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Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and
Found in New York's Underground Economy by Sudhir Venkatesh. Published
September 13, 2013, by Penguin Press. 304 pages, hardcover. ISBN-10:
1594204160 ISBN-13:
978-1594204166
Certain authors, when they post new books, catch my attention immediately. For whatever reason, their writing seems to resonate with me, and Sudhir Venkatesh is one. I first met Dr. Venkatesh's work in Gang Leader for a Day. In that book, he documents the underground economy of Chicago and the gangs who form a major part of it. Recently, I was privileged to read a galley of The Floating City . Although I enjoyed it, the book seemed to only scratch the surface of the topic. Perhaps this seemed to me to be this way because of Venkatesh's frequent referrals to the angst he was feeling about his career and his marriage; I felt torn between sympathy and anxiety because of my work toward a PhD and the uncertainty of this being the right thing for me as a fifty-something to be spending money on-- I see his struggles and I feel that he is brilliant! How can I hope to be successful in my chosen career path if he is having doubts, issues, and personal trials!Nonetheless, the book was a great read and a way to understand how people in poverty-stricken areas make their way through the world. It also uncovered ways that bright young people with no outward reason to delve into the dark world of crime find themselves taking part in it. I felt that the personal revelations in the book made it difficult for me to understand what Dr. Venkatesh's original intent actually was. It seemed as though he was using the desperation and deprivation of the people whose behavior he was trying to document as a participant observer to delve into his own needs and shortcomings. Since I can't feel that my knowledge about his personal issues would be at all helpful to him, I'm not sure why it was included in the book and made it more difficult to follow the thread of the narrative.
I believe this book has a place on high school and public library shelves and would recommend it to anyone who would like to understand New York, sociological research, or big cities in general-- both how they differ and how they are alike.
