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by: Elijah Anderson  List Price: $17.95 Amazon.com's Price: $12.21 You Save: $5.74 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 303.330896073074811 EAN: 9780393320787 Edition: 1 ISBN: 0393320782 Label: W. W. Norton & Company Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 352 Publication Date: 2000-09 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Studio: W. W. Norton & Company Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com: As sociologist Elijah Anderson shows in the detailed and devastating Code of the Street, the senseless crime in the inner city represents a complex, though ultimately self-defeating, set of social mores. These mores, called "codes," stress a hyperinflated sense of manhood through verbal boasts, drug selling, sexual prowess, and--ultimately--violence and death. "At the heart of the code is the issue of respect," Anderson writes, "loosely defined as being treated 'right' or being granted one's 'props' (or proper due) or the deference one deserves." Anderson reveals a world where unemployment is rampant, teenage pregnancy is common, and social and educational achievement is viewed as "acting white." Although Anderson states that racism is a major factor for this condition, he notes that this type of behavior is further exacerbated by modern economic and political forces, and that it has existed as far back as ancient Rome. As an African American himself, Anderson moves through the middle- and lower-class Philadelphia neighborhoods with ease, interviewing a variety of subjects, all of whom deal daily with consequences of urban decay--from the high-achieving young woman who had to reject her poorer relatives to better herself, to the former delinquent who tries to go straight after returning from prison. For Anderson, these are the true heroes of Code of the Street: people who overcome the temptations of the streets to help create a better space for the next generation. --Eugene Holley Jr. Book Description: Inner-city black America is often stereotyped as a place of random violence; in fact, violence in the inner city is regulated through an informal but well-known code of the street. How you dress, talk, and behave can have life-or-death consequences, with young people particularly at risk. This incisive book examines the code as a response to the lack of jobs that pay a living wage, to the stigma of race, to rampant drug use, to alienation and lack of hope. An individual's safety and sense of worth are determined by the respect he commands in public--a deference frequently based on an implied threat of violence. Unfortunately, even those with higher aspirations can often become entangled in the code's self-destructive behaviors. Winner of the Komarovsky Book Award. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - An Interesting and Realistic BookI'm not normally a fan of nonfiction but I really couldn't put this book down! Every section was authentic and interesting. It is another world. Rating:  - Good stuffI bought this book for an assignment and found that it was highly informative. I would suggest this book for anyone thinking about going into law enforcement or criminology. Rating: - A winnerExcellent book; I highly recommend. Extremely informative and insightful. A scholarly study written in plain language. It reveals the complexities of the subculture of street life and its terrorist rule in the neighborhoods it infiltrates. A must read for someone working in any aspect of criminal justice. - Corrections librarian. Rating: - A New Lens to See ThroughI am so impressed with this book I can't believe it. Every page provided a new insight. As a white person I gained a whole new perspective on...well, everything, it seems like. Mr. Anderson does such a great job of giving an "inside look" into the inner city world, you really come away understanding a whole lot more. I appreciated that Anderson laid the facts out without playing the blame game. His writing is objective but also compassionate; you can really see *individuals,* not just ... Read More Rating: - A very insightful book on inner city cultureThis book is a study of inner city life in some of the really bad areas of Philadelphia. Its basic thesis is that the inner city culture is split between the majority who are decent and the large minority who are "street." He explains the origins and meaning of all of this very well. A great strength of this book is how it takes you inside the head of the people it studies. He talks, for example, of the cruel contradiction that inner city boys are caught in. On the one side, if they ... Read More 
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