Uprising: Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America's Youth in the Crossfire

Somewhere within this turgid set of street-lingo interviews with L.A. gang members are some interesting anecdotes and words of wisdom: about the importance of decolonizing black minds, of getting out of the ``circle'' that contains even the likes of Bill Cosby; about using excellence to combat racism; about the importance of black self-help; about how alcohol may be more dangerous than other drugs; about the love and camaraderie that balances more negative gang experiences. But the authors, a husband-and-wife team of independent rap producers, seem to have turned on the tape recorder without providing sufficient context for their tales (e.g., we're not given enough information on the oft-mentioned L.A. gang truce). Nor do they challenge their subjects to explain their often loopy Afrocentrism (``I'm an African that has been kidnapped, living in America,'' says one). The 14 interviewees, all men, have transcended their pasts to work now for peace; would that their efforts were dignified by journalism, not stenography. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)