The Ville
Cops and Kids in Urban America, Updated Edition
Will be published approx. on 1. June 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-0-8232-6567-1 (ISBN)
Description
In Brownsville's twenty-one housing projects, the young cops and the teenagers who stand solemnly on the street corners are bitter and familiar enemies. The Ville, as the Brownsville-East New York section of Brooklyn is called by the locals, is one of the most dangerous places on earth-a place where homicide is a daily occurrence. Now, Greg Donaldson, a veteran urban reporter and a longtime teacher in Brooklyn's toughest schools, evokes this landscape with stunning and frightening accuracy.
The Ville follows a year in the life of two urban black males from opposite sides of the street. Gary Lemite, an enthusiastic young Housing police officer, charges recklessly into gunfire in pursuit of respect and promotion. Sharron Corley, a member of a gang called the LoLifes and the star of the Thomas Jefferson High School play, is also looking for respect as he tries to survive these streets.
Brilliantly capturing the firestorm of violence that is destroying a generation, waged by teenagers who know at thirty yards the difference between a MAC-10 machine pistol and a .357 Magnum, The Ville is the story of our inner cities and the lives of the young men who remain trapped there. In the tradition of There Are No Children Here, Clockers, and Random Family, The Ville is a vivid and unforgettable contribution to our understanding of race and violence in America today.
The Ville follows a year in the life of two urban black males from opposite sides of the street. Gary Lemite, an enthusiastic young Housing police officer, charges recklessly into gunfire in pursuit of respect and promotion. Sharron Corley, a member of a gang called the LoLifes and the star of the Thomas Jefferson High School play, is also looking for respect as he tries to survive these streets.
Brilliantly capturing the firestorm of violence that is destroying a generation, waged by teenagers who know at thirty yards the difference between a MAC-10 machine pistol and a .357 Magnum, The Ville is the story of our inner cities and the lives of the young men who remain trapped there. In the tradition of There Are No Children Here, Clockers, and Random Family, The Ville is a vivid and unforgettable contribution to our understanding of race and violence in America today.
Reviews / Votes
"Greg Donaldson depicts his subjects with the immediacy and insight of great fiction, so richly and with such compassion that you come to care deeply about them... This is a powerful book, honestly reported." -Washington Post Book World, from the first edition "Donaldson takes you through Brownsville at breakneck speed. A must read for anyone that's ever wondered what everyday living is really like-in the 'hood." -Kathy Russell, coauthor, The Color Complex, from the first edition "An urgent and powerful book ... [Donaldson] has bravely shadowed his characters to provide drama and detail." -Dallas Morning News, from the first edition "The Ville is an ambitious, densely packed, atmospheric book... [It] brings to life the smells, the feelings, the language of Brownsville-East New York and the people who form its world." -The New York Times Book Review, from the first edition "This is one of those books that make you want to run up and pump the writer's hand. The Ville is about the ghetto of Brownsville in Brooklyn, one of the most murderous neighborhoods in the world, meaner than Mogadishu and probably better armed; and Gred Donaldson, like no one before him, has gotten into the tragic, bullet-ridden heart of the place, learned to love its people and come out with their stories ... The result is vivid, in-your-face journalism..." -Men's Journal, from the first edition "Full of charged moment's...[The Ville] vivifies the humanity of ghetto residents on both sides of the law, and stands as one of the most gripping inner-city chronicles of recent years." -Kirkus Reviews, from the first edition "At considerable risk [Donaldson] has given our wounded society a book that is smart, noble and potentially restorative. Read it. We need to." -The Los Angeles Times Book Review, from the first editionMore details
Edition
Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8232-6567-1 (9780823265671)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2015
1st Edition
Empire State Editions
€26.99
Available for download
E-Book
06/2015
1st Edition
Fordham University Press
€26.99
Available for download
Persons
Associate Professor Greg Donaldson is a writer, actor and teacher. He has written for several newspapers including The New York Times and Newsday. His articles on gangs, crime, police and popular culture have appeared in many major magazines including Rolling Stone, Esquire, Playboy, Men's Health, Sports Illustrated and New York Magazine. His latest book is Zebratown: The True Story of a Black Ex-Con and a White Single Mother in Small Town America. Mark D. Naison is Professor of History and African American Studies at Fordham University, where he also directs the Bronx African American History Project. He is the author of three books, including Communists in Harlem During the Depression.
Content
Prologue: Likely SUMMER Don't Give up on Your Dreams Gun Collar One Male Black "Get Out of Brownsville" J.R. Junior Props The Scream Pay Day "No, Robo, No" The Feds are Clocking Bloody Valentine The Troops Eddie on the Back Old-Timers "I Never Met the Man" Hell Night Kids' Stuff FALL Jeff "Come Behind Me" "Striaght to that Holy House" Satellite In Full Effect Going to Represent Apartment 5AB "He Looks Life a Perp" "Trapp Off" "It Hurts, Price" Riker's Island WINTER "He's Gone" "Christmas is for White People" Country Boys "Let the Dogs Loose" Discontent "Two Tears in a Bucket" "I Like the Way I Am" Homecoming SPRING AND SUMMER "I Can't Walk" "I Am the Ville" Twenty-Four Seven Judgment "Big Days" Brownsville Epilogue