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

Apr 22, 2008 Marci rated it 2 of 5 stars

There is so little information about and so many stereotypes within mainstream America about how ghettos function, even though thousands of Americans live in them, that this book is a welcome contribution to poverty literature. As a sociologist-in-training, Sudhir Venkatesh stumbles upon a unique opportunity to gain a lense into the inner workings of the American ghetto when he wanders into one of the worst housing projects in Chicago clutching pens and a survey that asks, "How does it feel to b...more There is so little information about and so many stereotypes within mainstream America about how ghettos function, even though thousands of Americans live in them, that this book is a welcome contribution to poverty literature. As a sociologist-in-training, Sudhir Venkatesh stumbles upon a unique opportunity to gain a lense into the inner workings of the American ghetto when he wanders into one of the worst housing projects in Chicago clutching pens and a survey that asks, "How does it feel to be black and poor?" He spends the night parked in a urine-stained, concrete stairwell guarded by gun-toting, teenage members of the Black Kings gang. (In answer to the survey's question, they explain that they're not black or African American, that they are niggers.) Sudhir's persistence pays off when, upon his return to the project, the gang's leader invites the impressionable young sociologist to write his biography, and he spends the next seven years immersing himself in this underclass.

I often wished while reading this book that its author was a better writer, so that he could have portrayed the emotional complexity of his characters, especially since these are people who are so often portrayed as stereotypes. The book reads like mediocre pulp fiction with the author's relationship to J.T., the gang's leader, providing weak emotional drama. Much like its title, Gang Leader for a Day exaggerates the author's own role. He spends his day as "gang leader" tagging along with J.T. and his henchman, who make him the butt of jokes for his inadequate decisions on gang issues while allowing him to hover out of range as they beat up miscreants. Later, we see the author pulling a wounded gang member out of the range of bullets in the middle of a drive by, but mostly he hangs around the projects eating J.T.'s mother's food and gaining the trust of tenant leaders, hustlers, and crack hos. His conversations with these people should have provided the raw material for the book, but he's so preoccupied with the lives of the gang members, especially J.T., that he shortchanges these characters, and, consequently his readers, to focus on the "action".

The book presents surprisingly little analysis of the obvious issues of race, gender, and, even, class. A South Asian Indian American, the author never addresses his own race, and its influence over how he is viewed by the project's exclusively-black residents. I wondered if it would have been possible for him to integrate himself as completely as he did with the project's residents, even being securely middle-class, if he had been white. Despite his character's reactions to his ethnicity - he is variously referred to in the book as "nigger," "white," and "Ay-rab" - Venkatesh writes the book as if he considers himself white. Similarly, while the book does not shy away from showing violence towards young women, and is open about the project's exchange economy based on acts of prostitution, the author never delves into issues of power and control over women. Finally, although many gang members, including J.T., have had some college education (J.T. actually has a college degree), there is no discussion about why their education was inadequate to propel them out of the projects. The author mentions former residents who now reside in nearby working-class neighborhoods, without providing a context for their movement out of the ghetto.

The book was ultimately disappointing, and didn't provide me with what I hoped for. I hope that the experiences recounted in the book did provide Venkatesh with a unique perspective on poverty to inform his academic work, but this book was mostly a failure. It did make me appreciate good literature. I ended it thinking about Sapphire's Push , a termendous work of fiction about roughly the same subject matter. It's not "true", but it's much, much more real.(less)

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Marci Ralph wrote: "I wouldn't doubt that being Indian as opposed to white made it easier to become a quiet observer, but if he spent anytime discussing it,...more
Jun 23, 2009 04:23pm

Wayne the author never addresses his own race...

Yes he does.

...and its influence over how he is viewed by the project's exclusively-black residents.

They al...more
Dec 27, 2010 02:53am

Mar 14, 2008 Jill rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sociologists, and All Those Who Love an Unusual Read

Wow. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book, since I tried one of the author's earlier books, and liked the concept, but felt that it was a little too academic. This book, however, I thought was an amazing read.

Sudhir Venkatesh, while a graduate student in sociology, accidentally finds himself befriending a gang leader, JT, at the height of the crack epidemic. The gang leader gives him an unprecented look at both life in the gang, and life in the projects for everyone where it is a majo...more Wow. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book, since I tried one of the author's earlier books, and liked the concept, but felt that it was a little too academic. This book, however, I thought was an amazing read.

Sudhir Venkatesh, while a graduate student in sociology, accidentally finds himself befriending a gang leader, JT, at the height of the crack epidemic. The gang leader gives him an unprecented look at both life in the gang, and life in the projects for everyone where it is a major struggle to survive.

I squirmed at times while reading this, because there's some moral ambiguity to a researcher being party to drive by shootings, beatings, crack production and sales, and extortion. I also feel a little uncomfortable with using these subjects as research, because there is the question of informed consent (it's really unclear whether the subjects understand what the research will be used for and that they won't personally gain anything from it). This also seems to make the writer squirm, which does make me feel better.

It also struck me that there are lots of things involved in poverty that never occurred to me. Obviously, people go hungry, don't have enough money for basics, live in substandard housing, etc, which is bad enough, but I never thought about, for example, how many women are routinely abused (sexually or physically) and how the poor are often extorted (there are bribes for public services, protection payments, and cuts taken from under the table income for the privilege of working). It's a great reminder to someone comfortably in the middle class that climbing out of poverty is much more difficult than anyone not in that situation can imagine.

I also found myself surprised at how likable some of the "bad" characters were. Yes, JT is a drug dealer, who resorts to physical violence to get his way. Yet somehow, he comes across as somewhat sympathetic- he cares deeply about his children, does nice things for the buildings inhabitants, is college educated, and is a real entrepenaur with leadership skills. His methodology can be repugnant, and you find yourself routing for him to get out of the gang.

Read this book- you won't regret it.(less)

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Mar 21, 2008 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a book that I’m glad I heard about first on the radio, because it is not represented well by its title or cover. The Sudhir Venkatesh on the book jacket, in his vintage leather coat with the collar up, arms folded in tough guy stance in front of derelict seeming housing projects slightly out of focus in the back ground, seems like a wannabe bad ass. And that’s not at all the impression you get from the memoir inside the book.

And the title—“Gang Leader for a Day”—makes it sound like you’r...more This is a book that I’m glad I heard about first on the radio, because it is not represented well by its title or cover. The Sudhir Venkatesh on the book jacket, in his vintage leather coat with the collar up, arms folded in tough guy stance in front of derelict seeming housing projects slightly out of focus in the back ground, seems like a wannabe bad ass. And that’s not at all the impression you get from the memoir inside the book.

And the title—“Gang Leader for a Day”—makes it sound like you’re going to get a sensational fantasy trip into a criminal netherworld, like playing the Godfather on your Playstation. (Which is a good time in its own right.) But in fact, you get an interesting look into a world that exists in every major city in America, that we use as an avatar for all kinds of social ills, but that few people on the outside really go to lengths to understand.

In a way, the book recalls Mountains Beyond Mountains, I had a brief infatuation with the idea of studying medical anthropology.) If you’ve ever worked in a job or been in a situation where you have to try and quickly ingratiate yourself with people who are not like you, you’ll identify with Venkatesh. Showing up with a clipboard and ponytail and interrupting a drug deal to ask what it feels like to be black and poor is hardly a show of bravado, but his earnestness, sincerity, and willingness to connect is palpable. Though he has published more scholarly works based on this field work (and clearly done well in the academy as a result) this book shows that he also recognizes the power and impetus of recording life in stories, not just statistics. It’s what brings humanity to his research subjects, and levels the playing field, both for Venkatesh (who comes to recognize himself as a hustler like most everyone else in Robert Taylor) to the rest of us who get not just a voyeuristic thrill out of his accounts, but a chance to drop the stereotypes and see the real human complexity of his subjects.
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Oct 10, 2012 Dave rated it 4 of 5 stars

Venkatesh begins his story as a university student who (stupidly) wanders into the Robert Taylor Homes of Chicago for a sociology project and ends it as a Sociology professor and a trusted confidant of a major Chicago gang leader. In between he befriends the residents of the ghetto, listening to their stories,interacting in their lives and humanizing them in the process. The book is very accessible, the narrative is tight and exciting and the characters are vivid. The lurid nature of inner city...more

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Sep 29, 2009 Caroline Stevens rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had mixed feelings about Venkatesh's book. It exposed and detailed a world that I knew nothing about, and peaked my curiosity to look into the subject matter of gangs and life in the projects in greater detail. Venkatesh did an excellent job of explaining the inner workings of life in the projects - the hierarchy in a gang, how a gang works with the surrounding community, the role the police play . . . the economics that drives everything.

However, he brought up a lot of important issues but m...more I had mixed feelings about Venkatesh's book. It exposed and detailed a world that I knew nothing about, and peaked my curiosity to look into the subject matter of gangs and life in the projects in greater detail. Venkatesh did an excellent job of explaining the inner workings of life in the projects - the hierarchy in a gang, how a gang works with the surrounding community, the role the police play . . . the economics that drives everything.

However, he brought up a lot of important issues but made no effort to discuss potential solutions. He calls himself a "rogue sociologist". I would agree with his use of the word rogue to describe himself: "a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel". However, I wouldn't be so quick to call him a sociologist. My understanding of what sociologists do, is studying people in society with the ultimate goal of making advancements in how we function as a society. Instead, Vankatesh is simply a self serving and misleading reporter. He goes into the Robert Taylor homes allowing people to believe that he is there to help them. Instead he uses these people to make him stand out to his U of C teachers - ultimately landing teaching jobs at Harvard and Columbia. He pushed himself ahead at the expense of deeply impoverished people who had kindly taken great risks exposing the details of their lives to him. When he had completed his research he left all of his friends behind - clearly not understanding the bigger picture.

Obviously, Vankatesh's story is an interesting one: a U of C student hanging out in the ghetto. The more amazing stories though are those of the people actually living there. But the focus never really goes off of Vankatesh. Overall, Gang Leader for a Day touches upon many important issues. But it could have done so much more. Instead of just reporting on issues he should have gone into greater depth . . . answered more questions . . . offered solutions.

And how does Robert Taylor compare to other housing projects in Chicago and elsewhere? How do the Black Kings differ from other gangs - past and present? How does statistical research of the area compare to his ethnographer's approach? It's a blockbuster book. And like many blockbusters it only goes skin deep - though it does tell a fascinating story. It just needs a different narrator. (less)

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Apr 11, 2009 Jackmccullough rated it 4 of 5 stars

What do people know about the Robert Taylor Homes? Mostly that it was considered to be one of the worst places in the country.

What do people know about the people who lived there? Almost nothing.

People in America need to know more about the lives of poor people. In this book, Sudhir Venkatesh recounts his six years of spending time with gang leaders, community leaders, and families at the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago. He stumbles into his situation by encountering a group of young black men in...more

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May 17, 2009 Jamie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone (especially Pamela)

Recommended to Jamie by: Lee Anne

Shelves: adult, drugs-and-alcohol, nonfiction

After Lee Anne recommended this to me, I then uncovered his "what do real thugs think about the Wire" on the Freakonomics blog. So I finally read it. I can safely say I would have read it in 1 sitting if I hadn't taken breaks to watch the Euro. It is THAT good and currently sitting as my favorite book of the year.
It's a fascinating peak into "real people" in the Robert Taylor housing projects, and it would be depressing (so many instances in which people accept such horrible injustice as just t...more

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Mar 27, 2008 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: urbanists, Chicagoans

Shelves: memoirs, nonfiction, urban-affairs

Gang Leader for a Day is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. Sudhir Venkatesh, whose research on gangs was first made famous in Freakonomics, wrote this memoir of how he came to become an active observer of the drug trade in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes (infamous public housing project) in late 1980s/early 1990s. Although it's nonfiction, the book reads like a narrative and it's incredibly engaging and page-turning suspenseful. Knowing that the events are real actually builds mor...more Gang Leader for a Day is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. Sudhir Venkatesh, whose research on gangs was first made famous in Freakonomics, wrote this memoir of how he came to become an active observer of the drug trade in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes (infamous public housing project) in late 1980s/early 1990s. Although it's nonfiction, the book reads like a narrative and it's incredibly engaging and page-turning suspenseful. Knowing that the events are real actually builds more suspense and curiosity because although I know what happens with the Robert Taylor Homes (they eventually get torn down), I am dying to know what happens to the characters in the book.

Venkatesh's writing takes on a style that I can only compare to that of the HBO show "The Wire." His characters are neither "good" nor "bad," but always something in between, and nothing is really truly black or white. But they are genuine and they all have stories that often go untold.

This book focuses on the "gray area" of society as a whole. He asks questions about issues that matter -- what public policies can and should be put into place to help poor African-Americans? How come our public housing system is so screwed up? What is the role of the police and who do they really serve and protect? Who has power/control and what do they use it for?

One of the greatest things that this book taught me is that it's not really an "us against them" problem, no matter how much we may want to think it is. Simplifying it like that makes it easier to digest the fact that modern urban crime is a tough (impossible?) problem to solve, but it's naive to try to act like there are simple solutions. I'm not sure we'll ever see a solution to things like drugs and gangs and bribery and violence. I think that what I took away from this book is that this whole issue of how to "help" people in the projects is way more complicated than we can possibly ever imagine it to be. But if we ever hope to come closer to solving it, understanding how it works (and this book does a great job of explaining) is probably pretty important. (less)

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Feb 24, 2008 Reggie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

I thought the chapter in Freakonomics on why drug dealers live with their mothers was fascinating. For that reason alone I had been looking forward to reading this book. It did not disappoint. I literally could not put this book down.

The book presents an enthralling inside look at life in Chicago's now defunct Robert Taylor Homes during the height of the crack epidemic of the late 80s to mid 90s. The primary focus is on the author's almost unfettered access to the Black Kings (a street gang resp...more

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Apr 07, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who wants to learn about the crack gangs and housing projects on the South Side of Chicago

Shelves: social-justice

I first heard of Sudhir Venkatesh even before he was featured in Freakonomics, when my husband took Steve Levitt's course, "The Economics of Crime". Ever since I first heard the anecdote of the first-year sociology grad student who showed up to the housing projects on the South Side with a questionnaire asking "how do you feel about being poor and black? Very good, good, neither good nor bad, bad, or very bad", and who somehow endeared himself to the local Black Kings crack-dealing gang, I wa...more

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May 16, 2008 Kerry rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fascinating account of how this Indian-American grad student at the University of Chicago who grew up in the Cali suburbs befriends a gang leader (JT) in the Robert Taylor housing project and spends years getting to know him and the community.
Good cops. Bad cops. Drugs. Prostitution. Building Maintenance. Gang Turf. Soul Food. This book has it all. Through his experiences Mr. Professor paints a picture of the realities of what it means to live in the projects, how it feels to be black in a ne...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Casey added it

If you live in Chicago, or have any interest in the lives of poor people in cities in the US you must read this book. Gang Leader for a Day is engaging, powerful, and believable. The only times I did not enjoy this book were when I couldn't deal with the difficult realities it laid out. This is not to say that it is bleak or a slog. The book moves at a cracking pace. The stories are personal and specific while painting a picture of a much larger world.

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Feb 03, 2008 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

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, and creative ways that gang members and non-gang affliated persons in the community interact. While the book does not try to condone a lot of the gang's behavior, it does paint a sympathetic picture of...more

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Mar 26, 2009 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sociology, nonfiction

A lot of people have read Freakonomics; I have not and consequently this was my introduction to Sudhir Venkatesh's famous/infamous sociological studies. As a graduate student at the University of Chicago, Venkatesh embedded himself into the daily lives of the residents of one of Chicago's poorest projects and studied its community, with particular emphasis to the economic interactions between its residents, the local gangs, the police, and community organizations.

Venkatesh tackles extremely int...more A lot of people have read Freakonomics; I have not and consequently this was my introduction to Sudhir Venkatesh's famous/infamous sociological studies. As a graduate student at the University of Chicago, Venkatesh embedded himself into the daily lives of the residents of one of Chicago's poorest projects and studied its community, with particular emphasis to the economic interactions between its residents, the local gangs, the police, and community organizations.

Venkatesh tackles extremely interesting subjects, and I have not read anything else quite like it. Rather than asking questions about why the residents are impoverished, he takes their situation as a given (much as the residents seem to do) and studies how they get by. The organization of the crack and prostitution businesses, the give-and-take relationship between the gangs and the building residents, and the balance of power between the community's leaders make for fascinating reading. As in legitimate businesses, many actions in the projects' economy are motivated by individuals' drive for profit, but these are balanced against the element of survival of the community as a whole against the wealthier outside world, resulting in some amazing interactions. The gangs will sell crack to hopeless addicts and turn that money around to keep the addicts' kids in school; the police will partially accept the gangs' local sovereignty in order to protect the larger peace more easily... the list goes on.

The book is written for popular digestion and kind of feels like it, a bit shallow and unwilling to fully challenge the reader intellectually. A good example would be the passing mention of the BK gang's financial ledger that the author manages to obtain, which I would absolutely love to read in "boring" numerical detail. I suppose that's the point - to whet readers' appetites into reading other stuff by Venkatesh, Steven Levitt, et al. - but that does prevent this particular book from securing all five stars.
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Mar 19, 2009 Joe rated it 3 of 5 stars

For someone like me, who comes from a highly white, privileged, and non-urban background, this book is a very interesting firsthand account of black, poor, densely urban living. The author spent many years as a sociology graduate student hanging around with people in the Robert Taylor housing projects on the South Side of Chicago, often with the leader of a local drug dealing operation. He offers very interesting descriptions of the economy of the these projects: how people make things and do th...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Lamont Lucas rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 01, 2009 Rushabh rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you were ever a fan of The Wire (and who isn't) - this is a book for you. I picked up this book by accident - Indian dude on the cover, catchy title and I have read Freakonomics and really enjoyed the analysis of how gangs worked; quite enough for me to pick up the book and start reading in the bookstore.

I didn't really buy the book the first time around - just put it on my list of "should read later" books. I was delighted to find it in the library and picked it up on my way to board a long...more If you were ever a fan of The Wire (and who isn't) - this is a book for you. I picked up this book by accident - Indian dude on the cover, catchy title and I have read Freakonomics and really enjoyed the analysis of how gangs worked; quite enough for me to pick up the book and start reading in the bookstore.

I didn't really buy the book the first time around - just put it on my list of "should read later" books. I was delighted to find it in the library and picked it up on my way to board a long flight. This turned out to be a *great* idea: the book is really hard to put down, the tales of life in the Chicago projects is so gripping - its this unreal world that is only miles away from the really rich parts - and did I mention that it is absolutely unreal?

Venkatesh is (or was at the time of writing) a grad student at the U. of C. and as one of his early projects had to go survey people in the chicago projects. The crazy thing is that he actually did it - he went into the projects to these scary looking black guys and asked them "How does it feel to be poor: a)Very angry b)Somewhat angry c)Neutral d)Not Bad" (The question is mine - I made it up, but the original survey was not that far off). After the scary black dudes with guns stop laughing, they think that Venkatesh is a member of a rival latino gang and want to kill him until the boss steps in and lets Venkatesh in (sort of). What starts here blossoms into this 4+ year friendship between Venkatesh and J.T. that gives him unrivalled access to members of the Black Kings (various names are changed for anonymity, I'm just using the same names used in the book) including several years worth of detailed accounting data about all the gangs activities. This later formed the basis of Venkatesh's collaboration with Stephen Levitt (of Freakonomics fame).

The book is at once a portrayal of life in the american ghetto and an account of Venkatesh's personal story as he comes to grips with what he's doing and what his project has evolved into. The decisions that he has to make - is he a neutral, like a journalist? Should he help the man who just got shot? Should he buy food for the kids who don't have money to eat because the mom spent it on crack? He brings to the surface the real underbelly of America's capitalist machine - the people that society forgot and would rather not be reminded of.

All in all, an excellent book. Fast, easy read (the prose is easy, not the subject matter). Buy / borrow it today.(less)

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Dec 28, 2008 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-for-boys, chicago, gangs, housing-projects, nonfiction, sociology, anthropology, borrowed-from-the-library

Sudhir Venkatesh was a graduate student in sociology when he became interested the plight of poor African Americans living just blocks away from the University of Chicago and wealthy, upper class, Hyde Park. Sudhir started hanging around in a nearby Chicago housing project and talking with some of the people who lived there. He even tried to administer one of the surveys put together by his department, but the residents of the project laughed at his questions (what does it feel like to be black...more

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Nov 28, 2008 Alissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, staff-suggestion, 2008

I first heard of Sudhir Venkatesh while reading Freakonomics, where the chapter “Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?” explores the financial realities of a gang and was based on Sudhir’s time spent observing a Chicago gang.

So I was eagerly awaiting this book (which is subtitled: a rogue sociologist takes to the streets, rogue apparently being in vogue now since Levitt’s book was about a rogue economist.) and it lived up to my expectations.

The author documents his 6 years (? I think,...more

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Jun 15, 2013 Rajesh Kurup rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sudhir gets a unique opportunity to observe life in the projects over an extended period of time while getting his masters in sociology at the University of Chicago. Fascinating read about people who we don't usually hear much about. What particularly makes this book good is that Sudhir finds the space between observer and confidant to some of the major players in the housing project that he is researching. That's the good.

Where the book loses some for me is the ethical quandaries that he should...more

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May 09, 2013 Stephen added it

In my work files there's an earnest Venkatesh monograph dealing with the University of Chicago's 1920s map of the city's neighborhoods, the source of such census constructs as West Town and Greater Grand Crossing. But the Columbia University sociologist is better known for his research on the underground economy, popularized in "Freakonomics." This memoir returns to the source of both interests, his 1990s grad-school years at the U. of C. Much of his time outside of class was spent hanging out i...more

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Apr 19, 2013 James Dittmar rated it 1 of 5 stars

How embarrassing! I can't believe Sudhir believes that this account is even remotely scholarly (as it should be, coming from an "expert" in the field--he has a responsibility to portray his research accurately as a representative of his discipline, even if this is meant for a popular audience).

There are several points that made this book ridiculous:
1. There is a strong current of homoeroticism between Sudhir and JT that is unresolved and clouds his ability to view JT and his work objectively
2....more

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Apr 03, 2013 Muhammad Salman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-2013-with-summer-assignments

An amazing book about a young man recording what it is like to hang out with gangs, and all the pimps, and other prostitutes. He is a sociologist that documents the drugs and gangs in Chicago. He becomes close with a gang leader JT who then protects him and shows him the life of a gangster.

A theme present in this book is that one does not know what something is like if one has never experienced it up close. Sudhir Venkatesh is an shows that in his book. He goes into under the gangs' arm and do...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Jowel Uddin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-2012-2013

Gang Leader For A Day
Book Review
Gang Leader For A Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets in a nutshell is basically about a graduate student of sociology who tries to survey African Americans in the housing projects around Chicago. The author, Sudhir Venkatesh is the sociologist himself and he attempts to impress his professors during his first year by going to the housing projects and actually asks the people about the survey questions. Sudhir eventually befriends one of the gang lea...more Gang Leader For A Day
Book Review
Gang Leader For A Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets in a nutshell is basically about a graduate student of sociology who tries to survey African Americans in the housing projects around Chicago. The author, Sudhir Venkatesh is the sociologist himself and he attempts to impress his professors during his first year by going to the housing projects and actually asks the people about the survey questions. Sudhir eventually befriends one of the gang leaders, J.T. With J.T.'s help, Sudhir is able to dwell into the lives of the urban poor and essentially befriends the whole neighborhood. Sudhir continues with his research on the urban poor while he cruises the streets of Chicago and the Robert Taylor Homes which includes watching shootings and numerous other illegal activities –prostitution and drug sales being among the numerous activities.

The book is basically what the title says it is –A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets. Sudhir becomes intertwined within the mechanics of a dangerous neighborhood and even an economic system. The book explores what is truly still a mystery to us to this day –how government housing projects work. Prostitution, drug sales, shootings, and violence are the problems of the urban poor –those who are poor yet live close to an urban or affluent area. The book was truly enticing and hard to put down. It was very realistic and very vivid in terms of description and how the author inserted some vernacular terms of the Robert Taylor Homes. The book was also smooth to read and very simplified. It was marvelous to see a sociologist go rouge and actually approach his subjects and befriend them. The world needs more rogues in various fields as they are the ones who attract success as they break the strict confines of traditional fields which restrict innovations and discoveries.

Venkatesh truly gets his message across in his book. He relays back to American society how fictitious it's idea of public housing truly is and how it ought to dwell deeper within the streets of such neighborhoods. Venkatesh explores the ideas of public housing, corrupt local leaders, and false hope. Within the book are an array of corrupt local leaders and it is heavily depicted how all of the systems – the police, hospitals, and federal aid is somewhat absurd. Our systems only help some and not all. People in these neighborhoods are afraid to call the police as Sudhir describes it and they must drive to the hospital as ambulances do not approach such dangerous neighborhoods. It makes one think of how grateful it is to live in a peaceful neighborhood where the most pending form of danger is getting bit by a dog. The government needs to pay more attention to its housing projects and perhaps create better infrastructures and systems for success in the housing projects. The rogue sociologist, Sudhir Venkatesh, shares his revelations beautifully and it should be noted by readers of all kind.

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Jan 18, 2013 Vikram rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found myself riveted by Sudhir Venkatesh's ethnographic narrative of his research into poverty and race in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes' project in the 90s. His highly personal interactions with its residents -- who ranged from drug dealers and prostitutes to store owners and mechanics -- allowed him to gain unprecedented access to a world that those outside of it barely understood.

His anecdotes brought his cast of characters life: JT, the regional head of the Black Kings gang who justified...more

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Jan 05, 2013 David Glad rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: exploring-society, civilization, biographies

I did not think I was going to like this book, yet surprisingly I did. First heard of the author from that audio form of a sociology textbook (by James Henslin; would NOT recommend) I listened to last year, which made a somewhat brief mention that sounded interesting enough but was also made skeptical of the bombastic "rogue" subtitle of the book which, anyone who knows how authors/publishers try to steer attention to their books, seemed like it could not possibly live up to the hype. It of cour...more I did not think I was going to like this book, yet surprisingly I did. First heard of the author from that audio form of a sociology textbook (by James Henslin; would NOT recommend) I listened to last year, which made a somewhat brief mention that sounded interesting enough but was also made skeptical of the bombastic "rogue" subtitle of the book which, anyone who knows how authors/publishers try to steer attention to their books, seemed like it could not possibly live up to the hype. It of course mentioned the initial encounter Sudhir had with the gang (and overall community) he would become later intimate with, which most outsiders would certain consider getting off on the wrong foot. (Essentially being held, also mistaken by some of them for someone from a Mexican gang, and them trying to figure out what they should do with him, weighing the consequences of what the rival gang would do even if as time passed through the night and the gang members got liquored up and no drive-by happened, they began to believe his story of being a sociology student, including the backpack full of dumb--- survey questions and sociology textbooks he had with him.)

The way this "other world" operated reminded me of Boardwalk Empire where it was a seedy backscratching economy (pay tribute to the higher-ups in the gang as well as residents paying off-the-books "dues" to the slum lords who ran the buildings in the projects in which the residents stayed), only difference is the show did not show many of the inevitable beat-downs if someone either refused to pay, challenged gang authority (sounded like guaranteed broken ribs), or perhaps were not careful when people were intoxicated. (In the case of Boardwalk Empire, probably because it would seem too repetitive, needless, or simply they either thought it would hurt viewership or parental rating.) As made clear many times throughout the book, ambulances and police apparently would not come to the Robert Taylor Homes (since demolished) so residents did not bother calling whenever something big happened (to the author's astonishment, it was mostly daily occurrences but he only saw such things on an infrequent basis and seemed shocked nobody dialed 911) and had a kind of militia system for dealing with problems. (Part of the "services" provided by the protection money until mild power shifts -- as you could call anything that happens without noticeable violence in the story -- occurred, which I suppose is worth mentioning a lot of nearby businesses had to pay protection too too.. one of the more memorable scenes in Boardwalk Empire, which is why I cannot help but keep thinking the comparison apt even if Boardwalk seemed to make everything appear a lot more classy compared to the Chicago experience.) Some of the crooked police -- upset at how some gang members made more than them -- also did periodic shakedowns, getting money and jewelry from the gangs, which made for an interesting passage at how the gangs showed surprisingly no resistance during those few moments and suggested they preferred it so long as it could be business as usual with their normal drug-dealing operations.

Sudhir seemed to make it clear enough that he experienced such success in understanding their world as part of a sociology project because he was Indian (despite some folks he encountered unable to distinguish him from Mexicans or Arabs for that matter), versus how whites I would think would probably be considered cops (maybe even worse, such as FBI or some kind of other informant) while blacks and obviously Mexicans would be mistaken for gang members or rival gang members. Needless to say anyone who reads the book would probably shake their head with a sense of despair if a female sociology student had attempted to understand their world.

The main characters "JT" (they only mentioned his full name -- assumed name? -- once throughout the book; the main gang leader who Sudhir had become rather close to and it seemed hoped Sudhir would be his biographer) and miss Bailey (who was the building head who exacted tribute, but also seemed to help everyone and keep the community in as good of condition as possible given the circumstances even if Sudhir figured the emphasis was on her trying to maintain a firm grip on power) were memorable enough and JT probably endears himself to just about every reader as being articulate and having been college-educated before taking up the "street life" due to the perceived bias he was being passed over for promotion. (Could be argued he did not know how to "play" that game versus the drug-dealing and gang organizational abilities he had. Sudhir took some time to understand that in order to maintain the power structure, violence in the form of beatings were quite frequent and were served in generous doses to make sure that things did not go astray.) He also got surprising access to a lot of the people at/near the top of the massive gang as many of them joked about how Sudhir was "the Professor" and were OK in confiding details to him. To mention what happens to JT or for that matter his continued relationship with Sudhir along with others who hoped to beat the odds might be the only "spoilers" I figure it probably is better not to give away even if probably can be had from other reviews.

If you are not too bothered with excessive use of the n-word (I listened to the audiobook, but after a while it seemed obvious they probably were not using the more "mild" "gga" form of the word in the book or in conversation) and some other profanity (surprisingly in much smaller doses by comparison) and want a fascinating glimpse at how a community of people live who are typically considered "down on their luck," then it is definitely worth reading and makes for a page turner. (Other note is JT at one point would "explain" that black people are the ones who lived on the other side of town and in better communities, while n-words are the kind of people who lived in the projects which he operated in.) The book did seem to be written in such a way that you got an intuition on what was to come in most cases, so it made for relatively few "surprises."

PS Aside from maybe being unsure whether the book had commercial potential, I suspect the other reason for why Sudhir waited to publish the book (and I think most people mentioned probably were given assumed names) is due to the statue of limitation running out on pretty much every type of crime mentioned in the book, along of course with less likelihood of retribution if he did "snitch" on any of the folks mentioned. As if to show you can keep writing about this (definitely is my longest review so far), it also seems a worthwhile point to mention the passages where he interviewed a ton of residents but made the mistake of revealing the full extent of the residents' activities to JT and miss Bailey in hopes of "verifying" with them the accuracy of what he heard, which caused them to crack down on a ton of residents for not paying up on various activities that for a time caused a lot of residents to be annoyed at him and seemed one of the more despairing moments of the book at how, even after all that time he had been associated with the community, he was naive about things he should say to whom.(less)

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Dec 12, 2012 Eva rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars--very readable, but not not-to-be-missed. Some quotes:

I read him the same question that I had read the others. He didn’t laugh, but he smiled. How does it feel to be black and poor? “I’m not black,” he answered, looking around at the others knowingly. “Well, then, how does it feel to be African American and poor?” I tried to sound apologetic, worried that I had offended him. “I’m not African-American either. I’m a nigger…. Niggers are the ones who live in this building. African America...more 3.5 stars--very readable, but not not-to-be-missed. Some quotes:

I read him the same question that I had read the others. He didn’t laugh, but he smiled. How does it feel to be black and poor? “I’m not black,” he answered, looking around at the others knowingly. “Well, then, how does it feel to be African American and poor?” I tried to sound apologetic, worried that I had offended him. “I’m not African-American either. I’m a nigger…. Niggers are the ones who live in this building. African Americans live in the suburbs. African Americans wear ties to work. Niggers can’t find no work. - p16

He talked to the young men about how to "work" responsibly. It was understood among gang members that "work" meant selling drugs-a tragic irony in that they referred to working in the legitimate economy as "getting a job," not "work." - p77

That's why some gang leaders even paid Lenny to discipline their own members. “Disciplination is an art form,” Lenny said. “One thing I like is to hang a nigger upside down over the freeway as the cars come. Ain't never had a nigger misbehave after I try that one.” - p78

[At a door-to-door voting drive:]
"We're here to sign you up to vote," Shorty-Lee said.
"Young man, I *am* registered," the woman said calmly.
"No, we didn't say *register*!" Shorty-Lee shouted. "We said *sign up*. I don't care if you're registered....Look, you need to sign right here...and then we'll tell you who you're going to vote for when the time comes."
"Who I'm going to vote for!....Did you know that you can't take anyone in the voting booth with you?" the woman asked.
"Naw, that's a lie," Shorty-Lee said, puffing out his chest. "They told me that we'll all be voting together. Black Kings vote together."
-p79-80

That afternoon Ms. Bailey suggested that I visit the Boys & Girls Club in Taylor B. "Maybe with your connections you could help us raise money for a club like that in our area," she said.
I told her I'd be happy to help if I could. That Ms. Bailey saw me, a middle-class graduate student, as having "connections" said a lot about how alienated her community was from the powerful people in philanthropy and government who could actually make a difference. -p96

A few of J.T.'s men shouted nasty names and threw bottles at her [the drug addict]. It was pretty common for drug dealers to treat drug users with disdain; they often justified their line of work by pointing out that they took money from the most useless members of the community. -p273(less)

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May 07, 2012 Jenae rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think the author's purpose for writing the book was to show how the projects work. Gangs really aren't that bad sometimes. The writer got held hostage but ended up befriending the leader of the gang eventually. The man was really nice, charasmatic, and fun. Doesn't sound like a gang leader at all! Also, the gang actually protects the people of the projects because the cops can't do it all. I'm not saying gangs are bad, or they should be more abundant. I'm just saying there are small things abo...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Gwen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Why read a book published five years ago, about events fifteen to twenty years old? Because the same problems and issues are still around, even if the gang leaders are different, the drug of choice is different, and the location is different. Sudhir Vankatesh takes the reader into a world unlikely to be one to which we would ever have access, and the portrait he paints of life with a gang, and/or in a housing project is alternately bleak, chilling, heartrending and hopeful. That people can survi...more

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Apr 09, 2012 ashok rated it 4 of 5 stars

A sociologist of Indian origin embeds himself into a slum housing development in chicago and befriends the local gang leader. This book is reminiscent of one of those books from the 19th century where an explorer writes about an encounter with a strange new tribe with a strong exploitation theme. But its the 1980s, and we are in chicago.

There are interesting observations throughout : on the individual characters he meets, on the underground economy, on the conflicted role of the author (is he j...more

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