Gangs

Each title in the Compact Research: Current Issues series gives young researchers a good beginning point in examining controversial subjects, using a lively style and real-life stories to keep interest along the way. Each title begins with an “…at a Glance” look at its topic, within which it defines terms and outlines subtopics. The books then flesh out each subtopic, providing plenty of statistics presented visually along with pages filled with quotes. Opposing points of view are bracketed together for easy contrast. Gangs looks at the different types of gangs, such as street and military, why young people join them, and whether or not they can be stopped. Genetic Testing supplies information about the genetic diseases revealed by testing, the reasons for those tests, and how results might be used in both positive and negative ways. The statistics in Online Social Networking about sites like Facebook and LinkedIn will quickly become out of date in such a fast-moving field, but the background information on subjects like cyberbullying and sexting will probably stay pertinent for a while. Copious back matter in each volume includes lists of significant people, contact information for organizations, a well-rounded resource list, source notes, a time line, and an index.

Each title in the Compact Research: Current Issues series gives young researchers a good beginning point in examining controversial subjects, using a lively style and real-life stories to keep interest along the way. Each title begins with an “. . . at a Glance” look at its topic, within which it defines terms and outlines subtopics. The books then flesh out each subtopic, providing plenty of statistics presented visually along with pages filled with quotes. Opposing points of view are bracketed together for easy contrast. Gangs looks at the different types of gangs, such as street and military, why young people join them, and whether or not they can be stopped. Genetic Testing supplies information about the genetic diseases revealed by testing, the reasons for those tests, and how results might be used in both positive and negative ways. The statistics in Online Social Networking about sites like Facebook and LinkedIn will quickly become out of date in such a fast-moving field, but the background information on subjects like cyberbullying and sexting will probably stay pertinent for a while. Copious back matter in each volume includes lists of significant people, contact information for organizations, a well-rounded resource list, source notes, a time line, and an index. —Susan Dove Lempke