The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago

By Frederic Milton Thrasher

Book Overview

While gangs and gang culture have been around for countless centuries, The Gang is one of the first academic studies of the phenomenon. Originally published in 1927, Frederic Milton Thrasher's magnum opus offers a profound and careful analysis of hundreds of gangs in Chicago in the early part of the twentieth century. With rich prose and an eye for detail, Thrasher looked specifically at the way in which urban geography shaped gangs, and posited the thesis that neighborhoods in flux were more likely to produce gangs. Moreover, he traced gang culture back to feudal and medieval power systems and linked tribal ethos in other societies to codes of honor and glory found in American gangs. Thrasher approaches his subject with empathy and insightfulness, and creates a multifaceted and textured portrait that still has much to offer to readers today. With handsome images that evoke the era, this unabridged edition of The Gang not only explores an important moment in the history of Chicago, but also is itself a landmark in the history of sociology and subcultural theory.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226799301
• ISBN13: 9780226799308
• Release Date: March 2013
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 628 Pages
• Weight: 2.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.3" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

History

Great history mob book.

Interesting Look at Gang Sociology

This landmark 1927 book by sociologist Frederick Milton Thrasher of the University of Chicago was considered a classic of its time. We read it for a college class, and it was pretty interesting despite a somewhat academic style. Thrasher illustrates the lifestyles of Chicago's then 1,300 street gangs (today it's about 200), most of whose members were of white immigrant stock (today its largely blacks and Latino's). As the author makes clear, 1920's gang members were known for toughness and delinquency. Still, the gangs of the 1920's weren't nationally affiliated, nor were they heavily into guns and illegal drug sales. It also seems that gang members of the 1920's were mostly teenagers - today many are well into adulthood. This book was updated in 1963, and today there is an award in the author's name (set up in 1992) to honor leadership in the fight to make our society safer from violent gangs.