Book review: The culture and politics of street gang memoirs

Josephine Metcalf’s close examination of the emergence of three Los Angeles gangland autobiographies and their literary receptions focuses on an important social issue and is ultimately a daring read for the way it intellectualises an area most would assume is of little academic interest. Jo Taylor is most struck by the potential of gang memoirs to be used as educational tools, and discussions around the interconnected nature of crime, society, and education.