Gangsters: 50 Years of Madness, Drugs, and Death on the
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Yablonsky, Lewis / Yablonsky / Golinger, Eva, PUBLISHER: New York University Press, The effects of gang violence are witnessed every day on the streets, in the news, ong>andong> on the movie screen. In all these forums, gangs of young adults are associated with drugs ong>andong> violence. Yet what is it that prompts young people to participate in violent behavior? ong>Andong> what can be done to extract adolescents from the gangster world of crime, death, ong>andong> incarceration once they have become involved? In Gangsters: 50 Years of Madness, Drugs, ong>andong> Death on the Streets of America, Lewis Yablonsky provides ong>answersong> to the most baffling ong>andong> crucial ong>questionsong> regarding gangs. Using information gathered from over forty years of experience working with gang members ong>andong> based on hundreds of personal interviews, many conducted in prisons ong>andong> in gang neighborhoods, Yablonsky explores the pathology of the gangsters' apparent addiction to incarceration ong>andong> death. Gangsters is divided into four parts, including a brief history of gangs, the characteristics of gangs, successful approaches for treating gangsters in prison ong>andong> the community, ong>andong> concluding with a review ong>andong> analysis of notable behavioral ong>andong> social scientific theories of gangs. While condemning their violent behavior in no uncertain terms, Yablonsky offers hope through his belief that, given a chance in an effective treatment program, youths trapped in violent behavior can change their lives in positive ways ong>andong>, in turn, facilitate positive change in their communities ong>andong> society at large.