When People and Folks first appeared, William Julius Wilson  called it "the most insightful book ever written on inner-city gangs" and  "required reading for anyone seeking an understanding of gang activity in  our large urban centers."  It was also praised by Ron Huff as "a  vicarious journey into the underbelly of a rustbelt city, the breeding  ground of gangs-Underclass America." This gritty and poignant portrait of  gang members has become a major contribution to the academic literature.  The first edition of People and Folks broke new ground,  influencing a  generation of researchers. This expanded edition also offers provocative  new insights into race and class, challenging accepted theories with  fresh data from one of the most extensive studies ever undertaken of  street gangs in a single city.  In particular, Hagedorn questions  prevailing  assumptions about gang violence, drug use, and the cultural  differences between the inner-city "underclass" and the suburban middle  classes. Unlike many other gang studies, he explores the nature of   gender for both male and female gangs members and examines the  differences between male and female gangs.  Another important aspect of People and Folks  is its contribution to  social science methodology. Hagedorn shows why an accurate picture of  street gangs is  impossible without going directly to the gangs. People  and Folks  is a model of "collaborative research" with present and former  gang members. An influential new view of gangs emerges from the voices of  the gang members themselves, who meet the questions posed by criminology  with unexpected, harsh and often moving answers.  What are the reasons for the increase-and recent decrease-in violence and  drug use? Do gang youth hold deviant or mainstream values? Have two  decades of deindustrialization given birth to a new set of destructive,  violent values among the truly disadvantaged.  Or are gang members more  like "us" than they are different? Are underclass neighborhoods  "disorganized," or differently organized, with new illicit jobs taking  the place of the lost industry? How are the female gangs different from  male gangs, and what do the differences tell us about how to address  violence and drug abuse?  Hagedorn answers these questions by going to the gang members themselves,  with their voices rising above the mass of new data. With its complex and  nuanced picture of gang members and concrete short-term responses for  social policy, the new edition of People and Folks may prove as  provocative as the first.

People and Folks: Gangs, Crime and the Underclass in a Rustbelt City

Politics & Social Sciences

Hagedorn, John M.

Macon, Perry

Sociology

Lake View Pr

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Books by Macon, Perry

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People and Folks: Gangs, Crime and the Underclass in a Rustbelt City