The Culture and Politics of Contemporary Street Gang Memoirs

Contents

CONTENTS ix Acknowledgments 3 Books Making a Killing An Introduction 19 Chapter One From Rage to Rap and Prison to Print Social, Cultural, and Commercial Contexts of Emergence 43 Chapter Two Homeboys Between Hard Covers Scholarly Approaches to the Study of Gang Memoirs 67 Chapter Three Killer Books The Representations and Politics of Violence in Gang Memoirs 97 Chapter Four Brothers Who Could Kill with Words Language, Literacy, and the Quest for Education in Gang Memoirs 123 Chapter Five Murderer, Monster, Novelist, or Nobel Nominee? Press Reception and Media Constructions of Gang Memoirs viii Contents 149 Chapter Six Quick Reads for Reluctant Readers Consuming Gang Memoirs 179 Conclusions Still Running 189 Notes 223 Bibliography 237 Index ...