwise, despite the crimes they do a lot of good. ( )