Overview

"A ""WASHINGTON POST ""BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR This provocative and compelling book examines how jobs, schools, the streets, and prisons have shaped the lives and choices of a generation of Puerto Rican youth at the turn of the twenty-first century. At the center of this riveting account-based on an unprecedented eighteen-year study-are three engaging, streetwise brothers from Springfield, Massachusetts: Fausto, incarcerated for seven years and in and out of drug treatment, an insightful and sensitive street warrior playing on the edges of self-destruction; Julio, the family patriarch, a former gang member turned truck driver, fiercely loyal to his family and friends; and Sammy, a street maven, recovering drug addict, father of four, straddling two realms-the everyday world of low-wage work and the allure of the drug economy-as he shuttles between recovery and relapse. Timothy Black spent years with the brothers and their parents, wives and girlfriends, extended family, coworkers, criminal partners, friends, teachers, lawyers, and case workers. He closely observed street life in Springfield, including the drug trade; schools and GED programs; courtrooms, prisons, and drug treatment programs; and the young men's struggle for employment both on and off the books. The brothers, articulate and determined, speak for themselves, providing powerful testimony to the exigencies of life lived on the social and economic margins. The result is a singularly detailed and empathetic portrait of men who are often regarded with fear or simply rendered invisible by society. With profound lessons regarding the intersection of social forces and individual choices, Black succeeds in putting a human face on some of the most important public policy issues of our time."

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9780307377746

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Reviews

Washington Post Best Books of 2009 Booklist Editor's Choice Best Books of 2009 Along with narrative drama, Black offers analysis. It's not dry, however. And his emphasis on Puerto Rican brothers is eye-opening. . . . These mean streets could be Piri Thomas's or Martin Scorsese's. . . . Black relies on oral history. Swaths of his book are given over to dialogue he often presents in script form. And I applaud his choice to allow the men to express themselves. . . . We hear voices we don't normally hear, and the book is filled with the poetry of the street. . . . The talk is cinematic, even when the data are not. The oddly melodious outbreaks of profanity are honest and, in their own way, poetic. These are the stories of the new America. --Luis Urrea, The Washington Post The book succeeds because author Timothy Black make readers care about his subjects. . . . Captivating. -- San Francisco Chronicle The twisting story lines and intriguing subplots from the Rivera brothers and their peers are good enough to compete with any series on HBO. -- Hartford Advocate Through the Rivera family, Black examines the interplay of economics and social policy that has made it more difficult for low-income Americans to progress into the middle class. Black explores the troubled history of the U.S. and Puerto Rico, as well as the decline of the industrial base at a time when the nation was cracking down on crime and drug addiction. Sociology, economics, history-and powerful human emotions-are all layered in this fascinating look at poverty and the life of one American family. - Booklist (starred review) A sociologist examines the lives of marginalized Puerto Rican youths in Springfield, Mass., connecting their stories to the economic, cultural and political factors that shaped them. . . . The author's clear portraits of his subjects, his empathy for them, his pride in being accepted and even sometimes protecte

Washington Post Best Books of 2009 <br> Booklist Editor's Choice Best Books of 2009 <br> Along with narrative drama, Black offers analysis. It's not dry, however. And his emphasis on Puerto Rican brothers is eye-opening. . . . These mean streets could be Piri Thomas's or Martin Scorsese's. . . . Black relies on oral history. Swaths of his book are given over to dialogue he often presents in script form. And I applaud his choice to allow the men to express themselves. . . . We hear voices we don't normally hear, and the book is filled with the poetry of the street. . . . The talk is cinematic, even when the data are not. The oddly melodious outbreaks of profanity are honest and, in their own way, poetic. These are the stories of the new America. <br>--Luis Urrea, The Washington Post<br> <br> The book succeeds because author Timothy Black make readers care about his subjects. . . . Captivating. <br>-- San Francisco Chronicle <br> The twisting story lines and intriguing s

Washington Post Best Books of 2009 Booklist Editor's Choice Best Books of 2009 Along with narrative drama, Black offers analysis. It's not dry, however. And his emphasis on Puerto Rican brothers is eye-opening. . . . These mean streets could be Piri Thomas's or Martin Scorsese's. . . . Black relies on oral history. Swaths of his book are given over to dialogue he often presents in script form. And I applaud his choice to allow the men to express themselves. . . . We hear voices we don't normally hear, and the book is filled with the poetry of the street. . . . The talk is cinematic, even when the data are not. The oddly melodious outbreaks of profanity are honest and, in their own way, poetic. These are the stories of the new America. --Luis Urrea, The Washington Post The book succeeds because author Timothy Black make readers care about his subjects. . . . Captivating. -- San Francisco Chronicle The twisting story lines and intriguing subplots from the Rivera brothers and their peers are good enough to compete with any series on HBO. -- Hartford Advocate Through the Rivera family, Black examines the interplay of economics and social policy that has made it more difficult for low-income Americans to progress into the middle class. Black explores the troubled history of the U.S. and Puerto Rico, as well as the decline of the industrial base at a time when the nation was cracking down on crime and drug addiction. Sociology, economics, history-and powerful human emotions-are all layered in this fascinating look at poverty and the life of one American family. - Booklist (starred review) A sociologist examines the lives of marginalized Puerto Rican youths in Springfield, Mass., connecting their stories to the economic, cultural and political factors that shaped them. . . . The author's clear portraits of his subjects, his empathy for them, his pride in being accepted and even sometimes protecte

Washington Post Best Books of 2009 <br> Booklist Editor's Choice Best Books of 2009 <br> Along with narrative drama, Black offers analysis. It's not dry, however. And his emphasis on Puerto Rican brothers is eye-opening. . . . These mean streets could be Piri Thomas's or Martin Scorsese's. . . . Black relies on oral history. Swaths of his book are given over to dialogue he often presents in script form. And I applaud his choice to allow the men to express themselves. . . . We hear voices we don't normally hear, and the book is filled with the poetry of the street. . . . The talk is cinematic, even when the data are not. The oddly melodious outbreaks of profanity are honest and, in their own way, poetic. These are the stories of the new America. <br>--Luis Urrea, The Washington Post<br> <br> The book succeeds because author Timothy Black make readers care about his subjects. . . . Captivating. <br>-- San Francisco Chronicle <br> The twisting story lines and intriguing subplots from the Rivera brothers and their peers are good enough to compete with any series on HBO. <br>-- Hartford Advocate<br> <br> Through the Rivera family, Black examines the interplay of economics and social policy that has made it more difficult for low-income Americans to progress into the middle class. Black explores the troubled history of the U.S. and Puerto Rico, as well as the decline of the industrial base at a time when the nation was cracking down on crime and drug addiction. Sociology, economics, history-and powerful human emotions-are all layered in this fascinating look at poverty and the life of one American family. <br>- Booklist (starred review) <br> A sociologist examines the lives of marginalized Puerto Rican youths in Springfield, Mass., connecting their stories to the economic, cultural and political factors that shaped them. . . . The author's clear portraits of his subjects, his empathy for them, his pride in being accepted and even sometimes protecte

Author Information

TIMOTHY BLACK is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Hartford, where he directs the Center for Social Research. He lives in Hartford, Connecticut.

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