Description: 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.
Review Quotes: "The value of this extraordinary book . . . is that it offers bold and fresh thinking on a subject that desperately needs it. . . . It helps demystify gangs, presenting them as human organizations with human members, not as evil or pitiful creatures to be either despised or patronized."--"Christian Science Monitor