THE TRIANGLE: A Year on the Ground with New York's Bloods and Crips

THE TRIANGLE                                               KEVIN DEUTSCH

The Linden Triangle: Linden Avenue and Linden Place, Hempstead, Long Island. At this blighted intersection, seemingly forgotten by the middle and upper class communities that surround it, the dream of suburban comfort and safety has devolved into a nightmare of flying bullets and bloodshed. Here, a war between the Bloods and Crips has torn a once-peaceful neighborhood apart.The Triangle: A Year on the Ground with New York's Bloods and Crips, tells the true story of one year in the life of a suburban village-turned-war-zone. Written by Kevin Deutsch, award-winning criminal justice reporter for Newsday, it follows two warring gangs and the anti-violence activists and police desperate to stop them. As the body
count climbs and conflict spreads to New York City, young men wielding military grade weaponry wage a prolonged battle over pride, respect, revenge, and their legacies.Based on immersive reporting and interviews with more than 250 gang members, their families, drug addicts, police, and others, this is the first insider account of a New York Bloods-Crips gang war from the only journalist ever given access to the crews' secretive realm. The Triangle is a chilling investigation of a world in which teenagers shoot their childhood friends over gang allegiance; where rape is used as a form of retaliation; and once-promising students are molded into cold-blooded assassins. 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This story takes place in Long Island, Hempstead. The streets are Linden Avenue, and Linden Place. These make a triangle that the two street gangs the Bloods, and the Crips, have turned into a drugged infested war zone between these two gangs. The author give you a behind the scenes look at the people living in the neighborhood who can’t leave and the pain it has caused them in their lives. He also talks to a returning vet who with his PTSD, feels like he is still in the war especially after his wife leaves him. A woman who has lived in the neighborhood since it was the place to be and does not want to move because she is hoping for a change. She passes away. This is not a feel good book by any means this is just a little look at what life is like for anyone throughout the country living in many neighborhoods like this one. Murder, rape, drug addiction, and many other crimes are committed but go unreported for many reasons. The author explains this in the book. This is a very graphic but true life story that has taken away a generation, and now is working on another one with no hope for change and not being able to leave the hood even when they have it planned except for an ambulance. Be ready for a good story about real life on the streets and the author does not pull any punches when writing. A very good book that actually members of Congress should be forced to read. Won’t happen. Very good book! I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com