Gang Leader for a Day

A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

By: Sudhir Venkatesh

Narrated by: Reg Rogers, Sudhir Venkatesh, Stephen J. Dubner

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of the young sociologist who studied a Chicago crack-dealing gang from the inside captured the world's attention when it was first described in Freakonomics. Gang Leader for a Day is the fascinating full story of how Sudhir Venkatest managed to gain entree into the gang, what he learned, and how his method revolutionized the academic establishment.

When Venkatesh walked into an abandoned building in one of Chicago's most notorious housing projects, he was looking for people to take a multiple-choice survey on urban poverty. A first-year grad student hoping to impress his professors with his boldness, he never imagined that as a result of the assignment he would befriend a gang leader named JT and spend the better part of a decade inside the projects under JT's protection, documenting what he saw there.

Over the next seven years, Venkatesh got to know the neighborhood dealers, crackheads, squatters, prostitutes, pimps, activists, cops, organizers, and officials. From his privileged position of unprecedented access, he observed JT and the rest of the gang as they operated their crack-selling business, conducted PR within their community, and rose up or fell within the ranks of the gang's complex organizational structure.

In Hollywood speak, Gang Leader for a Day is The Wire meets the University of Chicago. It's a brazen and fundamentally honest view into the morally ambiguous, highly intricate, often corrupt struggle to survive in what is tantamount to an urban war zone. It is also the story of a complicated friendship between Sudhir and JT: two young and ambitious men a universe apart.

©2008 Sudhir Venkatesh (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

" Gang Leader for a Day is an absolutely incredible book. Sudhir Venkatesh's memoir of his years observing life in Chicago's inner city is a book unlike any other I have read, equal parts comedy and tragedy." (Steven D. Levitt, co-author, Freakonomics)

Powerful Journey

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. The author takes us on an almost accidental step into life in the Chicago Projects. He shows us a world where good and bad - friend and foe, are far more complicated than we'd like to think. The author does not editorialize or present any feasible solutions, but rather presents a once-in-a-lifetime look into a world and lifestyle that is entirely foreign to most Americans. Should be required reading for students of sociology.

Good read

Enjoyed the approach and the study was fresh and direct.
The only change I would recommend is to lose the cheesy music at random times.

Fantastic

Like most, I came to this book via Freakanomics. This book was both compelling and informative. Highly recommend to any and all.

Entertaining

This was a very entertaining listen. The language at times may be troublesome for those sensitive to this, however in an effort to align the real life experiences of his travels to this book it is warranted. Gang Leader For A Day is a wonderful introspective to urban Chicago and the realities of gang life. It was interesting to learn how closely the drug world aligns to a corporate organizational chart. If only opportunities existed and hard work could be focused on positive efforts. The author is lucky to have made it out of this experience. I am looking forward to reviewing his other works.

Great start, weak finish, bit of deceiving title

Any additional comments?

The book had a really interesting start and developing story, however I felt that the ending was a bit weak and sort of dropped off. Also, it felt like the author did the research to progress his own studies, however did not do much for the people of housing projects. I feel that maybe he could have done more to raise awareness of life inside the projects.

Interesting, Insightful, Entertaining

What made the experience of listening to Gang Leader for a Day the most enjoyable?

I felt like I was being told a cool story by someone who had been there and who knew how to tell a story. It could have sounded like a sociological paper but far from it. I hated to turn it off (which I had to do whenever the kids came in the room. Appropriate to the content but definitely R rated language).

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gang Leader for a Day?

I liked to hear about the 'off' times. When he wasn't with the gang leader or dealing with a 'crisis', when he was just hanging with the complex' residents, in a mother's kitchen or in the parking lot.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

His intonations. He's not African American or in a gang or from anything close to the life of the people he was representing but he sounded like he could have been.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

People are so very similar in their love for their kids and for a better life. And, sadly, their frustration when social structures and perceptions seem stacked against them.

Any additional comments?

When my kids get a little older, upper teens rather than younger, I will listen to this book again with them to provide perspectives and motivate discussion.

Eye opening...

This book was one of my all time favorites. I even got it for my brother to read!

The only negative I could say is that the music in between chapters is a bit much...

I really enjoyed the truth and honesty found in the story. Sudhir captures life in the projects in a way no sociologist has come close to.

I highly recommend it!

Very Good

This is not my usual genre. I tend to stick to thrillers. However this was compelling, interesting, and informative. The writing holds the attention and the performance is top notch. This was worth straying from fiction.

Amazing insight into the processes of a Gang

Sudhir does an amazing job describing the intricacies of Gang life in Chicago(?) (honestly I've forgotten but it doesn't really matter. He does an amazing job!!). He made the people seem real and you understand that Gang's are just another form of business. I read the book for a juvenile delinquency class and found it very informative for the purpose of "ghettos" and "street life" and "police neglectance". It really makes you think about why and how gangs function and the purpose of them.
Even if you are not reading the book for academic reasons it is interesting and insightful!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE read and enjoy it. It is for everyone over the age of 13 and everyone should listen.

Masterfully researched and presented

A look into real life in the housing projects reveals that the reality is not the popular media's view. Real people doing the best they can with what they have to build sustainable communities. The outstanding question whether to empower or to continue to displace and disgrace?