If you interested in learning more about the tension between the police and African Americans that has been getting so much press attention this year I recommend you check out this book. I love a book that challenges my preconceive notions on an important subject and that is what Ghettoside did. There are no easy answers to the problem but reading books like this and discussing it more in public forums will hopefully help how American improves our impoverished neighborhoods. Also, this book is super readable and its writing style has more in common with a crime novel than a socioeconomic book.

This book is fantastic. As an avid reader of Los Angeles urban history and policy, I was totally absorbed by the author's novel and convincing (and sadly, timely) perspective on South Central's history of gang violence and its relationship with the police. Leovy describes two complementary forces at play. First, Leovy makes the case that in environments where the rule of law isn't enforced, violence will flourish. This is true worldwide and not exclusive to black neighborhoods. Second, Leovy argues that while there is a strong police presence in South Central that resembles (and fashions itself as) an occupying military force, it's focused on aggressive crime prevention rather than investigation. The LAPD deploys frustratingly few detectives to investigate crimes in South Central compared to wealthier, whiter neighborhoods. This means black murders go unsolved and unpunished – as if the victims' lives never mattered – and the rule of law is unenforced. This books makes the tragic and tangible point that black lives are indeed valued less by institutions of power in Los Angeles and across the nation. Read it.