Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy

Venkatesh's (sociology, Columbia Univ.; Gang Leader for a Day) research has attracted both scrutiny and awe from fellow academics. Most sociology books don't make best sellers lists, but Venkatesh has a talent for transforming ethnographic observations into character-driven accounts. Similar to his earlier work, in which he immersed himself in Chicago's gang culture, this is a participant-observer account of crime combined with reflections on the prescribed world of academic sociology. In this instance Venkatesh turns his attention to New York, focusing on people who inhabit the overlapping worlds of immigrant-run porn shops, escort services, the midlevel illegal drug trade, and Chelsea art galleries. By following how these people "float" among social circles and by documenting their lives, he reveals networks running between the underground and highly visible parts of New York City.