Member Reviews

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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 2 stars

  “ Personally I didn't like this book one bit. I thought it was cool though that it took place in Chicago (Close to Home). I found it rather boring because it sounded more like a research paper instead of a published book.
  
  Even though you can't change what has already happened, I wish I could have changed the ending. I found the ending uneventful.
  
  I don't recommend this to anyone who is expecting a lot of action in it. The title did not live up to itself at all.”

  Shannon O wrote this review Friday, September 5 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 0 stars

  “Excellent book. Like the early sociologists at his Chicago University ("Chicago School" means something different in sociology) Venkatesh became heavily involved in the life of the Chicago underclass in the Nineties, and with gang leader "J.T." in particular.
  
  Has a fascinating depiction of life in the projects. The gangs there had essentially taken on the roles of the civic authorities: extracting tax from the illicit businesses, settling disputes, and organizing almost all aspects of life there. The police are depicted as distant and corrupt, chiefly interested shaking down gang members for cash and valuable. Building managers are heavily involved with the gangs, and one is depicted as running her own networks of patronage.
  
  It's hinted that official politics is tied in with the gangs and bribery as in the Wire, but Venkatesh never manages to penetrate those networks.
  
  The book is also compellingly written: this is the only non-fiction book in years that I've stayed up late to finish in one sitting.
  
  Well worth reading.”

  TheophileEscargot wrote this review Wednesday, March 19 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “As a doctoral student in sociology at the U of C, Venkatesh superficially embeds himself in a Chicago gang at the Robert Taylor projects. While his affection for the people he meets is largely genuine, one can't help but see the whole enterprise as self-serving.”

  Helen G wrote this review 9 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 5 stars

  “Boy this book was amazing! I was hooked by the title because that gang stuff is interusting to me. plus the guy wasn't a person that a person would expect to be part of a gang.I loved that this was based off a true story and it was taken place in modern day. One of my friends recommended it to me and I was glad that he did. This bbok grabbed me from the beginning because he described his surroundings so vividly that I felt that I expuerienced the same as he did. Read it; you will love it from the first word till the last sentence.”

  jeff b wrote this review Sunday, November 2 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “ I found Gang Leader for a day to be a uniquly written story on the daily study of Chicago Gangs through personal observation. Sudhir Venkatesh's story was defintly one worth telling as it follows his times as a associate to a real-life gang leader.
  
  I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something different. The story is a tad dry in certain areas as it is nonfiction, but the overall composition makes it for its minor flaws.”

  Nigel M wrote this review Thursday, October 23 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 5 stars

  “Mr. Venkatesh has written possibly the best non-fiction book I've ever read. His experiences were incredible and the fact that this all took place in Chicago within the last twenty years makes it all the more incredible. There are many characters in this book that can get a little difficult to differentiate from one another but this didn't harm the story at all.”

  Ethan D wrote this review Thursday, October 23 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 5 stars

  “Gang leader for a day was outstanding. It taught me so much about the "Gang Life." The author Sudhir Venkatesh explains all the good and bad times he faced. Sudhir is a sociologist attending the University of Chicago. Unknowingly he receives a huge task. He has to find out what it's like to be in a gang in the streets of Chicago. Doing this leads him into a lot of trouble at first, but he soon became great friends with JT (the leader of the gang.) JT informs Sudhir that the only way he can truly capture what it's like to be a gang member is to be a gang member for a day. That is exactly what Sudhir does. I would recommend this book to people who love crazy action filled adventures. 9/10”

  Jeet T wrote this review Thursday, October 23 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 5 stars

  “This was the most interesting and different book I've read in a long time. The author describes his experiences as a sociology doctoral student hanging out with a gang in Chicago. It is a window into a world you could never fathom. Excellent read! ”

  Anissa wrote this review Thursday, September 25 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “gang leader for a day was SOO interesting. when i would hear the word 'gang', the terms i could affliate it with were drive-bys, drug trafficking and bumpin' sound systems in low-riders.
  after reading this, it totally changed my view on inner city gangs. their world is a business; a business to get done.”

  Melanie C wrote this review Wednesday, September 10 2008. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “This book is about a young college student who befriends a gang leader and spends nearly a decade learning about the workings of a major gang and the poor community it calls home. I thought this book was okay, I expected a lot more action and violence than there actually was. Most of the book is about the politics that goes on in a poor Chicago neighborhood. I did learn a lot from this book but I just didn't find it all that exciting.”

  Kevin F wrote this review Sunday, September 7 2008. ( reply | permalink )