The Corner

Rating:
Summary: Slow But Worth It
Review: I would give this book 4 stars, overall it does exactley what it says it will, "take you into a year in the life of an inner city neighborhood." It does an great job of showing how a street corner works, and how people end up spending there lives on the corner. This book gives faces to people who are often seen as nobody and faceless; drug addicts. David Simon and Edward Burns showed me that drug addiction, violence, and crime affect people, not just numbers. When you read the paper and see that someone was arrested for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute (sell), yeah now your informed but that doesn't tell you the story of who that person is, and why they were selling drugs. This book will show you who these people are, and how good people can do bad things when their backs are against the wall and they can't turn either way. This book will definitely grab your heart and you can't help but feel sympathy for the characters. One complaint about the book is its length. It's a long read that could have been shortened by editing out a few of the authors long spiels against the system that treats drug addicts as criminals and not sick people. Also I felt it started kind of slow and there were a few parts I was wondering if the story would speed up. Its like the authors were repeating themselves saying the same thing just using different wording. Towards the end I liked this book a lot but glad that the end was near. Overall though, this book was great, and would recommend it to anyone who can relate to this lifestyle or topic and anyone who is interested. You definitely have to care though because it can be slow at times.

Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Book
Review: This is one of my top ten non-fiction books of all time. Here is why: First, it is well-written and intriguing. There is little to no academic jargon to wade through. It is a plain spoken book about the realities of inner-city life. It is not difficult to read in a literary sense, but certainly in an ethical and moral sense. This brings me to the second reason why I found it to be such an important book: It puts a face on the experiences of poor minorities living in urban areas. I'm 23 and I've been working in inner-city communities since I was 15. When I hear people talk disparagingly about minorities, inner-city youth, single moms, "welfare moms," my heart breaks, and in many ways, I am also angry that people talks so much about a life they know so little about. I found that this book accurately put a face on the people who are so often referred to as one statistics or another (related to drugs, single moms, incarceration, welfare). There was no glorification and little over-victimization of the people in the book and their experiences as poor, black, and affected by drugs and the underground economy. This book should be required reading for all Americans who wish to learn more about and develop informed opinions about poor, inner-city communities and the people who live there. I find it particularly relevant to those interested in drug laws and sentencing, as well as access to drug treatment. I think that this would also be a very helpful book for people who work in urban areas or are planning to someday (social work, education, ministry). The book leaves very big questions to be answered by the reader. How do I judge the people in this book? What would I do if I grew up in such a community? How do I go forth from here? A very powerful book.

Rating:
Summary: exellent piece of work
Review: well i wanted to rate this book with 4 and a half stars, but thats not possible. overall this book does exatley what it claims to do, "take you into a year in the life of an inner city neiboorhood." it does an exellent job of showing how a street corner works, and how people end up spending there lives on the corner. it gives faces to people who are often seen as faceeless: drug addicts. the author(s) shows you that drug addiction, violence, and crime affect PEOPLE. not just numbers. you read the paper and see that someone was arrested for possesion of crack cocaine w/ intent to distribute. but that doesn't tell you the story of who that person is, and why they were selling drugs.... his book will show you who these people are, and how good people can do bad things when their backs are against the wall. it is not possible to read this book and not feel heartfelt sympathy for the characters. you will sit up at night and wonder, "what has become of deandre mccullough, and fran boyd?" my only complaint about the book is it's length. it's a long read that could have been shortened by editing out a few of the authors rants against the system that treats drug addicts as criminals and not sick people. his opinion (to me at least) is correct, but he keeps coming back to these rants over and over again. and each time he says the same thing using diffrent wording. towards the end i found myself skipping through pages of these self righteous rants so i could get back to THE STORY! overall though, this book was ecquisitly done, and i would recomend that you purchase it.