oakland (calif.)

The author discusses his background as a former gang member and juvenile delinquent in Oakland, California, during the 1980s and 1990s, details his efforts to study the lives of young men from his neighborhood after earning a PhD in sociology at Berkeley, and emphasizes the importance of understanding in order to develop solutions for young men who live in a culture of punishment.

Ernesto and Ra?l Flores are identical twins, used to being mistaken for each other. As seventeen-year-olds living in rural El Salvador, they are used to thinking that the United States is just a far-off dream. When Ernesto ends up on the wrong side of MS-13, one of El Salvador's brutal gangs, he flees the country for his own safety. Ra?l, fearing that he will be mistaken for his brother, follows close behind. Running from one danger to the next, the Flores twins make the harrowing journey north, only to fall into the hands of immigration authorities. When they finally make it to the custody of their older brother in Oakland, California, the difficulties don't end. While navigating a new school in a new language, struggling to pay off their mounting coyote debt, and anxiously waiting for their day in immigration court, Ra?l and Ernesto are also trying to lead normal teenage lives. With only each other for support, they begin the process of carving out a life for themselves, one full of hope and possibility.

"Identical twins Ernesto and Raul Flores, seventeen, must flee El Salvador, make a . . . journey across the Rio Grande and the Texas desert, face capture by immigration authorities, and struggle to navigate life in America"--Provided by publisher.

"Identical twins Ernesto and Raul Flores, seventeen, must flee El Salvador, make a . . . journey across the Rio Grande and the Texas desert, face capture by immigration authorities, and struggle to navigate life in America"--Provided by publisher.

Fifth-grader Penny writes a series of letters to her future sibling, including facts about their Oakland, California, home, questions about whether their moms will ever marry, and especially that he or she is loved.

Genie Lo is a normal, overachieving high school student focused on getting into Harvard. But when her hometown is suddenly invaded by demons straight out of Chinese folklore, her only guide is the reincarnation of the Monkey King--posing as an attractive boy named Quentin--who tells Genie that only she has the power to open the gates of heaven.

Alex Abramovich relates details about his friendship with Trevor Latham, a man who bullied him in grade school and founded the Oakland motorcycle club the East Bay Rats; discusses his experiences living in Oakland and immersing himself in the club; and examines the social conditions of Oakland during the early twenty-first century.

A memoir in which Stephen Elliot discusses the state of his own life in the spring of 2007, during which he was suffering from writer's block and drug addiction, and tells how he was pulled out of his funk and set on a path of self-discovery by his interest in the case of Hans Reiser, a computer programmer accused of killing his estranged wife, and Hans's former best friend Sean Sturgeon, who confessed to eight unrelated murders.

Presents oral histories of African American young men from Oakland, California, featuring their responses to prompts such as "what is your greatest strength," "if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be," and "describe your life in 10 years.".

Examines the successful methods the Black Panther Party has used to create, oversee, and maintain public service programs, including their Sickle-Cell Anemia Research Foundation and their Free Breakfast Program, and explains how other organizations can use those methods to make their own programs more effective.