The Thought Gang

A washed-up, middle-aged British philosopher teams up with an incompetent, one-armed bank robber to plan the ultimate bank job.

SOONTO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE The international bestseller, Booker Prize winner, and winner of the 2001 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book. Out of 19th century Australia rides a hero of his people and a man for all nations: Ned Kelly, the son of poor Irish immigrants, viewed by the authorities as a thief (especially of horses) and, as a cold-blooded killer. To the people, though, he was a patriot hounded unfairly by rich English landlords and their stooges. In the end, Kelly and his so-called gang (his younger brother and two friends) led a massive police manhunt on a wild goose chase that lasted twenty months, in which Ned’s talents as a bushman were augmented by bank robberies and the support of nearly everyone not in a uniform. His one demand – for which he would have surrendered himself was his jailed mother’s freedom. Executed by hanging more than a century ago, speaking as if from the grave, Kelly still resonates as the most potent legend in the land down under.

Set in post-war Hungary between 1944 and 1956, the story follows the lives of two young men and in particular their careers in a travelling basketball team. They spend most of their time in the avoidance of work and army service and in the pursuit of sex.

Gangs are responsible for over 80 percent of the crime in the United States. The cost of gang violence is staggering. In many communities, no one feels safe walking down his or her own streetsand that, Dan Googen feels, is simply too high a cost to pay. Dan was a soldier, trained in combat overseas. When he returns home to see that his own neighborhood is held captive by a violent invasion force of its own, he springs into action. He goes undercover and begins to live the gangland life. What he doesnt count on is how his life will be affected by the friendships he forms with the members of the gangs. His new secret life is in bitter conflict with his ideals and goals. Can he do what needs to be doneor will these new friendships test his resolve? While living undercover, Dan befriends Tiny, one of the gang members. With Dans help, Tiny is able to accomplish the unthinkable: he breaks free from the gangs and enrolls in college. There, he becomes a breakout basketball star; his life is now on an unstoppably positive path. When Tinys dreams of playing pro ball finally come true, he makes good on his promise to help the kids he left behind in the hood. He comes home, a local hero determined to do anything he can to help. Tiny receives the answer to his prayers but not the one he expected.

The Gang Life: Laugh Now, Cry Later examines the criminal gangster mindset and offers gang prevention strategies, using real-world examples to demonstrate a holistic approach toward combatting this surging societal problem. The text outlines the evolution of gang membership from a state of interest, to association, to hardcore "O.G." (Original Gangster) status, and explores the evolution of law enforcement’s multi-pronged approach to combating criminal street gang violence, from the catch-and-release mentality of the 1970s and 1980s to today’s collaboration with private organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs. In-depth profiles, case studies, and lengthy histories of gangs, gang members, and their transformations are provided to demonstrate the deleterious effect of gangs on society. Designed for criminal justice students and for practitioners in the field, this text offers readers a holistic approach toward gang prevention from three nationally awarded educators and gang investigators.

Klein, well-known criminologist and police consultant, tells the story of a gang cop who is deeply engaged in battling his street gang opponents. The author reveals the dangers of police elite units when a 'tough cop' begins to rationalize the use of police violence and corruption. Klein assesses the training and skills of the gang cop, and current gaps in our knowledge of street gangs. This book is for law enforcement personnel, lawyers, criminologists, and community and governmental agencies concerned with the proliferation of gangs in America's towns.

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.

The graphic details of gang wars and racism is mentioned on a wide world aspect designed to vindicate the minds of the youth whom are involved in gangs, my views are intense and genuine facts, some methods of gang prevention applied can increase life expectancy of gang members seeking to exit before an untimely demise result of being murdered in gang wars. I have discussed many topics relating to gang wars how gang wars are initiated due to many diverse reasons. I truly disagree that there are many books that exist that describe in vivid constructive details of gang war. The very broad story told millions of times but never before with so much intel so exclusively with real people living in the battle zone of the concrete jungles with genuine full fl edge up front exposure. Police offi cers would agree that these views are very enlightening and expressive with vital concepts that are identical to a vet whom have endured many tours of confl ict. The dark side of Watts exposure of the riots of 1965 and 1992 the vague topic of racism that people dodge frequently dropping the ball of unwanted troubles. The truth to combat gangs you must combat racism. Long ago the black panther were groups that evolved to decrease racial confl icts. Today those groups are called gangs. The panthers are where it begin gangs are where it stands now!