Rating: 
Summary: Well-Done, Engaging Analysis of America's Violence Problem
Review: An excellent read. It's not often that one finds a work of nonfiction so well done. It manages to be a memoir and a recommendation for a solution to our violence problems at the same time. It does, however, become a bit preachy at the end. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: Rivetting exploration of the roots of violence
Review: Canada grew up poor in the South Bronx in the '50s. Violence, then, as now, was a way of life. All boys fought - life was worse for those who refused. Violence and the rituals surrounding it established the social pecking order. In the preface to his memoir Canada says, "The difference is that we never had so many guns in our inner cities."Canada's first memory of street violence came at age 4, when his two older brothers had a jacket stolen at the playground. The boys' mother sent them right back to fetch it, promising them a beating "ten times as bad as what that little thief could do to you," if they failed. They left the house in tears and returned triumphant, with the jacket. Their mother sat them down and told them it was a lesson in not becoming a victim. The author, her youngest, was unconvinced. Then a neighborhood boy who habitually refused to fight was "stretched" over a car and savagely beaten by a group of boys. "The lesson was brutal and unmistakable. No matter who you fought, he could never beat you that bad." Canada's memoir is a thoughtful, moving portrayal of social behavior in a culture of violence. A quick study, Canada learned to use posturing, attitude and negotiation as well as his fists to minimize the number and severity of violent encounters. But he is absolutely convinced that violence is a learned response, not innate. He and the other small boys, says Canada, were aghast at the prospect of fighting. Only fear of worse violence and a life of cowering in corners spurred them to fight. Today, says Canada, the same imperatives operate. But guns have shattered the rituaized formality of the pecking order. Toughness is no longer determined by fighting skills or "heart" but by willingness to pull the trigger.
This is the book's most chilling precept. The streets are now ruled by those whose most important attribute is a lack of compunction about killing. Canada's own experience as a gun carrier is a perfect illustration. Home from college he found a nearby street ruled by a gang of toughs so intimidating he would take a circuitous route to avoid them. So he bought a gun. Carrying it, he found his whole personality changed. Instead of avoiding the block or even crossing the street he would swagger through the gang, his whole attitude provoking a challenge. But back at school in bucolic Maine he saw his behavior in a different light. Appalled at how close he'd come to shooting someone, he threw away the gun. Those who don't leave the ghetto don't have the luxury of contemplation.
Canada has devoted his life to helping poor children and reducing street violence. Today he runs a program which offers classes and recreational activities which involve the whole community. The Rheedlen Center uses public school buildings, open 17 hours a day, in an effort to provide children and families with safety. At the end of the book, Canada offers a program for solving the problems of violence in the inner cities. Chief among them is getting handguns off the streets by using buyback programs, registration at the place of manufacture (so any gun can be traced) and registration of ammunition. Whether the reader agrees with his solutions or not, Canada's memoir is powerful testimony of a future of little hope without major change. It is also a riveting and convincing personal history.
Rating:
Summary: The Evolution of Violence in America
Review: Fist Stick Knife Gun is a book about the author's life. He tells how the violence in America evolved from fist fighting to gun shooting. Also, he proves his statements with actual facts from credible sources. One aspect of this book that I like very much is the fact that you can read the chapters that you choose at any time because it is not an ongoing story that continues chapter after chapter, even though the overall story is of his personal life and violence in America. Fist Stick Knife Gun is a very informative book. For example, I had no clue that SO many handguns were in circulation in America. This book is recommended for everyone who is looking for a very good book to read.
Rating:
Summary: The Evolution of Violence in America
Review: Fist Stick Knife Gun is a book about the author's life. He tells how the violence in America evolved from fist fighting to gun shooting. Also, he proves his statements with actual facts from credible sources. One aspect of this book that I like very much is the fact that you can read the chapters that you choose at any time because it is not an ongoing story that continues chapter after chapter, even though the overall story is of his personal life and violence in America. Fist Stick Knife Gun is a very informative book. For example, I had no clue that SO many handguns were in circulation in America. This book is recommended for everyone who is looking for a very good book to read.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for everyone concerned with children
Review: I grew up on the southside of Chicago. While reading this book I could relate to every experience that Mr. Canada relates. The book is easy to read. I think he identifies the problems well. Everyone who cares about children should read this book and help our children.
Rating:
Summary: The truth about growing up in America today
Review: I grew up very differently in a small town in the south. This book describes a lot about how rules of conduct were and are developed among men in at least most of this country, if not everywhere. Geoffery's telling his personal story along with the stories of many of the children that he is helping today, presents a theory that we need to study and try to use to our benefit in developing men today.
Read it, learn, and apply.
love Ron
Rating:
Summary: I have heard the author speak
Review: I personally have had the opportunity to hear Geoffrey Canada speak at my college twice, he an alumni of Bowdoin College. Not only is his book inspiring, he spoke to my class about joining the "losing team", and making a difference in the lives of others, like those of the South Bronx and Harlem, NY. Not only has he lived to tell, he has taken his experiences and turned them into something very positive, by developing and running the Harlem Children Zone, making a difference to those children there. The book is a great read for anybody who is an urban educator, or involved in social services.
Rating:
Summary: A must read if you live anywhere
Review: I read fist stick knife gun in one day. Not because it was short, not because it has easy to read font, but because it was one of the most important books I had ever read. Like the author, my roots were in the poor central city. Unlike the author, the central city I grew up in was Milwaukee, Wisconsin, not New York City. Besides being female, I come from a white, two-parent family, so my perspective of the inner city is very different then the author Geoffrey Canada. As I read about his neighborhood I recognized elements similar to my own from childhood, and yet his story was unlike any other I had ever read. "fist stick knife gun" is not just one mans youth, but is a history of what made the ghettos and why they still exist. As Canada gives us his account of growing up, he also tells us what laws were put in place, and what was changing in both New York and the nation that were catalysts of the current inner city scenario. This includes the infiltration of crack and the concurrent development of gangs. In the last quarter of the book, Canada tells us his ideas of what could be done to end violence in the inner city. Whether or not these are effective plans, they at least give us options and the beginning of a dialogue, which is not the result of most books. I recommend this book to everyone, because lawmakers and voters alike need to understand what the problem of violence is and why it exists, and this book gives an effective and readable look.
Rating:
Summary: Vivid.
Review: Mr.Canada grew up in the 60's in the Bronx. In this book he talks about what it was like to live there. He talks about having to prove yourself or face the prospect of getting your ... kicked in the future. You get a VIVID description of what he was up against as a young person. I mean, I grew up a long way away in a much less dangerous place, and I knew exactly what he was getting at. That's a testament to his writing, and the universality of the subject. Mr. Canada recalls one episode where he is walking a few blocks out of his neighborhood, and you get a detailed view of how dangerous this was. Just walking down the street! All I can say against the book is that I would have liked even more of the authors autobiography. Later on in the book, he gets more polemical about what can be done. I agree with what he says, but as far as literary quality goes, that stuff isn't really in the same league as the earlier part of the book. Also, let me say, the author has an excellent, direct writing style, which makes what he has to say that much more powerful.
Rating:
Summary: Meaningful
Review: The author shares his personal story of growing up in the inner-city. The focus is on helping people understand the culture of violence; not only in the city, but in America. Canada does a wonderful job of showing how violence and acceptance of violence is an ingrained part of our culture. I strongly recommend this highly readable book to anyone interested in America's children and their future. [...]
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