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Born Fi Dead
Among the ethnic gangs that rule America's inner cities, none has had the impact of the Jamaican posses. Spawned in the ghettos of Kingston as mercenary street-fighters for the island's politicians, the posses began migrating to the United States in the early 1980s, just in time to catch and ride the crack wave as it engulfed the country. Laurie Gunst's provocative expose of the Jamaican politicians' role in creating this problem is also a moving and compelling tale of suffering and exploitation.
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First published March 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 21, 2011
Eat, Pray, Love meets Shottas.
I was initially surprised when I came upon the memoir tone of this book, as I thought it would be one of those 'serious' sounding research pieces; then I realised that the light tone of the book took away the tedium that may have otherwise set in.
I enjoyed this book. And whilst I generally abhor and avoid addenda to books, I actually read the afterward (but not yet the introduction) and found it very touching; it really brought the whole concept of the book together for me.
And being a sheltered product of the so called Jamaican middle class, I can acknowledge that she is right: when I reflected on my experiences and my views of the Jamaican proletariat (and the simple fact that I really like this word) I agreed that it is hate that separates the classes. And this hate quite possibly will be perpetuated until the end of time. I empathise and I hate. Knowing that there is cause to empathise does not assuage my hate.
I was initially surprised when I came upon the memoir tone of this book, as I thought it would be one of those 'serious' sounding research pieces; then I realised that the light tone of the book took away the tedium that may have otherwise set in.
I enjoyed this book. And whilst I generally abhor and avoid addenda to books, I actually read the afterward (but not yet the introduction) and found it very touching; it really brought the whole concept of the book together for me.
And being a sheltered product of the so called Jamaican middle class, I can acknowledge that she is right: when I reflected on my experiences and my views of the Jamaican proletariat (and the simple fact that I really like this word) I agreed that it is hate that separates the classes. And this hate quite possibly will be perpetuated until the end of time. I empathise and I hate. Knowing that there is cause to empathise does not assuage my hate.
October 7, 2024
Quite conflicted about this.
On the one hand, a beautifully written and nuanced exploration of Jamaican gang life in the 80s and 90s. Well structured with the split between Kingston and New York.
On the other hand, the role of Gunst as an actor, not just a narrator in her story is difficult. The relationships she makes with gang members and “sufferers” seem to go further than just informants, and she seems significantly involved in many of their lives - visiting them and their families frequently, living with them, socialising where they socialise, and following them in their daily activities. This connection could pose a bit of an issue in writing an objective account, as well as clouding the ethical obligations of a researcher as a neutral figure.
While Gunst does acknowledge the potential danger she brings to her subjects, who may be accused of informing on their posses, she doesn’t really take many steps to negate this? But then I also don’t know if there’s much one could expect her to do.
This being said, some of the book’s strengths come from these trusting relationships she has with her subjects - they let her into their lives far more than they otherwise would have. Linked to this aspect, the most powerful part of the book for me is Brambles’ criticism she does not go far enough in understanding sufferers, after she criticises an interviewee for his glorification of violence. Brambles makes the point that is Gunst was in the same circumstances, she would act no differently from them.
While I found this compelling, it also raises questions about agency - Brambles’ argument seems to suggest Jamaicans have no agency whatsoever in their destiny, a view somewhat reductive, though one could understand its construction.
The content of the book itself is powerful - futile violence’s effect on the Jamaican community is heartbreaking and palpable. The similarities between PNP and JLP stories emphasise the meaningless of these divisions of gang war.
Mainly narrative so I get why there isn’t one, but I hate that there isn’t a bibliography, especially when some of the book is actually historical.
Overall then, worth reading even though it took me a while to get into. The narrative structure makes it approachable, and its lessons are important.
On the one hand, a beautifully written and nuanced exploration of Jamaican gang life in the 80s and 90s. Well structured with the split between Kingston and New York.
On the other hand, the role of Gunst as an actor, not just a narrator in her story is difficult. The relationships she makes with gang members and “sufferers” seem to go further than just informants, and she seems significantly involved in many of their lives - visiting them and their families frequently, living with them, socialising where they socialise, and following them in their daily activities. This connection could pose a bit of an issue in writing an objective account, as well as clouding the ethical obligations of a researcher as a neutral figure.
While Gunst does acknowledge the potential danger she brings to her subjects, who may be accused of informing on their posses, she doesn’t really take many steps to negate this? But then I also don’t know if there’s much one could expect her to do.
This being said, some of the book’s strengths come from these trusting relationships she has with her subjects - they let her into their lives far more than they otherwise would have. Linked to this aspect, the most powerful part of the book for me is Brambles’ criticism she does not go far enough in understanding sufferers, after she criticises an interviewee for his glorification of violence. Brambles makes the point that is Gunst was in the same circumstances, she would act no differently from them.
While I found this compelling, it also raises questions about agency - Brambles’ argument seems to suggest Jamaicans have no agency whatsoever in their destiny, a view somewhat reductive, though one could understand its construction.
The content of the book itself is powerful - futile violence’s effect on the Jamaican community is heartbreaking and palpable. The similarities between PNP and JLP stories emphasise the meaningless of these divisions of gang war.
Mainly narrative so I get why there isn’t one, but I hate that there isn’t a bibliography, especially when some of the book is actually historical.
Overall then, worth reading even though it took me a while to get into. The narrative structure makes it approachable, and its lessons are important.
June 21, 2009
A confused mix of memoir, participant-observer journalism, sociological study, and political condemnation. You get the sense the author is genuinely concerned about her subject matter, but she makes herself very present in the story in ways that can be irritating. (E.g., lots of apologies for being university-educated, casual references to the fact that she is dating and considered "daughter" to the locals, insistence on using terms like "sufferation" in her own Bostonian narrative, and conspicuous asides about how articulate her interviewees are despite her preference to quote them in apostrophied slang.) Most problematic is an insistence throughout that posse violence is bad, while still slipping into a reverential catalogue of the bad men and their murders. If there was nobody else to tell the story of political and drug violence in Jamaica, this book would be better than nothing. But there are, and I'd much rather hear what those people have to say directly than have it filtered through a compulsively apologetic white lady from Harvard.
June 25, 2010
The author obviously did a lot of research and seems to know the subject but that doesn't translate into a good book. The narrative is not coherent and the cast of characters is introduced and reintroduced and impossible to keep straight. There is far too much repetition for such a short book and she doesn't actually have any kind of insight into Jamaican gang culture other than a strained attempt to connect it to Hollywood Westerns and action movies. Overall, a fascinating subject compromised by her subjectivity and lack of analysis.
July 24, 2017
A fantastic read about the source of New York's Jamaican gangs -- and the incredible violence of Kingston and Jamaica's political machine. Everything in this book was so far outside my knowledge base that it was all a revelation. The structure of the book keeps things interesting as well -- personal (heartbreaking) stories, history, political reporting. If you want to read a really different book that will take you places you've never imagined, this might be the one.
July 9, 2012
My dad gave me this book to read. I was astonished and amazed at how you think you know someone, but you would have no idea! If you are a Jamaican and want to full in the blank, pick up this book and it will either educate or irritate you; either way it's a must read.
July 18, 2016
This was the ideal non-fiction companion piece after reading Marlon James' A History of Seven Killings: an easily digestible explanation of political gang violence in Jamaica from the '60s through to the '90s and the key figures and events.
July 24, 2009
A troubling book - in that it tells the troubling story of Jamaica's violent history, but it is also troubling for its perspective.
The author, a white woman, citizen of the US, details in the book the book details how her (and my) own government has played a central role in the devastation of Jamaica, and the crushing of its hopes after independence, by ostracizing the democratic socialism of Michael Manley and supporting the (white) drug runner, union-buster, export-processing-zone-creator, violence fomenter Stanley Seaga.
Her conclusion, however, is filled with prescriptions for the Jamaican elite - a curious position to take, given the likely audience for this book. It ought to be compared with the conclusion of the anti-politics machine, by Thomas Ferguson.
The author, a white woman, citizen of the US, details in the book the book details how her (and my) own government has played a central role in the devastation of Jamaica, and the crushing of its hopes after independence, by ostracizing the democratic socialism of Michael Manley and supporting the (white) drug runner, union-buster, export-processing-zone-creator, violence fomenter Stanley Seaga.
Her conclusion, however, is filled with prescriptions for the Jamaican elite - a curious position to take, given the likely audience for this book. It ought to be compared with the conclusion of the anti-politics machine, by Thomas Ferguson.
July 2, 2013
The author commits the cardinal sin of being excruciatingly DULL. The book meanders and drifts before simply backtracking and repeating itself. I cannot understand how a self respecting editor or publisher let this see the light of day.
It is a real shame as buried somewhere beneath the turgid prose is a great story waiting to be told.
It is a real shame as buried somewhere beneath the turgid prose is a great story waiting to be told.
May 29, 2025
Disclaimer: I didn't finish the book.
From the first 40 pages, it is quite clear this is like any other anthropological study with an out-group member trying to make sense of a group it is not truly a part of. While Gunst's does acknowledge her position as a white woman while describing her experiences, I did not find her takeaways or retellings to be anything other than a laundry list of problems in a third-world country she felt compelled to understand. There's nothing necessarily wrong with the piece, it's just not what I was looking for. But what could I have expected from a white woman writing about Jamaican sociopolitical history. My mistake, I guess.
From the first 40 pages, it is quite clear this is like any other anthropological study with an out-group member trying to make sense of a group it is not truly a part of. While Gunst's does acknowledge her position as a white woman while describing her experiences, I did not find her takeaways or retellings to be anything other than a laundry list of problems in a third-world country she felt compelled to understand. There's nothing necessarily wrong with the piece, it's just not what I was looking for. But what could I have expected from a white woman writing about Jamaican sociopolitical history. My mistake, I guess.
December 30, 2020
As a Jamaican born and raised in East Kingston, I am very grateful that Dr. Günst wrote this book. It is packed with knowledge she gathered from Jamaicans embroiled in the violence the country has become known for, as peacemakers, gang members, journalists, academics and average citizens born into the middle and lower classes.
While Jamaican curriculums have been better than most in teaching about the evil imperialism Jamaica suffered through slavery and colonialism, it is less adept at teaching us about the evil imperialism Jamaica has suffered in recent history until today. This book gives a thorough view into the history of Jamaica's political tribalism, gang violence, police brutality and the connection between all of these to the USA. To be honest, that connection could have been expounded in greater depth but Günst's book focuses on the people who engage and suffer most with the gang violence in Jamaica rather than the orchestraters; the "sufferers" as she called them, deserve that careful attention.
I devoured the book faster than any I have read in years, marked it all over with highlighters and discussed it with my friends and family who grew up in Jamaica during the time of Günst's research and beyond. Reading the book, at once, urged me to collect stories from my family who lived through the violent start to Jamaica's existence and on the other hand made me grateful that someone was able to meet Jamaican people where they were and tell a story many Jamaicans are too biased, scared, underfunded, uninformed and/or at risk to tell.
That being said, one of my first and remaining concerns about the book was that Dr. Günst, a white American is telling it and not anyone else, especially someone of Jamaican descent. She very likely has some white guilt or white privilege (I read she grew up in the South with Black nannies) but I think it's important that she put this to use and took risks someone without those privileges may have had difficulty to do. She dedicates some space in the book to tell readers about her own relationship to Jamaica and Jamaicans which was important in convincing me that she wasn't just a journalist benefitting from a scholarship to write about the "other" and be awarded for it. She was in the trenches, lost friends and took risks etc. to produce this book for Jamaica and Jamaicans. The more detailed story about U.S. interference into our country and the perspectives directly by Jamaicans will have to come from elsewhere. I hope that we can see more of these coming directly from Jamaicans as they are given the space and the funding available.
While Jamaican curriculums have been better than most in teaching about the evil imperialism Jamaica suffered through slavery and colonialism, it is less adept at teaching us about the evil imperialism Jamaica has suffered in recent history until today. This book gives a thorough view into the history of Jamaica's political tribalism, gang violence, police brutality and the connection between all of these to the USA. To be honest, that connection could have been expounded in greater depth but Günst's book focuses on the people who engage and suffer most with the gang violence in Jamaica rather than the orchestraters; the "sufferers" as she called them, deserve that careful attention.
I devoured the book faster than any I have read in years, marked it all over with highlighters and discussed it with my friends and family who grew up in Jamaica during the time of Günst's research and beyond. Reading the book, at once, urged me to collect stories from my family who lived through the violent start to Jamaica's existence and on the other hand made me grateful that someone was able to meet Jamaican people where they were and tell a story many Jamaicans are too biased, scared, underfunded, uninformed and/or at risk to tell.
That being said, one of my first and remaining concerns about the book was that Dr. Günst, a white American is telling it and not anyone else, especially someone of Jamaican descent. She very likely has some white guilt or white privilege (I read she grew up in the South with Black nannies) but I think it's important that she put this to use and took risks someone without those privileges may have had difficulty to do. She dedicates some space in the book to tell readers about her own relationship to Jamaica and Jamaicans which was important in convincing me that she wasn't just a journalist benefitting from a scholarship to write about the "other" and be awarded for it. She was in the trenches, lost friends and took risks etc. to produce this book for Jamaica and Jamaicans. The more detailed story about U.S. interference into our country and the perspectives directly by Jamaicans will have to come from elsewhere. I hope that we can see more of these coming directly from Jamaicans as they are given the space and the funding available.
January 15, 2015
The tragedy of Jamaica. From the slaughter of the Arawaks through the violence of colonialism, replaced by an internalized racism of lighter skin against darker, all of this a backdrop to the proxy war waged for decades between two political parties and two men: Michael Manley and Edward Seaga. Manley and Seaga recruited impoverished kids to kill each other for crumbs from the politicians table, and when, fueled by cocaine most likely brought in by the politicians themselves, things got out of hand, the police began to enact "extrajudicial killings" - murders, in other words, in a reign of terror. The gangsters, brutalized both by the world they grew up in, and the violence they carried out themselves, went international - becoming leaders in the 80's and 90's in the spread of crack cocaine, and leaders, too, in murders of each other and of innocents in the communities they lived. Gunty's book is remarkable for catching the humanity - the desperation and lost opportunities of the "sufferers" - the poorest of the poor.
February 4, 2015
Great read for my first dive into Jamaica's history, but the book seemed to lack organization. I loved meeting some of the people that she met, like Brambles, who took the author under his wing and gave her a way to communicate with many of the people she formed friendships with on the island as well as in the United States. I think the book is worth reading but if it was structured differently it may form a more solid work. I loved the poem that the book is titled after, and that she used photographs that Brambles had taken for the front cover.
March 27, 2013
Good, more of an account of the author's experiences in Jamaica during the turmoil of the 70s & 80s & her time among the Jamaican posses in Brooklyn than an overview of the culture as a whole. Though the book does incorporate a more pared down look at the socio political origins of Jamaica's violence in the context of Jamaican history & examines interesting elements of the Posse/Yardie culture. Very readable.
January 17, 2008
I'm in the middle of this book now. Really brings you into the Jamaican culture. Shows you an inside view of what the government and gangs and the people of Jamaica were/are all about. Living in the carribbean and being surrounded by many Jam's, this book deffinatly helps me grasp their culture and way of thinking a little better.
August 10, 2013
Yeah its a bit jumbled, but I found it to be a good overview of the complex politics of 60'-80's Jamaica. I did not know about the origins of some of the Jamaican gangs in NYC and Miami. The author was brave to get into the trenches for this.
August 6, 2010
The book was very interesting. The writing style of making the author present in the presenttion of historial facts and the gathering of evidence help keep the reader interest.
July 19, 2010
I really enjoyed the book. But I have heard the acurracy has been questioned.
June 9, 2026
"I must emphasize scholarly courage and mental agility. All previous preconceptions and biases must be eliminated. I have seen the incipience of intellectual arrogance in you, and sometimes you question the credibility of events. You are entering a new experience. You are writing something unique. You are white. It is difficult for a white person to simulate a black experience. And is it even more difficult to express or interpret something you have never experienced before. Be calm." p. 128
"You are not here to say who is good and who is bad," Brambles said. "You should only be committed to reality." p. 129
I've been deep in Jamaican business lately. This is the nonfiction companion to A Brief History of Seven Killings. I'm actually glad I came to this one after James' offering as I wouldn't have been able to contextualize everything without the fictional version. Strange, but true.
Gunst uses this book as part memoir, part ethnography and attempts to unravel the web between Jamaican politicians, the posses, and the cocaine/crack drug trade that crossed borders. And to think everything started with the political parties arming each faction as a means to build their own enforcing army. So much is touched on in this book. Of course, the USA is never far from the scene of the crime. From being the source of the guns to exporting media that glorified violence and helped desensitize the youth to the point that taking a life didn't even register in their brains.
"You see it all your life. Even before I killed somebody, I felt like I killed before...It was like I was into it all along. And I think that's just from social settings, from growing up around all that violence, the way Jamaica was with politics. The way it was when I was just a youth comin' up." p. 167
You would wonder why these posses would fight for a political party in such a way, until you realize that the party in power is the one that determines if the enforcers will eat, get work, or have a chance to prosper. The whole history and system explained in these pages are really eye opening. Above all, I appreciated the commitment to providing the space for their words to breathe on the page. The ability to tell their own story in their own words can't be beat.
"Remember that, no matter how much you empathize with us or try to 'research' us—to us belong the sorrows of being trapped in this cruel experience. only our hearts feel the pain." p. 235
March 23, 2026
So based on my rating, I clearly didn’t like this book. Among my reasons - firstly, it contains a number of historical inaccuracies about Jamaica - specifically the 1950’s. Then, there are moments throughout the book when the re-telling of events are exaggerated. With this, I should mention that this book is one part memoir, one part historical and then an anthropological research so not everything has to be perfect in how it’s portrayed. However the author has a PhD in history so one can see why the historical inaccuracies are frustrating.
Then, the way the author writes about Jamaicans, specifically Black Jamaicans, does become a bit jarring. For eg, there’s one moment in the book where she compares local dons to slave owners during the colonial era of the Caribbean. Now, the Caribbean is still recurring with its slave history and the stench of colonialism is present but her take is still a bizarre assessment. But this does fall into a larger conversation of how authors from the Global North writes books, non-academic of course, about Black people in the Global South - especially the Caribbean. It’s here, I should say that towards the end of the book we learned that one of the author’s informats was killed because of the book’s publication; and although Ms. Gunst stated that said informat didn’t want their identity hidden, better care could have been taken in how Gunst wrote about them and the information given.
Nevertheless, I do think the book serves as some introduction to persons who want to learn about the post-independence history of Jamaican’s political violence but if you have the opportunity to find something better, and there are better books, read those.
Then, the way the author writes about Jamaicans, specifically Black Jamaicans, does become a bit jarring. For eg, there’s one moment in the book where she compares local dons to slave owners during the colonial era of the Caribbean. Now, the Caribbean is still recurring with its slave history and the stench of colonialism is present but her take is still a bizarre assessment. But this does fall into a larger conversation of how authors from the Global North writes books, non-academic of course, about Black people in the Global South - especially the Caribbean. It’s here, I should say that towards the end of the book we learned that one of the author’s informats was killed because of the book’s publication; and although Ms. Gunst stated that said informat didn’t want their identity hidden, better care could have been taken in how Gunst wrote about them and the information given.
Nevertheless, I do think the book serves as some introduction to persons who want to learn about the post-independence history of Jamaican’s political violence but if you have the opportunity to find something better, and there are better books, read those.
December 7, 2020
A very readable history of the Jamaican gangs who terrorised Kingston and later the world from the 1970's through to the late 90's. Being a reggae fan I already had some knowledge of Jamaican political tribalism which gave me and easy entry into this book and the writing was good enough to carry me through what is a series of tragedies. The book also describes some of the true events that inspired Marlon James' brilliant novel "A Brief history of seven killings", which I'll have to give another read some time soon.
September 29, 2023
Wondering how I survived the streets of Kingston as a PCV in 1985-6. Who knew? Fascinating read for anyone who has an interest in Jamaica.
April 11, 2017
Interesting to read alongside "A Brief History of Seven Killings"
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews