[close] 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 entrance 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 hoping to impress his professors with his boldness, he never imagined that as a result of the assignment he would befriend a gang leader named JT and spend the better part of a decade inside the projects under JT's protection, documenting what he saw there. Over the next seven years, Venkatesh got to know the neighborhood dealers, crackheads, squatters, prostitutes, pimps, activists, cops, organizers, and officials. From his privileg [close]

[close] On October 26, 2004, Dominique Green, thirty, was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas. Arrested at the age of eighteen in the fatal shooting of a man during a robbery outside a Houston convenience store, Green may have taken part in the robbery but always insisted that he did not pull the trigger. The jury, which had no African Americans on it, sentenced him to death. Despite obvious errors in the legal procedures and the protests of the victim’s family, he spent the last twelve years of his life on Death Row. When Cahill found himself in Texas in December 2003, he visited Dominique at the request of Judge Sheila Murphy, who was working on the appeal of the case. In Dominique, he encountered a level of goodness, peace, and enlightenment that few human beings ever attain. Cahill joined the fierce fight for Dominique’s life, even enlisting Dominique’s hero, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to make an historic visit to Dominique and to plead publicly for mercy. Cahill was so profoundly [close]

[close] Philadelphia Parking Authority scam & poor service causing delays, which they charge customers on time for above & beyond what they should be paying. Philadelphia Parking Authority needs the Mayor's oversight & intervention. [close]

[close] Jackie O'Riley never had life handed him on a platter. For one thing, he was born in a time of poverty and uncertainty, when most Americans could barely stay alive and keep a roof over their heads. At least he’s not alone as he struggles to overcome his predicament. Narrowly avoiding war, he sees his nation become a world of electricity and automobiles. He sees people at their worst and best as he moves across country, always with one goal in mind...to be somebody. Beyond Jack Squat Pat Frank Book Trailer Find out more about this author and book here http://tinyurl.com/quu626 fiction, inspirational, the Great Depression [close]

[close] Get more on Jackie Collins at SimonandSchuster.com [close]

[close] If you've ever found yourself picking off your nail polish, sitting in your sweats with an empty carton of Ben & Jerry's, wondering, "Where are all the good men, and why isn't a gorgeous one standing shirtless in my kitchen mixing me up a pomegranate mojito?" I hate to tell you this, but it's your own fault. Not to worry -- I'm here to help you make that fantasy a reality, with one major addition: you'll be sipping that mojito with a big, glittering diamond ring on your left hand. Sounds too good to be true? It isn't. As a third-generation matchmaker and the president of one of the world's most elite dating services -- the Millionaire's Club -- I've put myself in the enviable position of being friend, confi dante, and relationship counselor to men and women the world over. I know what the good guys want in a wife, and what sends them screaming into the night. Now I'm sharing their secrets with you. I've compiled my best tried-and-true advice and I'm going to tell you the things that even you [close]