Gang Leader for a Day

by Sudhir Venkatesh Narrated by Reg Rogers, Stephen J. Dubner

Overview

The story of the young sociologist who studied a Chicago crack-dealing gang from the inside captured the world's attention when it was first described in Freakonomics. Gang Leader for a Day is the fascinating full story of how Sudhir Venkatesh managed to gain entrée into the gang, what he learned, and how his method revolutionized the academic establishment.

When Venkatesh walked into an abandoned building in one of Chicago's most notorious housing projects, he was looking for people to take a multiple-choice survey on urban poverty. A first-year grad student, he would befriend a gang leader named JT and spend the better part of the next decade inside the projects under JT's protection, documenting what he saw there.

Over the next seven years, Venkatesh observed JT and the rest of the gang as they operated their crack selling business, conducted PR within their community, and rose up or fell within the ranks of the gang's complex organizational structure.

Gang Leader for a Day is an inside view into the morally ambiguous, highly intricate, often corrupt struggle to survive in an urban war zone. It is also the story of a complicated friendship between two young and ambitious men, a universe apart.

Editorial Reviews

JUN/JUL 08 - AudioFile

Reg Rogers's mix of distance and emotion is a perfect vehicle for the author's story of his experiences as a young Chicago sociologist who hangs with the Black Kings gang to understand the role of poverty in their lives. Sudir rides the waves of day-to-day events. One day he's impressed by the sense of community among the gang members; the next he’s horrified by the beating of an elderly man. Before long he's wondering how to carry out his research without becoming involved. Rogers's voice particularly animates people of authority. Ms. Bailey, an elderly woman who has controlled neighborhood situations for three decades, sounds ready to take action. Gang leader J.T. comes across as brusque, clipped, and menacing. S.W. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

JUN/ JUL 08 - AudioFile

Reg Rogers's mix of distance and emotion is a perfect vehicle for the author's story of his experiences as a young Chicago sociologist who hangs with the Black Kings gang to understand the role of poverty in their lives. Sudir rides the waves of day-to-day events. One day he's impressed by the sense of community among the gang members; the next he’s horrified by the beating of an elderly man. Before long he's wondering how to carry out his research without becoming involved. Rogers's voice particularly animates people of authority. Ms. Bailey, an elderly woman who has controlled neighborhood situations for three decades, sounds ready to take action. Gang leader J.T. comes across as brusque, clipped, and menacing. S.W. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173400321
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/10/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged

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