Vampires, Dragons, and Egyptian Kings by Eric C Schneider
Explains why youth gangs emerged, how they evolved, and why young men found membership and the violence it involved so attractive. This book describes how postwar urban renewal, slum clearances, and ethnic migration pitted African-American, Puerto Rican, and Euro-American youths against each other in battles to dominate changing neighborhoods.
"A comprehensive and tantalizing picture of the street gang culture that was part of the New York City mythology from the '40s to the '70s[Schneider] knows his way around the streets and does a particularly good job of making sense of the drug plague that ended the original postwar gang culture... Schneider's understanding (if not affection) for the gang style informs the work throughout. Vampires, Dragons, and Egyptian Kings is a sharp book about a peculiar moment in the New York life--one that seems strangely antiquated as we approach the new millennium."--Martin Jackson, Village Voice "[Schneider's] study of Manhattan youth gangs in the years after World War II blends academic disciplines with the author's recollections of the events he traces.Fascinating history."--Booklist "Superb. This is a marvelous piece of work: beautifully written, nicely organized, thoroughly researched, consistently insightful."--New York History "Drawing on countless sources meticulously noted, [Schneider] offers reasons for the emergence of gangs, shows us their particular culture, assesses intervention programs, and traces their decline in the 1960s and resurgence in the 1970s. Throughout, he augments his scholarly research with excerpts from interviews with former gang members."--Library Journal
Eric C. Schneider is Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and Adjunct Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of In the Web of Class: Delinquents and Reformers in Boston, 1810s-1910s
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691074542 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691074542 |
| Title | Vampires, Dragons, and Egyptian Kings |
| Author | Eric C Schneider |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2001-01-23 |
| Number of pages | 360 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |