I Ran With The Gang

The Bay City Rollers were one of the brightest things to happen in the tumultuous 1970s, illuminating a dark decade marred by falling stock markets, a plummeting economy and industrial unrest. Alan Longmuir, an apprentice plumber from Edinburgh, was inspired by the Beatles to form a band. After enlisting his brother and throwing a dart at a map, they became the Bay City Rollers. In I Ran with the Gang , Alan recounts his incredible journey from the Dalry backstreets to the Hollywood hills and back again. Along the way, he punctures some of the myths and untruths that have swirled around the group, and unflinchingly tells of the acrimony and exploitation that led to the disintegration of the band. Most of all, though, Alan captures the great adventure of five young boys from Edinburgh who for a few heady years threatened to turn the whole world tartan.

For the first time, here's a no-holds-barred inside account of life for criminal gang members in cities and towns across Canada. Mark Totten has slowly gained the confidence of gang members in many Canadian cities and small towns, and he knows enough to get the real goods from these men and women. In this book he tells the life stories -- so far -- of ten gang members drawn from across the country. Murderers, rapists, addicts, drug traffickers, victims of child abuse, abusers themselves -- these are people who many consider the worst of the worst. But from their life stories, a more nuanced and complex picture emerges. The circumstances and events which lead children and teens into criminal life become clearer. Meet: Jake, a 28-year-old former neo-Nazi skinhead gang member who beat people up "just for the fun of it," then became a drug dealer and a freelance enforcer for organized crime groups Kim, a Cree woman with two addicted parents who joined her gang at 14, kept off drugs, and ran a group of prostitutes until going to jail -- at just 16 Dillon, a Latino-Canadian, sexually and physically abused as a young boy, a drug dealer and gang leader in high school and later head of a local chapter of a major international gang until he was "honoured" out No one will think the same way about criminal gang members and the circumstances that lead to a life in crime after reading this compelling and revealing book.

While gangs and gang culture have been around for countless centuries, The Gang is one of the first academic studies of the phenomenon. Originally published in 1927, Frederic Milton Thrasher’s magnum opus offers a profound and careful analysis of hundreds of gangs in Chicago in the early part of the twentieth century. With rich prose and an eye for detail, Thrasher looked specifically at the way in which urban geography shaped gangs, and posited the thesis that neighborhoods in flux were more likely to produce gangs. Moreover, he traced gang culture back to feudal and medieval power systems and linked tribal ethos in other societies to codes of honor and glory found in American gangs. Thrasher approaches his subject with empathy and insightfulness, and creates a multifaceted and textured portrait that still has much to offer to readers today. With handsome images that evoke the era, this unabridged edition of The Gang not only explores an important moment in the history of Chicago, but also is itself a landmark in the history of sociology and subcultural theory.

In urban Honduras, gun violence and assault form the pulsing backdrop of everyday life. This book examines the ways that young men and women in working-class neighborhoods of El Progreso, Honduras, understand and respond to gang and gun violence in their communities. Because residents rely on gangs and Catholic and Evangelical Protestant churches to mediate violence in their neighborhoods, these institutions form the fabric of society. While only a small fraction of youths in a neighborhood are active members of a gang, most young men must learn the styles, ways of communicating, and local geography of gangs in order to survive. Due to the absence of gang prevention programs sponsored by the government or outside non-governmental organizations, Catholic and Pentecostal churches have developed their own ways to confront gang violence in their communities. Youths who participate in church organizations do so not only to alter and improve their communities but also to gain emotional and institutional support. Offering firsthand accounts of these youths and how they make use of religious discourse, narrative practices, or the inscription of tattooed images and words on the body to navigate dangerous social settings, Jesus and the Gang is an unflinching look at how these young men turn away from perpetuating the cycle of violence and how Christianity serves a society where belonging is surviving. This book will appeal to readers with an interest in Latin American studies, urban anthropology, and youth studies. With its focus on the lives of young men and women, it’s also a compelling read for anyone interested in the plight of urban youth trying to escape the gang life.

This unique volume explores why and how youth join and leave gangs, as a lens for exploring intervention and prevention through comparative, international research. The book explores three key questions: how do youth gangs form and how do they change over time? Why do youth join street gangs, and why do they leave? How can we use this knowledge to foster more effective interventions for gang problems? Drawing from research conducted in ten different countries (Belgium, Canada, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Venezuela)and a variety of disciplines, sixteen original chapters provide unique insights into: 1) patterns of gang participation and how it impacts individual behavior 2) individual transitions and their impact on gang transformations 3) fostering gang transition and transformation. This work will be of interest to researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice, particularly with an interest in youth gangs, developmental and life-course criminology, criminal careers, and criminal networks, as well as related fields such as sociology, psychology, and comparative law, and public health.​

Jimmy (A.K.A. Katsuya Onishi) is a first year at Bara Cross High School's technical track. When he was young, he was saved by a legendary tattoo artist known as “Katsushin.” Ever since then, he's become captivated by the art of tattooing, even going as far as to tattoo his body all by himself! His dream is to move to America and pursue his savior in order to study from under him and become the world's number one tattoo artist. It's now April, the season of beginnings. A new academic year has just begun, which means it's time for new punks to enter Bara High! Among them is someone who's had a run-in with Jimmy in the past. But a pair of newbies stands out: Iwa Junior High's two-fer combination, Tuckey & Tsubasa. On their first day, they rack up body counts trying to make a name for themselves in a new environment, culminating in a shot for the top spot against Jimmy! Meanwhile, Tatsuya enrolls in Bota High on a Judo scholarship. But little did he know, Reaper Sally has also enrolled in Bota High out of respect for Pinko. Jimmy's little brother and Pinko's junior in the same box. Sparks are totally going to fly!

In the middle to late 1950s, I lived in the Brewster Projects that were infested with gang activities. In order to survive being beat up, you were encouraged to participate or be a part of a gang. There were two things I was good at; fighting was one, and running was the other. Both got me out of some tough situations. The Brewster Project recreation center was right in the area of the Brewster's twelve-story apartment buildings populated by a gang called the Russians. I spent a lot of time at the center, which was a short distance from my house. I learned to swim there, took boxing there, even learned to ice skate there. The Russians was to many to fight; running was my best option until I joined the baby Russians. The school I attended was in the area of the gang called the Angels. I eventually found myself being a part of both gangs. Running and ducking allowed me to escape being found out until my family moved out of the area. Running kept me out of more trouble than fighting. The story is based on my ability to avoid potential deadly situations.