Monster : Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, The

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Summary: Gripping...
Review: You know a book is great when you almost feel you are walking down Crenshaw with "Monster" Kody Scott. I borrowed this book from a friend 2yrs ago and I have yet to return it. Thats how good it is. I recommend this book to anyone for some interesting reading.

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Summary: It's amazing what a book and five years will teach you
Review: I bought this book expecting little to nothing, and when I started to read it I found my self envolped in each page. Shakur let himself flow from chapter to chapter, page to page, and even so far as word to word. I'm the typical white youth of the Midwest, but this book opened my eyes to a world I've never even imagined. It allowed me to open my mind to all of the different worlds that are out there. UPDATE: It is now approximately five years since I wrote the first part of this review. I have since re-read MONSTER and lived a whole lot of life. I have lived in three major gang neighborhoods spanning from LA to Minneapolis to Brooklyn, NY. I have lived surrounded by Blue, Red, and Yellow/Black. I have dated gang leaders, witnessed murders, been held up, and stabbed on three separate occasions...and I doubt, very seriously, had I not read Shakur's book I would be dead right now. I was given enough general knowledge about street life and gang's to hold my own in Crip/Blood/and Latin King neighborhoods. I no longer idolize gang banging, but am now an inner city advocate to get kids out of gangs and into after school programs. MONSTER did so much for me, that I now use it as a text in my after school classes.

Rating:
Summary: Very moving
Review: Not even 100 pages into this book and I feel this is one of the best book written with his perspective of life you feel like you're their as a young reader I am very surprised that I'm hooked on this book that is how goo dit is.

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Summary: This book was dynamite a true book about struggle
Review: "Monster Kody" went threw alot growing up in the hood of South Central, and for him to turn his life around and try to help others makes him more of a man.

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Summary: chilling portrayl of gang life in L.A.
Review: Real life hard core rap. Tupac could only dream of holding Kody's shotgun. Recruited into gang life at a young age Kody finds a strange form of social acceptance in his Crypt "set." Being the toughest and most ruthless is the way to the top of the gang social hierarchy. Kody is a unqualified sucess. Quick to his gun, Kody fights for his turf and his set's honor against all comers. The puzzling question I was left with is so what if he is the killer of killers? It would seem more profitable to rob, steal, or sell dope which either he does not share with the reader or just has never grasped. That our society can turn out dangerous morons like this is a scary thought. The end of the book deals with his enlightenment in prison which seems far reaching in it's "deep" thinking about the street gangs true calling of political freedom fighters. His first stint in the slammer is more believable as I found it fun to sing along to the crypt anthem with the other inmates. Kody is the reason you should thank god for law enforcement. He is a good story teller and he seems to have a vast collection of scary tales to dip into. A very entertaining book.

Rating:
Summary: It showed the struggle of a young gang member
Review: This book was all right, but it was by no means the best gang book out there. I would not recommend this book to anybody who wanted to learn a lot about gangs. This book focused primarily on the life a young African-American gang member. I give Shakur credit because he was able to turn his life around, but the book was too drawn out.

Rating:
Summary: A superb, shotgun-blast of a book
Review: For anyone wanting to cut through the Hollywood hype relating to gangs, Sanyika Shakur's superb 'Monster'is required reading. From the off, it's all too easy to see how gang culture became a surrogate family for the-then Kody Scott, and how ultimately it was to lead him into a downward spiral of guns, drugs and murder. The only book - having left the first copy on a train - I've ever bought a second time after finishing.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting
Review: Monster gives a birds eye view into the demanding, dangerous and vicious life of Los Angeles' most notorious gangs. The book gives insight into initiation process as well as gang life in the streets and behind bars. Anyone who thinks gangs are just a fad or something that only affects youth should read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Enlightning,Pure Knowledge, Educational
Review: This book has opened my eyes to what people dont want to see, that is the L.A. Gang struggle. To see one man encounter and endure so much is astonishing. Then to live through it, find out what his life purpose was, brought life into this book. This is a gaurenteed good read, and I would reccomend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Unclear
Review: While this book is a interesting and has a unique point of view, it receives much more credit than it deserves. The story line is nearly impossible to follow since it is hightly non-linear and very episodic. There were too many names of individuals and gangs to keep track of. I never felt I learned much about why people join gangs and why they continue on the killing, and killing, and killing. I'm not sure the author knows either. Plus, his transformation to blaming the white man for inner-city trouble was glossed over. In the end, I found I was a passive reader.