God's Gangsters? PDF Download

Author: Heather Parker Lewis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781920103118
Category : Gangs
Languages : en
Pages : 162

View

Book Description
The number Gangs in South Africa's prisons are living legends and unique when compared with other prison gangs across the globe.

Author: Steven Machat
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781905636839
Category : Lawyers
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
From Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, an insider's account of the deals and the dodges inside the music and entertainment business over the last 30 years As the son of the legendary showbiz lawyer Marty Machat, Steven Machat grew up among such names as Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Frankie Valli, and Sam Cooke. Following in his father's footsteps, by the time he was in his late 20s he was proud to see his name alongside his father's on the brass plaque outside their Broadway offices. But there was a price--Steven discovered from a young age that the glitter and the glamour too often disguises a crude and cruel reality, and that those who are publicly perceived as gods can just as easily be seen as gangsters. He found himself wondering how to live with such contradictions, and whether it is possible to maintain any sense of honor inside such a world. This beautifully constructed memoir of a life inside a fascinating world of celebrity includes appearances by Frank Sinatra, Leonard Cohen, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield, Sharon Osbourne, George Bush, Phil Collins, Suge Knight, Tupac, Biggie, Gianni Versace, Phil Spector, Joan Collins, Donny Osmond, Bobby Brown, and many more.

Author: Avron Boretz
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824860713
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

View

Book Description
Demon warrior puppets, sword-wielding Taoist priests, spirit mediums lacerating their bodies with spikes and blades—these are among the most dramatic images in Chinese religion. Usually linked to the propitiation of plague gods and the worship of popular military deities, such ritual practices have an obvious but previously unexamined kinship with the traditional Chinese martial arts. The long and durable history of martial arts iconography and ritual in Chinese religion suggests something far deeper than mere historical coincidence. Avron Boretz argues that martial arts gestures and movements are so deeply embedded in the ritual repertoire in part because they iconify masculine qualities of violence, aggressivity, and physical prowess, the implicit core of Chinese patriliny and patriarchy. At the same time, for actors and audience alike, martial arts gestures evoke the mythos of the jianghu, a shadowy, often violent realm of vagabonds, outlaws, and masters of martial and magic arts. Through the direct bodily practice of martial arts movement and creative rendering of jianghu narratives, martial ritual practitioners are able to identify and represent themselves, however briefly and incompletely, as men of prowess, a reward otherwise denied those confined to the lower limits of this deeply patriarchal society. Based on fieldwork in China and Taiwan spanning nearly two decades, Gods, Ghosts, and Gangsters offers a thorough and original account of violent ritual and ritual violence in Chinese religion and society. Close-up, sensitive portrayals and the voices of ritual actors themselves—mostly working-class men, many of them members of sworn brotherhoods and gangs—convincingly link martial ritual practice to the lives and desires of men on the margins of Chinese society. This work is a significant contribution to the study of Chinese ritual and religion, the history and sociology of Chinese underworld, the history and anthropology of the martial arts, and the anthropology of masculinity.

Author: SLMN
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0998767425
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
Violent crime and romantic jealousy entangle a rising rap group in this urban thriller. .-Kirkus Reviews- The son of a hustler, it’s no surprise that Power has followed in his family’s footsteps and made a name for himself as one of the most respected hustlers on the streets of QueensBoro. Along with his best friend and partner Kane, the duo create a super group that sets out to take the streets and hip-hop world by storm. But soon Power finds himself in the middle of a love triangle gone-wrong with a label owner and his lead singer, Egypt, which threatens the freedom and livelihood of everyone involved.

Author: Xavier Killeen
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1483622355
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 50

View

Book Description
Who looks outside dreams, who looks inside awakes. (Jung) Gods Gangsters Is a short story of 13,500 words that takes place over a three day period, in the life of a sixteen year old African American drug dealer and gang member, Walter Butz. Walter was raised by very religious parents, who believe in a literal translation of the Bible. This narrow religious view completely turns him off to any belief in God. After the death of his father, a clergyman, he falls in with his brother-in-law, a gang leader and drug dealer in Brooklyn. It is after being shot by rival gang members; the young Walter is wounded, and begins a Journey or realization that there is a deeper side to being human, a spiritual side. With the help of a few guldes along the way, he is able to alter his perception of reality, and in this truer light, change his life. Imagination is more important than knowledge, is a quote from Albert Einstein. Considered a cerebrell, logical, calculating, conscous intellect, there was also another side to his thinking. The feeling, instinctive, intuitive subconscious, the source of a higher consciousness. This is a story of rediscovery of a greater self; we are all part of.

Author: Robert Brenneman
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 0199753849
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 309

View

Book Description
Using the tools of sociological theory, Robert Brenneman seeks to discover why a pot-smoking, gun-wielding "homie" gang member would want to trade in la vida loca for a Bible and the buttoned-down lifestyle of an evangelical hermano (brother in Christ) - and to what extent this strategy works for the many youth who have tried it.

Author: SLMN
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1954220383
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
A continuation of the Gods & Gangsters series, Part Three brings heroine Egypt on a whole new job, fulling of catching cases...and bodies. On the mean streets where dog eats dog there is always one that has sharper claws and bigger teeth, and in New York her name is Egypt. Never an ordinary girl, Egypt learned the hard way that life, even when it is being kind, is a bastard. A survivor, she did what she needed to make it from day-to-day. And it turned out she was good at it. Better than good. Egypt grew into an extraordinary woman, cold, ruthless, a killer at heart, and New York witnessed her metamorphosis from that innocent child to the most feared assassin of the age. Gods & Gangsters 3 is a continuation of the series, placing Egypt in the driver's seat for a wild ride.

Author: Steven Leroy Jackson
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1477180664
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 279

View

Book Description
Gangsters of Virtue/ The Wise Sorrowful Hearts is a true cautionary tale for the youth of this nation and the world.This is the untold story of murder, greed, lust for power and the final family betrayals in a major Washington DC Drug Enterpise in the 1960 ́s and beyond. The street life during the founding of the Washington DC, Black Mafia by Convicted Heroin Distributor and D.C. Drug Kingpin, Lawrence W. Slippery Jackson. It tells of the Hardships, Accomplishments,sacrifices and punishments associated with drug dealing and family. It explores the Old style Drug Game to the new generation of drug dealers and the relationship between Lawrence , his father and sibling, his extended family, his wife Anna Mae Jackson his eight children and his 500 member Black Mafia Gang. This book tells a untold story of the wife and children living together and thriving in the Southeast Hillcrest area of Washington ,DC. The story is told through the eyes of the youngest boy Steven Leroy Jackson. My father and mothers strength and dignity saved our family. Education and mentoring from The US Army, my extended family and siblings saved me and changed my fate. I received many awards and took part in historical events as a result of what people always said about us. "You come from good stock", after you read my book , you will know why my wonderfully bright sisters and brother deserve all the good things that have happend to us and for us over the last 35 years. God Lives in you too. Little Lawrence , Momma and Dad We will love you forever.

Author: Deon Joseph Johnson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781517373016
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 212

View

Book Description
This is a book of inspiration & motivation, about incarcerated men that lost their way & identity to gangs, and all the other snares of the devil. By the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These same men have been called and saved by God while in prison and now are being trained as soldiers in the army of God to fight against the wiles of the devil, that they may seek and save that which are lost through the blood of Christ and the word of their testimony...... There is a better way and through the testimonies of these incarcerated men that are now living free, full of life, peace, joy and love. You also can be released by accepting Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, change the devil's lie that we're believed our whole life into the truth of GOD's word and experience this life changing phenomenon.....

Author: Ebony A. Utley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 182

View

Book Description
This book provides an enlightening, representative account of how rappers talk about God in their lyrics—and why a sense of religion plays an intrinsic role within hip hop culture. Why is the battle between good and evil a recurring theme in rap lyrics? What role does the devil play in hip hop? What exactly does it mean when rappers wear a diamond-encrusted "Jesus" around their necks? Why do rappers acknowledge God during award shows and frequently include prayers in their albums? Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta's God tackles a sensitive and controversial topic: the juxtaposition—and seeming hypocrisy—of references to God within hip hop culture and rap music. This book provides a focused examination of the intersection of God and religion with hip hop and rap music. Author Ebony A. Utley, PhD, references selected rap lyrics and videos that span three decades of mainstream hip hop culture in America, representing the East Coast, the West Coast, and the South in order to account for how and why rappers talk about God. Utley also describes the complex urban environments that birthed rap music and sources interviews, award acceptance speeches, magazine and website content, and liner notes to further explain how God became entrenched in hip hop.