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)

Sociology major loving this book

I really loved it. I'm so appreciative of his objective view! Looking for his other books.

Eye Opener

Like most middle-class americans who grew up in the 1980's, the only contact I had with a "Crack Economy" was through movies.

Sudhir Venkatesh really pulls off the veil and lets you into a world so shockingly different... well it made my jaw drop more than once.

Expertly read by Reg Rogers, "Gang Leader for a Day" is the kind of audio book that keeps you listening in the parking lot 30 minutes after you arrive.

A real treat was having the author read the last chapter of the book. Hearing his voice somehow changed the perspective, if just slightly. A nice touch.

Sudhir also wraps up the book by taking some of the characters forward after his time with the BK's, another nice touch.

A highly recommended listen.

Venkatesh details

If you liked Freakonomics you will love this book. It is a detailed view of a social scientist infiltrating gangs for the sake of knowledge.

Very Interesting Listen

I realy enjoyed listening to the narrator and the voices used to give a vivid picture of how gang's interacted with the Robert Taylor tenants and others in this part of Chicago. A fascinating book.
Mike

Informative and entertaining

Like many, I was introduced to Sudhir Venkatesh's work through Freakanomics. I was expecting a more detailed account of his economic studies but got so much more. The story was fascinating, exciting, funny, and sad. It is a unique look at a part of America that is seldom seen from an intelectual outsiders view. I see a movie in the near future.

Couldn't stop listening

Great insight and an incredibly thoughtful look into a world most of us are not familiar with

Gangsters are really LOSERS

This gives a true picture of gang life over an extended period of time. It is at once a sociological study and a very interesting narrative of every-day gang life and the surrounding poverty that supports and enables it.

Thoroughly enjoyed it

Im not an American and dont claim to deeply understand the intricacies of inner city life and race relations but I really enjoyed the book. I was interested in all the characters and felt that I was watching their lives with the author. Excellent !!

Great book.

Loved this story.

And I found it helpfull for understanding the underground economy, relate to under the table jobs, kickbacks, and small scale corruption in government programs.

Refreshing

I loved the audiobook format and delivery, I'm a very busy person so this allowed me to maintain good contact with the reader and author. I come from this type of environment so it was truly refreshing and encouraging to read the points that were provided to help someone with no knowledge of the struggle. Thank you for also helping myself like others appreciate the values gained from this type of upbringing.