Baby Insane and the Buddha - Softcover

Spichen, Bob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553563750 ISBN 13: 9780553563757

Publisher: Bantam, 1993

Synopsis

Birse and gang member Baby Insane teamed up, penetrating San Diego's gang turf to expose drive-by shootings, Uzi-toting teens, and the macho code of honor obeyed in gangs. Reprint. PW.

About this title

From School Library Journal

YA-- A fascinating account of an uneasy partnership between a streetwise criminal and a tough city cop, which eventually resulted in the shutting down of one of San Diego's biggest gangs. A kid named Kevin joined the street gang Insane when he was 10-years-old; hence, the name Baby. Patrick Flannigan Birse, a police detective, was nicknamed Buddha because he looked like one. By the time these two met, Baby Insane had participated in drive-by shootings, robberies, car theft, and drug selling. He had fathered two children and had served five years in prison. His repeated clashes with the law finally forced him to either return to prison or to turn informer. He opted for the latter. Sipchen makes no attempt to offer a solution to the problem of gangs and gang warfare. However, he tells a gripping story from opposing points of view. Students will find his extraordinary narrative extremely useful for either informational reading or for reports.
- Pat Royal, Crossland High School, Camp Springs, MD
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

The tale of a San Diego street gang's drug deals, robberies of retail stores and, especially, its drive-by shootings is related by Los Angeles Times staffer Sipchen in this exhaustive book. He focuses on overweight cop Patrick Birse ("Buddha"), dedicated to eradicating drugs and gangs in his city, and homeboy, druggie and teenage gangster Kevin Glass ("Baby Insane"). Birse, who developed affection for the ghetto youth and was able to convince him to serve as an informant and undercover drug buyer, resulting in dozens of arrests and convictions and the crippling of the Crips, one of the city's two major street gangs. Despite much irrelevant detail, this is a powerful book.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0553563750
• ISBN 13: 9780553563757
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 432