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Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books of its genre
Review: Douglas Century has written a perceptive piece f work which, through his writing style, makes it bot an insightful and very readable book.Through the on-going relationship between the author and the primary character of the book, K, he takes us deeper into the psyche of the hard core gang/posse member than do most of the other published books in this field of urban sub-culture. The book provides a frightening glimpse into the ghetto life where, by your mid-twenties, it appears that most of your peer group are either in prison, dead or committing crimes of a nature that will ultimately result in death or incarceration. One of the most poignant moments of the book comes towards the end wherein Century accompanies K to a mental health centre. After opening up to the psychiatrist �about the first time he�d seen a dead body, the first time he�d shot somebody and the first time he�d been ripped open automatic gunfire�, she stopped taking notes and looked at the reaction of Century to check that the stories were not those of a delusional man. By this time, the reader has gone beyond the point of alarm but the reactions of someone who hasn�t been lead through the stories , as narrated by the author, are both surprising to see but easily understood. The plight of the poor, in a judicial system which sees Legal Aid attorneys review a case only minutes before representing the defendant, is touched upon. This provides a grim insight into the statistics which show why the US prison population is so heavily made up of this segment of society. Although criticism could be aimed at the author for the ease with which he enters into Crown Heights and then escapes back to the relative safety Manhattan, it is worth noting that he makes no pretence about being anything other than an observer of the events. For this, credit is due. In summary, this a most praise worthy piece of work in this field of American urban sub-culture.
Rating:
Summary: blazin'!
Review: Douglas Century's personal failings aside, I did enjoy the book. I don't believe, however, that there is enough sociological context to make the book valuable enough to recommend it. I think that the urban life fascinated Century in a way that caused him to glorify it. It isn't pretty, but it's powerful - and that is what is at the heart of this country's recent obsession with gangster rap and movies. K, the main character of this book, had been wary of the project for this reason, and although he thought that Century did a good job of not glorifying it, I believe that by the omission of a discussion of the power relations involved in the conditions of the streets of Brooklyn, he did. Despite the tragedies discussed in this book, the story is still glamorous. The people that died were heroes. The people who killed them were tough, virile, and respected. I believe that Century failed to create a true portrait of the scene, and that had a lot to do with his place within it...Douglas Century may have been along for the ride for five years, but I don't believe that he ever became a part of the culture, and I don't feel as though he ever even began to understand it.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant, honest book
Review: Having read -- and enjoyed -- "Street Kingdom," I feel compelled to respond to the customer review posted on March 29 under the headline "Sad, Wrongheaded, Insulting to Black Readers." While reviews are obviously a matter of personal opinion and taste, this reviewer seems not to have read the same book I did. In fact, he/she writes, "the book SOUNDS like most attempts to "humanize' blackness" -- "sounds like?" Did you actually crack the pages of the book and begin to read? Or did you base your opinion/review on what you heard second-hand? "Street Kingdom" is a very complex portrait of a subculture and Century's own involvement in it; he does not sugarcoat the unflattering aspects he witnesses; but by the same token, he does not villify or editorialize on the people whose lives he is documenting. The reviewer goes on to note: "This is the kind of book that most liberal white Americans believe helps to promote racial tolerance; instead it sets the race movement back." What?! If you are looking for a book that promotes "racial tolerance," pick up the new autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. And "race movement?" I'm not even sure what this means. Are we living in 1969? Lastly, the reviewer chastizes Century for "fixating, sometimes with peculiar intensity, on the up-and-down lives of his black subjects." Forgive me, but I think that's called REPORTING. A good journalist is supposed to fixate, hopefully with some degree of intensity, on the lives of his fellow human beings. Again, this reviewer shows his/her own "wrongheaded" biases by instructing us that Century "like most naive white liberals-- should fixate first on his own racial sensitivities, expectations and attitudes." A bizarre statement, given the degree to which the author places his own reactions and perspective at the core of his story; this is certainly a book that says as much about one white writer's encounters with a segment of African-American culture as it does about that culture itself. Perhaps that's what's best -- and ground-breaking -- about "Street Kingdom"; and it's what's most difficult for dogmatic, pre-programmed minds to accept.
Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking thrill-ride
Review: I heard about this book on the morning show on radio station Hot 97 this week. I grew up in a situation pretty much like the Brothers from F.A.P in this book and I can tell you that this story right here is the real legit deal. It completely blew me away. The author truly captured not only the life of K, but the whole world of the innercity and just how factors in people's environment shape and mold them. It touches on the bonds of friendship that all people seek whether they are considered "legit" or "non-legit" by society. It also touches on the subject of how one man's culture can positively effect another man's world. I'm a Brother who loves reading those wild street tales but I'm also of age to understand Big K was a whole person and not just "ghetto superstar". One of the most beautiful aspects of the book was the meeting of people from different culture's, from the author meeting K at a rap freestyle and then developing a friendship, to the F.A.P. Brothers letting him into their circle. Also, I appreciated the way Bros. in Brooklyn were integrating different aspects of Caribbean and Spanish culture into their style. Instead of that b.s. where everybody disrespects the next man's culture. This book was deep. Check it out.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I ran across this book at the local library. Very interesting read. I wish he'd write a follow up to let us know what happened to all of these people. Life on the streets that isn't a reality to most of us and a scary reality to those who it is real to. 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A heartbreaking story, told in streetwise prose
Review: This book took me into a world I knew so little about, but I feel I learned a great deal from the experience. Century writes in impassioned prose, and makes the world of these Brooklyn kids come alive on the page for the reader. There is considerable profanity, which wasn't too my taste, but I felt it was an aspect of the realism of the street life described.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly Disappointing
Review: With all these "glowing" reviews, I thought this book might be a good read. Instead, I came away with a sneaky feeling that the author's friends wrote the reviews. The writing is sorely lacking, and his "sensitivity" is more of a poor stab at sensationalism. Simply not believable. There is a more recent book, MUCH BETTER written (by a white guy who spent a long time living among Bloods and Crips out in the L.A. ghettos)--an amazing, well-written story that leaves you simply stunned at that writer's insight, and his ability to make pathetic characters into sympathetic ones who jump off the page and grab you by the throat!
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