Book Review Friday

I feel that one of my biggest weaknesses is my deep desire for the world to be fair. I like to think that if you work hard you get the success you deserve but the truth is we have all benefited from help we really didn't deserve. My desire for fairness often does not leave room for empathy. Lately I have been trying to work to understand disadvantaged people groups in America rather than jumping to judgements about welfare, or other hand outs. In the last couple of months I have read two books that have increased my understanding of these topics and helped grow my empathy for people in need.

The first book is called Random Family. It follows two women in the Bronx projects. It discusses the men they fall for, the children they have and the opportunities or lack there of in the projects. It was so compelling that I couldn't put it down.

The second book is call Gang Leader for a Day. It was written by a sociologist who followed a gang leader in the Chicago projects. (You might recognize his work from Freakanomics - another book I'd highly recommend.) This book is not quite as well written as the first but is an easy quick read and describes how gangs work in the inner cities. It helps answer questions like, "What benefit does a community get for allowing a gang to operate?" I also enjoyed the books perspectives on how people create networks to survive.

Here's the amazon links to both these books. I hope you enjoy them too.
http://www.amazon.com/Random-Family-Drugs-Trouble-Coming/dp/0743254430/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253282815&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/014311493X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253282966&sr=1-1