By Fred Gardaphe

The gangster, in the hands of the Italian American artist, becomes a telling figure in the tale of American race, gender, and ethnicity - a figure that reflects the autobiography of an immigrant group just as it reflects the fantasy of a native population. From Wiseguys to Wise Men studies the figure of the gangster and explores its social function in the construction and projection of masculinity in the United States. By looking at the cultural icon of the gangster through the lens of gender, this book presents new insights into material that has been part of American culture for close to 100 years.

London; New York: Routledge, 2006. 266p.

By Anton Makarenko.

As one of the founders of Soviet pedagogy, Anton Makarenko elaborated the theory and methodology of upbringing in self-governing child collectives and introduced the concept of productive labor into the educational system. Encouraged by Gorky, Makarenko wrote The Pedagogical Poem (in the West The Road to Life) based on the true stories of his pupils from the orphanage for street children, which he started in 1925.

Read-Me.Org Classic Reprint. (1933) 441 pages.

By Catherine Robinson.

This book reveals the ways in which intense chains of disadvantage, incorporating homelessness, are triggered by very early experiences of violence. Drawing on biographic interviews with six men and six women, the book bears witness not only to horrendous repeated experiences of physical and sexual violence, but discusses what may be understood as related multi-dimensional vulnerability in areas such as physical and mental health, education, employment and social connectedness. A picture of the long-term cycles of violent victimisation and homelessness, and their compounding traumatising effects, are made clear and the importance of trauma-informed service delivery is outlined as a key way forward Sydney:

UTS ePress, 2010. 70p.