Customer Reviews

East Side Stories: Gang Life in East L.A.

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I live in East L.A., and I know two of the young guys that were in the book. This is what life for us is really like.Im 19, and the guys that came out in the book are around 22 now. I think that this guy has come a really long way and hopefully when he looks back at this book he will realize that he has turned into a better and smarter person.The author has my support in whatever he does. To come here to the neighborhood and write about what goes on in here is opening society's eyes to the everyday struggles and pressures that our young Chicano men have to go through. Behind every picture that Joseph has taken there is a story,and the people that live through it are the authors. I am sure that Joseph has some how helped these guys, because when I first met Porky the first thing he told me was that Pony and him had came out in a book!I think that this book should be updated and see how everyone is doing now.I recommend this book to anyone that wants to see some of the hardships of life.Pony died after this book was made but his smile and memory are always with me.When you see his face in this book don't think of it as another gang member, but as someone who was sill a kid that got caught up in the gang life.

Mr. Rodriguez does a masterful job of showing the reader the very human side of people who are traditionally depicted as inhumane animals. I lost somebody very close to me to gang violence, I myself grew up in such a setting. Mr. Rodriguez not only offers hope for the people who are in the barrio, but for people who do not live in the barrio he offers an understanding of the pathology behind gangs. Ultimately the author is able to show us that "gang" kids are America's kids, and the way to help them is not to ignore them, or lock them up, but to show them love, understanding, and a way out.

PROPS LUIS FOR FINNALY TELLING IT LIKE IT IS. FINALLY SOMEONE SHOWED HOW HARD IT IS FOR US LATINOS TO LIVE IN THE GHETTOS.TO ALL WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT IS LIKE TO LIVE DOWN AT THE GHETTOS YOU ALL NEED TO READ THIS. GANGS ARE EVERYONES PROBLEM AND SOONER OR LATER IS GOING TO REACH PEOPLE THAT THINK THERE KIDS WOULDN'T GET INVOLVE. LUIS TELLS IT LIKE IT IS. I KNOW WHAT IS LIKE I LIVE IN CHI-TOWN AND EVEN DO I AIN'T IN CALIFAS, I KNOW WHAT IS LIKE. I'VE SEEN MY FRIENDS GET KILLED, SHOT AND JUMPED. THIS BOOK IS GREAT TO WHOEVER WANTS TO KNOW HOW IT REALLY GOES DOWN IN THE BARRIO.

THIS BOOK SHOULD OPEN UP THE EYES TO PEOPLE WHO JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE THE GANG LIFE. JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ BRINGS REALITY TO THE READERS OF HOW HARD IT IS TO SURVIVE IN THE LOS ANGELES GHETTOS.

i read the book in about 2 days. most of it is pictures, which is what i like to see in gang books since you do not see alot of pics in gang books... i think the book could have had more stories from the members in the book..but then again in the book the members did request certain things to not be said or photgraphed. the book is short... lots of pics. the author said he mostly wanted to center on the family and what they go thru... which when i bought the book, i wanted to hear more about the members and what they go thru instead of the family. it's pretty self explanatory what a family will go thru if their kid is involved in anything bad...

the author also complains about in his book how he pretty much refused to take pics of violence or the members showing some guns or other things. he said for some reason violence sells... he wanted to photograph a diff side of the culture i guess, the non-violent side... as a reader of these books, i do like to see some of the violent stuff since like i said, there is hardly any pics in these kind of books... i'm not saying i want to see a photo of a crime in action, but i like to see the members, the tattoos... match a face to the name in the book.. which in this book, you can do sometimes...

it's gets the 4 stars cuase of some of things i pointed out that i didn't like... but it's a good read...

It's a great book, I bought it as a Christmas gift. The only thing is that the soft cover binding isn't very good. My boyfriend cracked the book open for the first time and the pages split from the cover. I was going to send it back only it wasn't in it's original packaging or condition anymore because of the fact that this happened. Kinda a bummer, oh well.

Finally someone writes a book and tells the truth i grew up in East los and believe me it was hard but something we chose,we chose to gangbang and finally someone was real about it and wrote this book showing the way it really is and what we really go threw.........THANKS,VBTP

It doesn't get any more real than this!! I really enjoyed this book. It lets you really get to know the people in the book who are real and not just some made up characters. I hope to see more of these type of books from Joseph Rodriguez. I also like the idea that someone made above about the author doing an update to this book. That would be great!!!

One would think that this book would describe gang life more thoroughly. But, well over half the pages are pictures. Also, a lot of the rest of the pages either have a only few sentences or they are totally blank. I am very disappointed.