Customer Reviews

Lords of Lawndale: My Life in a Chicago White Street Gang

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The Gaylords were a predominately White street gang in Chicago that had its beginnings in the 1950's, and Michael Scott tells his story as a member during the early 80's. Chicago, as all major cities in the United States, experienced a dramatic shift in its racial and ethnic makeup during the 20th century. The process of assimilation is not always a smooth one and Lords of Lawndale tells a compelling story of what happens when things go wrong.

It is a violent story of people protecting their neighborhood. Innocence is lost at a young age, as is life itself sometimes. The amount of violence Michael Scott presents is disturbing and it is a sad state of affairs to realize that this is all too common for the young men of Lawndale. For Michael Scott and his fellow Gaylord members violence was what Little Leaugue Baseball was to other boys.

The reader should not worry about the grammar and punctuation mistakes that exist--no armchair sociologist would be willing to do the field research for such a book. This book was written by a warrior of the streets.

For a inside look at the all too common violence of our city streets Lords of Lawdale is a highly recommended read.

Michael Scott, also known as Rocker, did a great job with this book. Basically, it is a collection of stories about the ups and downs of living the 80s gangbanging life. The book is written in an oral style as if you are hearing the stories told to you over a beer. The true-to-life events are not cliche or predictable.

In Chicago, I was acquaintances with some former gangbangers due to strange circumstances. One was a former TJO, which was a white street gang also of the People Nation that had been strong in the 1970s.

TJO stands for Thorndale Jarvis Organization or Thorndale Jag Offs or Thieves, Junkies and Outlaws. They were riding with the five, but I had a friend who was formerly of the Folk Nation, too. That whole story gets really complicated, really fast-- but the point is that I have been been around some former gangbangers who have done jail time.

I'm from the suburbs and most people don't realize that street culture is such a different culture. The way Rocker writes is true to the street style. The use of similes is especially prevalent because it's a spoken and visual culture. Also the style of "jokes mixed with violence" is seen so often in cheesy action movies, but that same mix is the real deal in the book. It's how people talk and deal with events.

There are spelling and gramatical errors in the book so it could have used a good editor, but my only real complaint is that the ending should have had more detail. The ending events went so fast that I wanted to know more about certain choices that were made.

I would definitely read more books by this author.

I moved to the Northwest side of Chicago with my family in 1968. I attended Kelvyn Park High from 1972-76. The book brought back vivid memerories for me. I can still remeber all the streets Michael notes and the gangs that he describes. While he came on the scene later than I, the area was already becoming a difficult place to live. I was not affiliated with any gang. The Imperial Gangsters were the prominant gang at KP High and they were basically given free run by the school administration. While some of the stories may be embellished a bit, the book is a true reflection of dealing with everyday life in the area. Shotings at school, not being able to waer my school's sweater becuase it was the colors of the Latin Kings, I was hit in the face with a gun by Spainish Cobras and the police would not even take a report. A good read if you have been there or not.

My sole purpose for reading this type of book was to gain some knowledge of an individuals point of view of being in a gang. He took me through the thick and thin of it all. The book was both interesting and sad, I could feel his pride and his pain. Great book for all social classes, regardless of age, race or religion.

I live in Chicago and know the neigborhood that this book takes place in. I grew up in the Logan Square area. Reading this book makes you feel as being there walking with the young man and his advetures.
I higly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read the true life of a person caught up in inner city life as it was for this person.

The one thing I found interseting is that it doesn't condone GANGS and doesn't portray himself or the gang as heros, it's just a TRUE, HONEST view.

THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ

I finished Rocker's book last night. I enjoyed it.

By the time that I had reached the middle of the book, I was beginning to notice the large and ever-changing cast of characters, and the relentless repetition of the ongoing fight. But I guess that was the point. At different times, different people came and went, but the same old fight went on and on and on, and if anything, it got worse..

In the end, although the Gaylords put up a good fight, it was finally over - at least in the old neighborhood. Maybe the fight wasn't really won or lost, depending on how you look at it, but there was no denying that it was over.

There were no preachy moral sermons about what happened. The reader is told the story and is then left alone to think about it. Was one side or the other right or wrong? Was it all worth it? Maybe, as the saying goes, "You had to be there". The book takes us there, for a while.

I was impressed by Rocker's ability to recall what happened in such detail. I doubt that he took an hour or two off each day, to write about things as they were happening. He probably wrote about it at some later time. Perhaps he was able to recapture some of the facts by interviewing others.

Even though there are some imperfections here and there, it is an impressive book. So it isn't a grammar manual. It's imperfections give it an air of authenticity. After all, who would expect that a bunch of street fighters would always use flawless English?

The book is a job well done - especially considering that it is an author's first effort.

I live in Chicago and know these places, and it was fun knowing where he was talking about I over all thought the book was lacking. It may tell how he thought things were at the time but all I could think about was how this book just sounded like he was trying to justify everything. Justify the violence, the crime, and most importantly trying to justify being in a racist gang. He not only tries to justify it but there are undertones he wants you to feel the same way he does and he fails poorly. Its not the worst book I've read but I won't advise you to read it. What can you expect, after the success of Reymundo Sanchez's books the flood of crap books to fill this niche in ex gang members lives is to be expected.

This book is a page turner, so I hope you have a lot of time on your hands when you read it. A person would either have to have had experience with the different gangs in Chicago, and the People/Folk Alliance, or show an honest interest in the Greaser lifestyle to comprehend all that Rocker and Co. has been through.

The people giving the book bad reviews are reading too much into it......"The Catcher in the Rye" was poorly written, yet it is a classic of American literature. "The Lords of Lawndale" may too see it's recognition one day, as a tale of the hardships faced by many young people growing up in neighbohoods that we drastically changing from one culture to another.

Being from chicago and from similar backgrounds I related to the book. I found myself engulfed in it and ended up throughly enjoying it. I am actually reading it again for the 2nd time. I reccomend this book for people who want an insite into gang life and anyone who is intrested in the subjects.

I found the book very compelling, considering I am a suburban male. The media and white society tend to ignore the fact that many white people are dying on the streets everyday. This book is a true account of the way political powers in Chicago have catered to the gentrification process. It is unfourtunate that between crooked police, and the infiltration of drugs that people of the Lawndale Nieghborhood couldn't live a peaceful life. I strongly reccomend this book, as it will open alot of doors for people that believed that gangs in the city were only built of minorities and drug dealers. Michael Scott does not claim to be a hero, but In my eyes he is a survivor of curcumstance, and I truly enjoyed reliving his experiences.