The Crooked Ladder

Ethnic organized crime is a phenomenon that has been largely ignored by social scientists and historians, and dismissed as a subject not to be taken too seriously by those researching the mobility patterns of their own ethnic ancestors or current minority newcomers. The Crooked Ladder represents a groundbreaking attempt to describe how some members of ethnic minorities have utilized organized crime as one vehicle of upward mobility, advancing from lower-class status to middle-class power and respectability.O'Kane illustrates the criminal road to prosperity as a process of displacement and succession: each group competes with and eventually eliminates its more established predecessor from the upper echelons of organized crime. This historical criminal succession mirrors the upward mobility of the Irish, Jews, and Italians in the larger, conventional noncriminal realm. Arguing that African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics are pursuing similar criminal routes, O'Kane takes issue with contemporary social scientists who view the current plight of minorities as unique in American social life.As a fundamental rethinking of the American ethnic experience with crime, The Crooked Ladder will be essential reading for social historians, sociologists, and criminologists. Now available in paperback, it will be useful in criminology courses and well as classes in ethnicity and social relations.

Ethnic organized crime is a phenomenon that has been largely ignored by social scientists and historians. "The Crooked Ladder" represents a groundbreaking attempt to describe how some members of ethnic minorities have utilized organized crime as one vehicle of upward mobility, advancing from lower-class status to middle-class power and respectability.

Ethnic organized crime is a phenomenon that has been largely ignored by social scientists and historians. "The Crooked Ladder" represents a groundbreaking attempt to describe how some members of ethnic minorities have utilized organized crime as one vehicle of upward mobility, advancing from lower-class status to middle-class power and respectability.

An examination of Russian organized crime at home and in the U.S.

“22 contributors explore a wide range of experiences” in this “illuminating, invaluable” anthology edited by the author of Female Chauvinist Pigs (Publishers Weekly). Writing an essay is like catching a wave, posits guest editor Ariel Levy. To catch a wave, you need skill and nerve, not just moving water. The writers featured in this volume are certainly full of nerve, and have crafted a wide range of pieces awash in a diversity of moods, voices, and stances. Leaving an abusive marriage, parting with a younger self, losing your sanity to Fitbit, and even saying goodbye to a beloved pair of pants are just some of the experience probed by essays that are unified in the daring of their creation. As Levy notes, Writing around an idea you think is worthwhile—an idea you suspect is an insight—requires real audacity.” The Best American Essays 2015 includes entries by Hilton Als, Roger Angell, Justin Cronin, Meghan Daum, Anthony Doerr, Margo Jefferson, David Sedaris, Zadie Smith, Rebecca Solnit and others.

A War A Curse A Deadly Mystery Prince Eldred returns from the North plagued by the Noise, a distorted manifestation of the Bond filled with both great power and mortal danger, only to find his people preparing for war against ruthless invaders. As he seeks to prove his worth and fulfill his ambitions, he must restore the frayed bonds with his mercurial father. And always, he must walk a treacherous path where one step too many can turn the strongest ally into the most bloodthirsty foe. The kingdom, his honor and his life all hang in the balance.

Widespread law enforcement or formal policing outside of cities appeared in the early 20th century around the same time the early film industry was developing--the two evolved in tandem, intersecting in meaningful ways. Much scholarship has focused on portrayals of the criminal in early American cinema, yet little has been written about depictions of the criminal's antagonist. This history examines how different on-screen representations shifted public perception of law enforcement--initially seen as a suspicious or intrusive institution, then as a power for the common good.

After saving the Knights of Saint Kruza from the brink of destruction, Col and Myuri form their very own knightly order. Although Myuri is thrilled by the idea, she quickly realizes that her position as a knight is making it harder for her to keep making advances on Col. Before she has time to think of a solution, however, Hyland arrives with a request to investigate Raponell, a region whose prodigious wheat production is rumored to be the product of a deal with a devil. Combined with fresh clues that hint at the existence of a new continent to the west, Col and Myuri have little choice but to embark on a new adventure!