The Gang as an American Enterprise

Padilla ( Puerto Rican Chicago ) spent some 16 months with members of a Puerto Rican youth gang from Chicago, studying its social makeup and its functions as a ``countercultural structure.'' He finds that the Diamonds, the gang he studied, ``represent a very highly organized, hierarchically arranged business enterprise'' of a distinctly ethnic character that allows young Latinos who are excluded by more conventional social structures to find a sense of community and achievement. The author gives attention to the socioeconomic forces--including failure in school p. 40 and lack of job opportunities-- p. 53 that drive teens to join gangs and, eventually , to leave them. Ironically, Padilla finds that the rigid class structure of the gang ultimately turns it into another source of thwarted aspirations for most of the youths in it, another dead-end, low-paying job. Padilla writes with earnestness and concern; unfortunately, the book, while readily accessible to the average reader, is methodical and dry. However, the author never exploits or sensationalizes the kids he has written about, and for that reason alone, this is vastly preferable to other recent titles on this timely subject. (May)