In Search of Respect

In this compelling study of the crack business in East Harlem, Philippe Bourgois argues that a cultural struggle for respect has led some residents of ‘El Barrio’ away from the legal job market, and into a downward spiral of crime and poverty. During his many years living in the neighborhood, Bourgois eventually gained the confianza of enough Barrio residents to present their hopes, plans, and disappointments in their own words. The result is an engaging and often disturbing look at the problems of the inner-city, America’s greatest domestic failing.