by Reymundo Sanchez
|
| List Price: | $16.95 |
| Amazon Price: | $11.53 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
| You Save: | $5.42 (32%) |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $10.21 |
| Availablitiy: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
 |
|
Product Description
Looking for an escape from childhood abuse, Reymundo Sanchez turned away from school and baseball to drugs, alcohol, and then sex, and was left to fend for himself before age 14. The Latin Kings, one of the largest and most notorious street gangs in America, became his refuge and his world, but its violence cost him friends, freedom, self-respect, and nearly his life. This is a raw and powerful odyssey through the ranks of the new mafia, where the only people more dangerous than rival gangs are members of your own gang, who in one breath will say they’ll die for you and in the next will order your assassination.
Amazon.com Review
In My Bloody Life, Reymundo Sanchez tells a chillingly sad tale, from his birth in the back of a pickup truck in Puerto Rico to the day he quit the Latin Kings gang, 21 years later. From the first page, his narrative is unpretentious, disarmingly honest, and horrifyingly riveting. His early years were so full of pain and abuse that by the time he opts, at age 11, to hang out with the local gang, the Latin Kings, it seems a perfectly logical choice. In his shoes, any one of us--smacked nightly by a mother and beaten ragged whenever the stepfather got the chance--would likely have chosen the same path. The gang was the family that accepted him as well as the peer group that offered girls who didn't say "no." Any violence that went with the territory couldn't match the atmosphere of brutality that permeated his own home. Sanchez was a Latin King for six years and participated in innumerable bloody gang battles--years rife with sex, drugs, booze, and acts of gang revenge. He finally got up his pluck to leave (and the only way was to be "violated" out through a gang beating), but admits in his conclusion that life since then has, in some ways, been even harder. He's had to quit drugs, lose the only community he's known, support himself, and deal with the nightmares of all the horrors he's seen and done. Though Sanchez still hasn't accomplished his dream of completing college, he has managed to leave the Kings, leave Chicago, leave behind his mother's legacy of violence, and write an impressive first book. --Stephanie Gold
Customers who bought this item also bought
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Turn of Events, 2008-08-24
I found this book to be interesting. It was sad to see how this man never received love as a child and in turn didn't know what love really was. He was a puppet for his gang who only gave him "respect" if he did what he was told. This man's life was out of control from day one. I finished this book in no time as it was interesting to see what happened to him next. I can't wait to read the unmaking of a Latin King.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Heartbreaking, yet motivating., 2008-08-22
I read all three of "Reymundo's" books. From page one, this book had me hooked. It's unimaginable the horror "Reymundo" faced as a child. It's hard to believe he's actually alive today, but I'm glad he is because he made an incredible book that deserves to be read.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Cold, 2008-06-15
I'll keep this short: My Bloody Life was not a very thoughtful book. I don't want to disparage the efforts of the author, who clearly had a fantastic story to tell. But I got the sense from reading the book that the story was told because he felt that someone needed to tell it, not because he felt he understood it in some greater sense. There are moments of clarity where he states or alludes to some grand narrative of life that the events fit into, but those moments clash with each other indicating that he's not really sure what that narrative is.
I read this book along with classmates in a teacher education course, and we discussed whether we thought it was educationally valuable to read this book as opposed to some other one. We decided that it was probably beneficial for what I termed the "oh crap" factor of surprising folks that didn't know what gang life could be like. At the same time though, the class agreed that reading this book might give readers the impression that every gang is like this one and that every kid in a rough neighborhood is gang-affiliated. Please don't walk away with that understanding.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
My Bloody Life: The Making of Latin King, 2008-03-01
A great book! Once you start reading the book you can't stop. Open your eyes to reality and helps you not to judge people and see what they act like that and why is the reason behind the life style they had taken.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 You Must Be Joking!, 2008-02-22
I was definitely interested in reading this book, but the fact that the "spanish" written in the book was more like spanglish, incorrect grammar, with spanish definitions completely inaccurate made me believe that this was not truly an autobiographical memoir. But when the author proceeds to state that Puerto Ricans were being deported back the island during this time of his life in the book. That is when I finally said ENOUGH!!! Puerto Ricans are AMERICAN CITIZENS BORN TO A COMMOM WEALTH NATION THAT BELONGS TO THE USA!! Before an author begins to write a "true autobiographical/memoir" get your facts straight! A proud Puerto Rican knows his/her facts! Interesting book to read, but please, take it with a grain of salt, and remember; all that you read is not always true!
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
|
Store Categories
|