A founder of the Crips introduces kids to the way gangs operate focusing particularly on the powerful influence of "bad" friends.

A founder of the Crips introduces kids to the way gangs operate focusing particularly on the powerful influence of bad friends.

This study is based on three years of field work with 99 active gang members and 24 family members. The book describes the attractiveness of gangs, the process of joining, their chaotic and loose organisation, and their members' predominant activities - mostly hanging out, drinking, and using drugs. The authors also discuss gang members' rather slapdash involvement in major property crime and their disorganised participation in drug traffic, as well as the often fatal consequences of their violent life-style. Although the book focuses on the individual, organisational, and institutional aspects of gang membership, it also explores gang members' involvement with other school and neighborhood structures. Extensive interviews with family members provide groundbreaking insights into the gang members' lives. As much as possible, however, the story is told in the gang members' own words.

Looks at the complex lives of contemporary black youth, offering a view of the lives of two very different young black men and a discussion of the meaning of success as defined by the individual.

A founder of the Crips discusses gangs, debunking the notion that belonging to a gang is the only way a kid can "fit in."

The overall goal of the research in this book was to understand gang phenomenon in the United States. In order to accomplish this goal, the author investigated gangs in different cities in order to understand what was similar in the way all gangs behaved and what was idiosyncratic to certain gangs. The research for this book took place over ten years and five months from 1978 to 1989 and will give the reader a comprehensive overview of gang behavior in the United States in that time period.

This book asks a critical question for our times: why do an increasing number of people support, admire and aspire to be outlaws? Outlaw motorcycle clubs have grown, spread and matured. Popular culture glamorizes them; law enforcement agencies fight them and the media vilify them. Meanwhile, the outlaw bikers exploit the current cultural and economic climate to attract new members. How Outlaws Win Friends and Influence People argues that the growth of these anti-establishment groups under neoliberalism is not coincidental, but inevitable. The book asks a critical question for our times: why do people today, in increasing numbers, support, admire and aspire to be outlaws? What needs and desires do the clubs satisfy? How do they win support and influence? Answering this is crucial if we are to successfully fight the social harms caused by these groups, as well as the harms that underlie their proliferation. Unless we understand the cultural dynamic at play here, our fight against these organizations will always take the form of a battle against the mythological Hydra: when one head is cut off, two more grow. “Tereza Kuldova is a rebel with a cause - her new book is a razor-sharp critique of stereotypical conceptions of the ‘outlaw biker’ and provides refreshing insights into their subjective life-worlds”​ - Daniel Briggs, author of the award-winning Dead-End Lives.

Discusses the violence that can occur when gangs have guns.

A founder of the Crips introduces kids to the way gangs operate focusing particularly on the powerful influence of "bad" friends.

One of the best approaches to keeping kids away from gangs is to inform them about the realities of gang involvement before they are offered the choice. This book in the Deal With It series is designed to connect with any reader, whether they're already involved with a gang, considering join ing a gang, or have witnessed gang activity in their neighbourhood. Quizzes, comics, and graphic novel-style illustration help make this an engaging and accessible way to approach a difficult-to-address problem. Gangs: Deal with it before wrong seems right uses real-life situations based on the author's experience as an at-risk youth counsellor to show tweens: common myths about gangs how to avoid being pushed or pulled into gang life how to get out where to go for help