GOVERNMENT: Gang Leader for a Day

Sudhir Venkatesh is a first-year Sociology graduate student who hopes to impress his professors by interviewing the residents of the Robert Taylor housing projects, one of the largest and most poverty-stricken projects in Chicago. What he finds is a mini-society of drug dealers, prostitutes, government workers, and families just trying to survive. JT, the leader of the gang that runs Robert Taylor, takes a strange liking to Venkatesh and, over about a decade, gives him an unprecedented look into the workings of his gang and the influence they have on the projects they "protect."

I really enjoyed finding more about this aspect of society, but the way it was presented wasn't the best. At times, I felt like Venkatesh wanted to be writing a nonfiction book, and at times I felt like he wanted to write a fiction book. It went back and forth from telling, not showing to showing, not telling. I feel like I would have liked it more if it was all anecdotes or all exposition on what he learned and how things worked, but it went back and forth. In addition, I felt like for how long he spent with these people, he was not able to convey them in a way that made me care about them at all.

GOVERNMENT: I chose this book for government because I was very interested in learning about the inner workings of a gang. It is fascinating to me how such an unrespected life requires such intelligence. If you look at a lot of the people who run these things, they have amazing business and political skills. It was very interesting to get  a look into the inner structure and life of the gang. They had a whole hierarchy with a pay grade system, rules and laws, a trial system, and a multitude of roles for the various jobs the members need to fulfill.

Goodreads rating: 3 stars
Recommended: Yes, if you're interested in learning about an aspect of society that is totally foreign to most people, but don't expect an exceptionally well-written or compelling read.