4thace reviewed Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh
Review of 'Gang Leader for a Day' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I liked this memoir quite a bit, with its aim of bringing the reader in to the alien world of the Chicago ghetto at the height of the crack trade. Though the largest portion of the book is concerned with the workings of the individuals making up the gang, the sections devoted to the other power players on the scene - the building president, the community organizer, and the local cop - are equally fascinating. Some of his encounters show him right on the edge of something about to go violently wrong, yet the idea that the gang leader's promise of protection was enough to keep him out of the the worst situations seems to be plausible in the end. He goes a little bit out of his way describing how his own comfortable background posed an obstacle to understanding how the impoverished tenants made the hard choices they did, …
I liked this memoir quite a bit, with its aim of bringing the reader in to the alien world of the Chicago ghetto at the height of the crack trade. Though the largest portion of the book is concerned with the workings of the individuals making up the gang, the sections devoted to the other power players on the scene - the building president, the community organizer, and the local cop - are equally fascinating. Some of his encounters show him right on the edge of something about to go violently wrong, yet the idea that the gang leader's promise of protection was enough to keep him out of the the worst situations seems to be plausible in the end. He goes a little bit out of his way describing how his own comfortable background posed an obstacle to understanding how the impoverished tenants made the hard choices they did, which I think is partly there as a bridge for the reader to make his or her own connection with the realities he's depicting.
