Islands in the Street - by Martin Sanchez-Jankowski (Paperback)

About the Book

"Vivid, lively, and yet theoretically informed, a triumph of patient and sustained fieldwork. . . . Jankowski presents the gang and its members not as pathological departures from social norms, but as shrewd and resourceful operators."--Michael Lipsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
""Islands in the Street" fills a wide gap in the literature on gangs. Jankowski's innovative model of gang participation and organization is important and elegant, guaranteeing that this will be "the" book on gangs for the next ten years, if not longer."--Ruth Horowitz, University of Delaware

Book Synopsis

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.

From the Back Cover

"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." --Leonard Bushkoff, Christian Science Monitor

"Islands in the Street is more than a lively, descriptive report. It is also a highly polished sociological analysis and interpretive story of why youngsters join gangs, why gangs accept them, how gangs are organized, and how they relate to the community, law enforcement, and the media." --Jerome H. Skolnick, The American Prospect

"Specialists in juvenile delinquency, juvenile and criminal justice, and the several disciplines that study these topics will certainly welcome the publication of Islands in the Street. The data and interpretations are likely to be controversial." --James Short, Past President, American Sociological Association

"Vivid, lively, and yet theoretically informed, a triumph of patient and sustained fieldwork. . . . Jankowki presents the gang and its members not as pathological departures from social norms, but as shrewd and resourceful operators." --Michael Lipsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"Comprising a data base that far surpasses that of any other study since 1965, Islands in the street fills a wide gap in the literature on gangs. Jankowski's innovative model of gange participation and organization is important and elegant, guaranteeing that this will be the book on gangs for the next ten years, if not longer." --Ruth Horowitz, University of Delaware

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

About the Author

Martín Sánchez Jankowski is Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Chicano/Latino Policy Project Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of California, Berkeley.