Timothy R. Lauger's Books

Real Gangstas

Legitimacy, Reputation, and Violence in the Intergang Environment

By: Timothy R. Lauger

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Real Gangstas

Legitimacy, Reputation, and Violence in the Intergang Environment

By: Timothy R. Lauger

Street gangs are a major concern for residents in many inner-city communities. However, gangs’ secretive and, at times, delinquent tendencies limit most people’s exposure to the realities of gang life. Based on eighteen months of qualitative research on the streets of Indianapolis, Real Gangstas provides a unique and intimate look at the lives of street gang members as they negotiate a dangerous peer environment in a major midwestern city. Timothy R. Lauger interviewed and observed a mix of fifty-five gang members, former gang members, and non-gang street offenders. He spent much of his fieldwork time in the company of a particular gang, the “Down for Whatever Boyz,” who allowed him to watch and record many of their day-to-day activities and conversations. Through this extensive research, Lauger is able to understand and explain the reasons for gang membership, including a chaotic family life, poverty, and the need for violent self-assertion in order to foster the creation of a personal identity. Although the book exposes many troubling aspects of gang life, it is not a simple descriptive or a sensationalistic account of urban despair and violence. Steeped in the tradition of analytical ethnography, the study develops a central theoretical argument: combinations of street gangs within cities shape individual gang member behavior within those urban settings. Within Indianapolis, members of rival gangs interact on a routine basis within an ambiguous and unstable environment. Participants believe that many of their contemporaries claiming gang affiliations are not actually “real” gang members, but instead are imposters who gain access to the advantages of gang membership through fraud and pretense. Consequently, the ability to discern “real” gang members—or to present oneself successfully as a real gang member—is a critical part of gangland Indianapolis. Real Gangstas offers an objective and fair characterization of active gang members, successfully balancing the seemingly conflicting idea that they generally seem like normal teenagers, yet are abnormally concerned with—and too often involved in—violence. Lauger takes readers to the edge of an actual gang conflict, providing a rare and up-close look at the troubling processes that facilitate hostility and violence.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

269

Publisher

Rutgers University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

081355375X

ISBN 13

9780813553757

The Methamphetamine Industry in America

Transnational Cartels and Local Entrepreneurs

By: Henry H Brownstein,Timothy M. Mulcahy,Johannes Huessy

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Methamphetamine Industry in America

Transnational Cartels and Local Entrepreneurs

By: Henry H Brownstein,Timothy M. Mulcahy,Johannes Huessy

Galax, a small Virginia town at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was one of the first places that Henry H. Brownstein, Timothy M. Mulcahy, and Johannes Huessy visited for their study of the social dynamics of methamphetamine markets—and what they found changed everything. They had begun by thinking of methamphetamine markets as primarily small-scale mom-and-pop businesses operated by individual cooks who served local users—generally stymied by ever more strenuous laws. But what they found was a thriving and complex transnational industry. And this reality was repeated in towns and cities across America, where the methamphetamine market was creating jobs and serving as a focus for daily lives and social experience. The Methamphetamine Industry in America describes the reality that the methamphetamine industry is a social phenomenon connecting local, national, and international communities and markets. The book details the results of a groundbreaking three-stage study, part of a joint initiative of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Justice, in which police agencies across the United States were surveyed and their responses used to identify likely areas of study. The authors then visited these areas to observe and interview local participants, from users and dealers to law enforcement officers and clinical treatment workers. Through the eyes and words of these participants, the book tells the story of the evolution of methamphetamine markets in the United States over the past several years, given changes in public policies and practices and changing public opinion about methamphetamine. The authors look closely at how the markets are part of a larger industry, how they are socially organized, and how they operate. They also consider the relationships among the people involved and those around them, and the national, regional, and local culture of the markets. Their work demonstrates the importance of understanding the business of methamphetamine—and by extension other drugs in society—through a lens that focuses on social behavior, social relationships, and the cultural elements that shape the organization and operation of this illicit but effective industry.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

155

Publisher

Rutgers University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813574560

ISBN 13

9780813574561

Real Gangstas

Legitimacy, Reputation, and Violence in the Intergang Environment

By: Timothy R. Lauger

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Real Gangstas

Legitimacy, Reputation, and Violence in the Intergang Environment

By: Timothy R. Lauger

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

269

Publisher

Rutgers University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

081355375X

ISBN 13

9780813553757

Book's by Timothy R. Lauger

Real Gangstas

Real Gangstas

The Methamphetamine Industry in America

The Methamphetamine Industry in America

Real Gangstas

Real Gangstas

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email