| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xv, 389 pages, 14 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; ; 24 cm |
| Note |
Includes index. |
| Bibliography |
Bibliography: pages [332]-334. |
| Summary |
In his early 30s, Willie James Bosket Jr., viewed by many as New York's most violent criminal, is confined in tightly secured isolation in a Catskill prison. New York Times reporter Butterfield interviewed Willie and did extensive research on him, his forebears, and the historic use in this country of violence in defense of personal honor. A high I.Q. and often appealing demeanor have not mitigated Willie's unrepentant, violently aggressive behavior. "The boy no one could help," he has been mostly institutionalized since age nine. His family life was abysmal: he never met his criminal father, his mother was a negative influence, and he inherited a history of law-flouting male aggression. Butterfield delineates the complex elements of this young African American's life gone irretrievably awry. |
| Subject |
Bosket family.
|
|
African Americans -- Biography.
|
|
African American prisoners.
|
|
Violence -- United States.
|
|
Racism -- United States.
|
|
United States -- Race relations.
|
| ISBN |
0394582861 |
|
