Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the

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

A New York Times Bestseller

Foreword by Stephen J. Dubner, coauthor of Freakonomics

When first-year graduate student Sudhir Venkatesh walked into an abandoned building in one of Chicagoâ€™s most notorious housing projects, he hoped to find a few people willing to take a multiple-choice survey on urban poverty--and impress his professors with his boldness. He never imagined that as a result of this assignment he would befriend a gang leader named JT and spend the better part of a decade embedded inside the projects under JTâ€™s protection. From a privileged position of unprecedented access, Venkatesh observed JT and the rest of his gang as they operated their crack-selling business, made peace with their neighbors, evaded the law, and rose up or fell within the ranks of the gangâ€™s complex hierarchical structure. Examining the morally ambiguous, highly intricate, and often corrupt struggle to survive in an urban war zone, Gang Leader for a Day also tells the story of the complicated friendship that develops between Venkatesh and JT--two young and ambitious men a universe apart.

"Riveting."â€”The New York Times

"Compelling... dramatic... Venkatesh gives readers a window into a way of life that few Americans understand."â€”Newsweek

"An eye-opening account into an underserved city within the city."â€”ChicagoÂ Tribune

"The achievement of Gang Leader for a Day is to give the dry statistics a raw, beating heart."â€”TheÂ Boston Globe

"A rich portrait of the urban poor, drawn not from statistics but from viivd tales of their lives and his, and how they intertwined."â€”The Economist

"A sensative, sympathetic, unpatronizing portrayal of lives that are ususally ignored or lumped into ill-defined stereotype."â€”Finanical Times

Sudhir Venkateshâ€™s latest book Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New Yorkâ€™s Underground Economyâ€”a memoir of sociological investigation revealing the true face of Americaâ€™s most diverse cityâ€”is also published by Penguin Press.

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Country USA
Manufacturer Penguin Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2008-01-10
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Penguin Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2008-01-10
Format	Kindle eBook

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

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