Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence

by Geoffrey Canada

An award-winning educator and activist shares his personal experiences with non-gun violence control during his childhood, describes his commitment to protecting children, and analyzes the inherent flaws in today's gun industry. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Graphic Novels, Education, Sociology, Biography, Comics

179 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Geoffrey Canada is an African-American social activist. He is the author of Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America. Since 1990, Canada has been president and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone in Harlem, New York.
He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowdoin College and a Master's degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent adaptation of the book by Geoffrey Canada with art by Jamar Nicholas. As the title states there is a progressive escalation of violence...a history that too often repeats itself. It seems to me that the earlier we address the impact of violence on children the better the potential outcomes; we really need to see a cohesive approach to violence reduction that includes community programs and traceable intervention.

[Kusaimamekirai · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What if I were to tell you that we are approaching one of the most dangerous periods in our history since the Civil War? Rising unemployment, shifting economic priorities, hundreds of thousands of people growing up poor and with no chance of employment, never having held a legal job. A whole generation who serve no useful role in America now and see no hope of a future role for themselves. A new generation, the handgun generation. Growing up under the conditions of war. War as a child, war as an adolescent, war as an adult. War never ending.”

Having lived in Japan for close to 14 years now, I often talk with other expats who like myself grew up in less than safe neighborhoods. We realize how years of living in one of the safest industrialized countries in the world has probably dulled most of the senses we used to grow up and get out of the places we came from. Here there is no need to avoid eye contact with the person in front of you lest it leads to a fight. Here when someone compliments a piece of your clothing, it doesn’t mean they are setting you up to rob you. Here when someone approaches you with their hands in their pockets, it doesn’t mean they are likely holding a weapon of some kind and waiting for a chance to use it on you. As absurd as these things sound, they were very real parts of my life for a long period of time. Nothing written down and often shifting, these were among the many rules you learned if you wanted to survive.
Geoffrey Canada grew up in the South Bronx in the 1960’s and 70’s, a whole different level of violence from my experience. Here in “Fist Stick Knife Gun”, he writes about what growing up in his neighborhood was like. It was a also a place of unwritten rules, mostly absent (physically if not emotionally) parents, and somewhere where you learned how to navigate quickly at the risk of being hurt or much worse.
Perhaps in the back of our minds we are aware that these things are happening to our children but this book more than any other I’ve read is a searing indictment of how we have seemingly abandoned our children to lead lives where violence becomes routine. Violence that was once manifested in fistfights and maybe knives 30 years ago now is settled with the finality of guns. Our children live in a world where absent adult figures to protect them from violence, they have learned that they must arm and defend themselves even if it means killing.
The first part of this book contain short vignettes from Canada’s childhood that are as harrowing as they are enlightening. One marvels that this sensitive boy who loved books was able to be two different people. One who enjoyed his school work, another who didn’t hesitate to drink, smoke, or fight when the honor of his friends was at stake.
Even more remarkable is what Canada has done in his adult life as a result of his experiences. Rather than flee these streets of crime and violence, Canada and a group of dedicated staff have opened after school centers throughout New York and across the country in areas that had previously known nothing but despair.
It was not smooth sailing by any means, and his own life was often at risk, but Canada’s determination to make sure these safe spaces for children flourished is a testament to what one man can do if he truly wants to change a community. Canada and this book should be an inspiration to anyone who feels overwhelmed at times by a world that seems irretrievably lost. Rather than give up, it is important to remember that there are children who have experienced nothing from adults but being given up on. Many have been written off and left to rot in prison or worse. If we can save even a few children from what seems at times an inevitable fate, is there any greater gift we can give either to them or mankind as a whole?

[Kressel Housman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steven Levitt gave this book high praise when the Freakonomics podcast did an episode on gun control, calling it, “One of the best books I’ve ever read.” Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but it is a moving call to action on the issues of urban poverty and violence. It’s written as a personal memoir, so author Geoffrey Canada describes his own childhood in the South Bronx and the formative lessons he got about fighting. “Killers are made,” he argues. Sometimes they’re made in an army barracks, and sometimes they’re made on the streets of our cities.

As an adult, Mr. Canada has been working to reverse the trend toward violence with after school centers, peacemaking training, and Beacon schools. The activism sections of the book were far more interesting and inspiring than the childhood sections, but it’s because of his childhood that Mr. Canada has so much credibility on these issues. When he argues that increasing our police force and building more jails are incomplete solutions at best, you believe him. He’s the guy on the ground, uprooting violence at its core.

The book was written in the mid-90’s, and undoubtedly Mr. Canada has accomplished much more since then. I’m looking forward to reading more either by or about him. I’ve given the book 4 stars, but Geoffrey Canada is a 5 star human being.

[Eliu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fist stick knife gun honestly was a 5 . The book was a NON-FICTION classic . I actually enjoyed reading the book alot . The book spoke about actual problems happening throughout the whole united states not just in New York city . In forming all the people in the world now all the violence he grew up in . Showing them that it was not good ol ' happy times . That people's familys actually suffered from the violence in the streets . How geoffrey went from being a innocent little kid to fighting with the big boys and becoming a leader in the fight againist violence . Stopping every thing just so one little problem would not turn to a big homocide .
The book has taught me to get my friends off the streets before its too late . To get my friends to do their work so they wont end up being huslters or beggers on the streets . To value my family and the people who gave to me . Dont go into the streets trying to fist fight everyone i see . That it wont teach me nothing that i need to learn when i become a adult .

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoffrey Canada's story is vivid. He remembers his childhood so well, describes it in great detail, and Jamar Nicholas' illustrations really bring it to life. This story, about Canada's integration into a violent urban life, is heartbreaking, but I couldn't stop reading. It's a great personal story of The Code of the Street.

I honestly think the epilogue does not serve the story well. It pushes the book into didactic, instead of letting Canada's experiences speak for themselves.

But I really appreciate Canada telling his story, and Nicholas does a fantastic job of adapting it to the graphic novel format.

[Giovanni Gelati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey,TGIF! I love to read graphic novels for many reasons, one of them is to chill and relax after a long, pleasant week of reading seriously good novels. One of my daughters told me about Jamar Nicholas, she has an interest in art, so I checked him out. This is one serious read about life and learning some hard lessons, no matter where you come from. Check out what is between the covers:
“Long before President Barack Obama praised his work as “an all-encompassing, all-hands-on-deck anti-poverty effort that is literally saving a generation of children,” and First Lady Michelle Obama called him “one of my heroes,” Geoffrey Canada was a small and scared boy growing up in the South Bronx. His childhood world was one where “sidewalk boys” learned the codes of the block and were ranked through the rituals of fist, stick, knife, and, finally, gun. In a stunning pairing, acclaimed comics creator Jamar Nicholas presents Canada’s raw and riveting account, one of the most authentic and important true stories of urban violence ever told.”
I felt I got more then I bargained for in this one, but in a good way. I don’t think it matters where you grew up, one of these characters should be able to speak to you in some way. The artwork was a good marriage to the story and made it more believable and tangible for me. The colors were well chosen and the characters weren’t too sharply drawn, giving the story its due without being distracting or taking away from the direction of it. Looking for a challenge? Give this graphic a try and go back in time.
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[ƎLIℕ∆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an amazing non-fiction story fit into a comic. This books genre had action, drama, and even comedy to it. Before i read this book I judged it by its cover thinking it was a childish book with no meaning because it was a comic, but by the time I got near the end of the book I noticed I was actually enjoying it because I wouldn't usually read a book without being forced to and that week I went straight to reading my book on my own. I would recommend this book to anyone thats looking for a book that teaches you a life lesson or to inspire you because this book definitely inspired me to know that its never to late to change who you are because of the message to it "Its time to do something while we still have time."

[Kelly Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really amazing, eye opening, and scary. Although it is clearly meant to educate, the story avoids being preachy, and I was completely drawn in. Is it appropriate for middle schoolers? I think it would be a great book to read and discuss, because there is a lot to process. Ultimately I think everyone should read this at some point - maybe in eighth grade, maybe later, depending on the student and whether they have a chance to talk about it with an adult. Some people might be put off by the trash talking language, but the real story being told is too important to focus on the way people talk when they're trying to be tough. It's an inspiring story that I will definitely be curious to learn more about.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving, touching and inspiring. Explains the culture of violence in inner-city America, not trying to excuse it. The author has dedicated his life to trying to change that culture in a neighborhood. Will he succeed on a larger scale? I fear not, but knowing that someone who has been there is still there acting with love makes a beacon. More personal than sociological. A good companion piece to Kenneth Bancroft Clark's earlier Dark Ghetto: Dilemmas of Social Power and Claude Brown's Manchild in the Promised Land.

[Veronica Perdomo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason it took me so long to read this is because I got caught up in other things; otherwise, I would have flown through it in a matter of hours.

Canada tells a compelling story that is part-memoir, part-call-to-action. Often painful to read, his story vacillates between his reflections on his own experiences (and how those lessons equipped him for the battle he would later fight) and the deterioration of communities in urban centers in the wake of the 80s crack epidemic (and the war he finds himself in the middle of now).

At times hopeful, at times hopeless, his tone is determined throughout: we must win this war, or its casualties will be our children, our neighbors, our communities - our cities. Everyone loses.

A compelling and moving book well worth the read!

[pattrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to echo all of the positive reviews here, with one quibble. On the last page of his own story, Canada attributes his own decision to throw away a gun to his Christian faith (fair enough, if that was his experience) but then goes on to assert that young men not raised in the church cannot possibly have a moral center from which to make such ethical decisions. That left a bad taste in my mouth as I closed what was otherwise a remarkably insightful book. That one problematic page notwithstanding, this is indeed essential reading for anybody who hopes to understand, and thereby be in a better position to undermine, violence.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part autobiography and part sociological study, this book is a fast read but is memorable. The themes of this book, poverty, racism, violence, education, are deep and resonate. But it is the writing, the humor, the clear thought and honesty that make the book a great read, and drive home the more important points. Outside of being a good writer though, Geoffrey Canada is a real hero who is using innovative solutions to address very difficult inner-city problems.

[Darius H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a ya sticker. but it is awesome i couldnt put it down.It is about a boy that grows up setting a rank on union avenue he stolen from and held at gunpoint. He learns to be tough and stickup for himself.

[Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fist Stick Knife Gun is yet another book on gang violence. I've been lately reading/watching stuff on this topic. It is totally unplanned, mostly coincidental, but I can't help but notice its recurrence. First it was Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri and then this book. Now, just last night, I watched the movie - Freedom Writers (which by the way is awesome).

Fist Stick Knife Gun was illustrated by Jamar Nicholas, based on Geoffrey Canada's memoir by the same title. This is the first time I'm reading a graphic version of a book and I'm kind of mixed about how I feel. Since this is the only so-so aspect I have to say, I want to get that out of the way. I haven't read the original book so I don't have a reference, but I felt the graphic book was too verbose, almost like any regular book. It had the total feel of a graphic novel, but there was a lot of background narration, so it felt wordy to me.

This memoir follows Geoffrey Canada's life in one of the many gang-operated New York streets, and the lifestyle he led in such a climate. It takes a look at the kids who grow up in lawless streets and are forever defined by the crimes that happen around them and the survival tactics they learn there. While reading this book, many times I wondered why the color of the skin is usually enough for many as evidence of crime. And why when such people of color ask for police help, their complaints are treated as trivial.

When the book begins, Geoffrey is a four-year old staying with three other brothers and their mother. Their father wasn't much of a father and walked out of their lives early on. Geoffrey's mother is a strong woman. She never let her kids take any kind of crap from others. Once when someone stole a jacket belonging to one of Geoffrey's brothers, she threatened that he go back and get it. (I did think that was too intimidating and almost like sending a kid to slaughter, but to survive the kind of life the kids were inevitably going to lead, they needed to learn to stand up for themselves.) This ultimatum absolutely terrified the boys but they managed to get the jacket back somehow.

The real test for the kids begins when they all move to a different street. This street has a total different gameplay and power structure. Before anyone is considered a part of the street, he has to fight someone else so that they know their place in the street hierarchy. If they don't fight or do not show any kind of "stand up for themselves" characteristic, they get beaten up. As Geoffrey explains, the town's kids are actually being prepared for the crueler and harsher environments they will face in school and later on, in other streets.

I liked this book better than I expected to. The artwork shows the whole dynamics of street life better than what I gleaned off from any other book. The boys may be tough, violent and unreasonable sometimes, but I didn't, couldn't, look at them as just plain gangs. In fact, although this book provides a really good look at gang life, that phrase never really crossed my mind as I was reading it.

It really is amazing how much such a kid has to go through to survive. Darwin's Survival of the Fittest springs to mind immediately. There's no money in many of the homes there. No police protection, no education or welfare programs - in fact, no one cares about the people there. This could have been some isolated part of the world for all you know. And yet these kids devise their own mechanisms to survive - their own power structure and leaders, their own rules and punishments - in fact, each street is like its own separate country governed primarily by fist-fights, sticks, knives and guns, in that order.

[Sheherazahde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel adaptation of an earlier more detailed, text only, book of the same name. I would call this an autobiography, but it is not as detailed as autobiographies usually are. This autobiography just focuses on violent episodes in the author's childhood and how they shaped him. Geoffrey Canada is the president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone. He tells his story to illustrate the condition poor inner city children live in. [return][return]This new edition includes the sub-subtile "A True Story in Black and White" which emphasized that this is not fiction, but also led me to believe that it would address racism. There is actually very little about racism in this story, it is just illustrated in black and white. The only overt mention of racism is that his mother's low wages were "all they paid even the most competent black women in 1958". The violence is all what we call "black on black", and mostly "child on child". There is one incident where the police are called, and prove unhelpful. The officers are white but they don't do anything overtly racist. They just re-enforce the point that adults and people in power were failing to protect children from violence. [return][return]The Table of Contents is a list of pictures instead of words which is a little bit obscure on first look. The first chapter is a jacket, representing an incident where his brother's jacket was stolen. The second chapter is a can of beans, representing the day he was robbed by another child on his way back from the grocery store. The third chapter is a building, representing the social dynamics of children on his block when they were out on the street. The forth chapter is a broken pencil, representing the failure of the public school system to provide a safe learning environment. The fifth chapter is a basketball, representing his first experience with the possibility of life threatening violence. The sixth chapter is a heart, representing the necessity of being willing to fight even if you didn't want to. The seventh chapter is a shotgun, representing the first time someone pointed a gun at him. The eighth chapter is a knife, representing his first knife and how owning a weapon changed him. The ninth chapter is a hand gun, representing an incident with a gang of boys and a man with a gun. The last chapter is a book, representing how he decided to choose words over violence. [return][return]I'm not sure who this book is meant for. I would not recommend it for children or young adults. It is a bit grim. It should go on the list of anyone who likes adult graphic novels such as Maus by Art Spiegelman, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, or Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It is a gripping story and I'm pleased to add it to my collection.

[Educating Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mmmkay...I have to make a confession. My ears immediately perk up when I hear or see a book that lends itself to a 'full disclosure on my life whilst in the bleak caverns of violence'. In fact, that little gem of Truth right there is the reason why I read (and reviewed) Gang Leader for a Day last year.

But why, you might ask. Especially if you knew me. I mean, I'm no Pollyanna by any means, but I do like to think of myself as a "let's just give peace a chance" kinda gal. No really. I am. Which means, if that's Truth and the inclination for reading about gang like violence is O-Natural then something must be amiss, yes?

I consider it more about research. Ya'lls know I am a teacher. And so I teach at a Title I school, which IS NOT synonymous WITH violence, but I have my fair share of evidence that says poverty and violence as power is a common equation. Plus, the need for community and someone to look out for makes gang life appealing. Reading personal accounts helps me understand motivation and an opportunity for dialogue.

As you've perhaps gathered, FSKG is about the author (Geoffrey Canada)'s story about violence. Not unsurprisingly you might then assume that Canada grew up in a poor area of town where violence equates to power.

Canada's experience with violence is a journey. It begins when a bully steals his jacket. Canada and his older brothers return home hopeful that their mother would have a solution. Surprise unfolds when she matter-of-factly tells the boys that they must return to the scene of the crime and take back what is theirs. "My mother told us we had to stick together. That we couldn't let people know we were afraid." At four years old, young Canada knew that life in the Bronx had multiple layers to it.

I don't want to get to in depth with this story as it's a quick read (easily completed in one session) and the amount of innocence and depth in these characters are fleshed out both in words and sketches

I knew nothing about Geoffrey Canada's memoir that he wrote in 2005 and that which this graphic memoir is adapted from prior to opening up these pages. I'm intrigued enough to want to pick up the book as well. Canada now runs Harlem Children's Zone.

[Ali S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after a recommendation from Freakonomics author Steven Levitt, who says it's one of his favorites. The memoir is best described by its subtitle: “A Personal History of Violence in America.” Canada's book is a personal narrative with many anecdotes from his early childhood, adolescence, higher education years, and adulthood, interwoven with short bits of relevant history and some policy prescriptions he has put forth over the course of his career in education and youth advocacy.

I found Part I to be especially captivating. I was not wooed by Canada’s language, which was very elementary (therefore accessible), but his matter-of-fact storytelling about the violence experienced by the Black youth made everything feel very real. The stories from other parts of his life are interesting as well, but those in Part I about his elementary and junior high school years were by far the most impactful.

The rest of the book is pretty good. Its short page-count meant that I never really lost attention before finishing, but it certainly becomes a bit repetitive. The lack of structure – sometimes, the various types of passages are thrown together seemingly at random – becomes more of an issue as well.

Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun was not the most well-written book I've read recently, but it is one of the most important. Canada doesn't throw statistics or history or laws or quotations from racists in power to show the grim reality of the experience of Black youth in the South Bronx. He opts for a far simpler and perhaps more effective approach, while offering some relatively uncontroversial ideas on how we can improve that experience for future generations of kids like young Geoffrey. Though there were times where I thought "reading between the lines" was necessary to really get the point, this book is a very easy read. I would recommend it to just about anyone, especially in light of recent events.

[Badly Drawn Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should be required reading for all Americans. Geoffrey Canada has not only written a coming of age story about a gifted child growing up in the ghetto but he also has a clear outline of ideas that will help reduce the violence children face today.

Geoffrey Canada survived a rough and tumble childhood, but even he was shocked when the drug trade switched over to crack and guns replaced fists and knives. Suddenly the rules of conduct no longer mattered. Guns allowed everyone to suddenly have power, and that power is terribly seductive. The end result is children running around like it was the wild west but with no role models to help them harness their talents.

The war on drugs has actually increased crime and drug sales. We are dumping billions into punishing criminals instead of investing in preventative measures that could turn around future criminals. So many poor children have no outlets, no adults that they can turn to, no way to make money legally, and nothing to do. The streets aren't safe, there isn't anywhere they can go in their neighborhoods to just relax. Every day they are facing death.

Geoffrey Canada weaves a compelling story by combining snippets of his childhood with the work he does currently. He is an advocate for those lost children. He runs a program that addresses the issues whole families are facing. He soon learns that you have to incorporate the whole community if you want to make a difference in the children's lives.

This is a quick read and a wonderful starting point for those who are interested in learning about a major problem that is sweeping through our nation. As Geoffrey points out, it's a war. And if someone from outside our country was killing off our children, we would fight back. He does a wonderful job explaining the issues and he offers a lot of suggestions that would make a difference.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. When I finished it I wanted to pack a bag, fly to New York, and jump into the middle of the war zone in order to help. I have a feeling that the things I learned in this book will stay with me for a long time.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fist Stick Knife Gun is an amazing book and it is an interesting read. Fist Stick Knife Gun is a graphic novel but still portrays a powerful message. Fist Stick Knife Gun follows Geoffrey Canada through his life in the Bronx and it shows the well developed system of unwritten laws in place. Geoff is raised with three brothers and his mom in a bad neighborhood. This neighborhood has a system of fighting set up. The winners get to travel and play on the streets while the losers get to sit on the stairs or inside and watch others have fun. Geoff has to adapt to his situation and slowly rise through the ranks of his neighborhood. He rises from fist fights to stick and knife fights all the way to a handgun which he carried when he was in college. Fist Stick Knife Gun is an amazing novel that I really enjoyed reading.

. Fist Stick Knife Gun is a book that tackles very mature issues and shows a glimpse at life in the inner-city. Despite all the hardship the people seem to get along. The kids in the book have an unwritten system of laws in place which is very interesting. Geoff describes these laws throughout the book. My favorite part of these laws was the pecking order. This order had the big kids who arranged fights and traveled, the medium kids who would play on the sidewalk and had some say for themselves and lastly the kids on the steps or inside who had no respect. This system just fascinated me because it seems that all humans in all circumstances will sort themselves out into groups whether based on size or interests.

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The book was really exciting to read and it was interesting and fun to take a break from the novels I mainly read. I have been reading novels that take me about a month to finish but I was able to finish this book in two days which was nice to do. I am currently reading 1984 which is occasionally hard to understand while this book was very easy to read. Fist Stick Knife Gun was an exciting read and is a nice break in between books and also in between book chapters. I would recommend this to anyone over the age of 12.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

My book club chose this book in part because of its length: short. Sadly, I only finished half of it in time for the book club, mostly because I was fussing around with other books and didn't start it until a day or so before. I finally finished it, several weeks later. I enjoyed it, and it was interesting, mostly because I am a Wire fan (no spoilers, still haven't seen the 5th season, I know, I suck), and there are a lot of parallels. Bunny Colvin and Cutty come to mind, and obviously the street kids. It was also obviously moving on its own. However, I have to say that by the end I got a leetle tired of the tone. It was so so so confident. Even when Canada is admitting he doesn't know the answers he sounds like he does (and he probably does, at least on a meta level, and better than I do). I think that's the result of the writing style, which is rather clipped, terse at times, and hops around a bit from anecdote to anecdote, with transitions like "I know from experience that kids don't trust authority." Period. It's not bad, in fact I think it's well written, but something sort of rubbed me the wrong way. However, it was compelling and definitely painted a sad picture of inner cities that will stick with me.

[Jane Burger · Rating 4 out of 5]

We had a good book discussion on this author's personal account of growing up in the Bronx in the 60s-70s and the violence that was as much a part of his life as recess was for me. Really insightful and relevant today despite the book being written in the mid 90s.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence
Geoffrey Canada
adapted by Jamar Nicholas
Beacon Press
2010

Based on the best selling book of the same name, Fist Stick Knife Gun is the true story of a boy growing up in the Bronx, surrounded by gangs and violence. Mr. Canada shares with the reader how children in his neighborhood were indoctrinated to violence at a young age and how each year the violence escalated.

The prose is simple, straight-forward, and moving. The illustrations are successful in depicting the ugliness and horror that is children fighting and carrying weapons.

While written at a level that upper elementary and middle school students could understand, the adult content, violence, and profanity may aim this book at high school and adult readers. This is a thought provoking book that should be read in any area/city/town with gang/teen violence/crime.

4 stars. I enjoyed the book and was hooked, but I wanted more. I wanted to see what Geoff did after giving up the gun. Instead, there is an afterword, but it does not have the power of the rest of the graphic novel.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUMMARY:

In the form of a graphic novel, Geoffrey Canada tells his own true story of struggling to break out of the streets in which survival meant downplaying one's intelligence while the choice of weapons escalated and the deaths of friends became commonplace. I think students will be fascinated by this book from beginning to end. Many students will identify with the events and ideas in this book. The South Bronx is not really that far from some of their personal experiences, or from the world they witness in newspapers or on television. Geoffrey tells the story of how his mother taught her sons to go out into the street and defend themselves, about the tale of the knife that injured Geoff's finger and why he kept the scars, about his return to the place he wanted so desperately to leave, and by the end of the book about the fates of his friends. I really enjoyed this novel.

GRADE LEVEL: 5th and UP

CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS:

Students can write an essay comparing the incidents in the first chapter of "Fist Stick Knife Gun" with the incidents in "The Street," an excerpt of of Richard Wright's "Black Boy." The essays are read and discussed in class.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and informative look into the life of a child who grew up in The Bronx during the 1950s and 1960s. The author gives us a picture of what it was like to be a boy living in the ghetto, and the ways that boys adapted to an environment of intense violence.[return][return]Beyond all of this it's an entertaining read, depressing as it might be at times. The illustrations are rather good, and lend the story another level of depth. Kudos to whoever recognized this story would benefit from such a conversion.[return][return]I have only a couple complaints. First, that the author didn't really talk about what life was like for GIRLS in the ghetto. Although I realize the author himself was a boy with no sisters, I think he'd still have some insight into the sort of violence girls experienced during his childhood. Second, I wish the book was longer, or did a better job explaining how he escaped the culture of violence and became the man he is today.[return][return]But on the whole, this is a great work, and highly recommended for anyone trying to make sense of life in the ghetto or understand the history of gang violence.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book for ten years. Today, I picked it up and read it.

In the epilogue to Canada's personal history of violence, he writes, "While nationally we have foolishly invested our precious resources in a criminal justice approach to solving our crime problem--including hiring more police and locking up more people for longer periods of time--we have nothing to show for it except poorer schools, poorer services for youth, and more people on the streets, unemployable because they have a criminal record. The truth of the matter is that reducing the escalating violence in our country will be a complicated and costly endeavor. If we were fighting an outside enemy that was killing thousands of our children every year we would spare no expense in mounting the effort to subdue that enemy. What happens when the enemy is us? What happens when those American children are mostly black and brown? Do we still have the will to invest the time and resources in saving their lives? The answer must be yes..."

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling.

"Violence has always been around, usually concentrated amongst the poor. The difference is that when I was growing up, in the 1950s, '60s, and even '70s, we never had so many guns in our inner citties. The nature of the violent act has changed over these decades from the fist, stick, and knife to the gun."

"America has long had a love affair with violence and guns. It’s our history; we teach it to all of our young. The Revolution, the “taming of the West,” the Civil War, the world wars, and on and on. Guns, justice, righteousness, freedom, liberty—all tied to violence. Even when we try to teach about nonviolence, we have to use the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., killed by the violent. It is because most people in this country don’t have to think about their personal safety every day that our society is still complacent about the violence that is engulfing our cities and towns."

—Geoffry Canada

[Melle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an easy read in an emotional sense, but, wow, it's an engaging, enlightening, and downright brutal one. Early childhood education advocate (and all-around amazing human) Geoffrey Canada first came to my attention on the "Going Big" episode of This American Life (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio...). While I haven't read Mr. Canada's memoir, the graphic adaptation is damn near perfect in its capturing of those big, quintessential everyday childhood moments and makes those moments come alive so vividly and well, even for those who have never been to the Bronx and who haven't seen much outside of whitebread suburbia. A great choice for reluctant readers, kids at risk, and kids who might relate to young Geoff's path into a hard world and who might need the inspiration of knowing his path out.

[Mendel Chernack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Goodreads and Beacon Press for sending this to me through first-reads.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to booktalk it for my 9th grade students. Jamar Nicholas does a wonderful job of adapting Geoffrey Canada's memoir of learning the codes and conduct of violence as a boy growing up in the South Bronx. The simple language and powerful themes will appeal to both reluctant and enthusiastic readers, as will the incredibly expressive drawings. It would be great to pair this book with two other must-reads: Our America (Jones and Newman) and Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty (G. Neri), which unlike Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun take place after the rise of crack/guns epidemic.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it in about an hour. In an hour, I met Geoffrey Canada at the age of four, round-eyed when his mother insists his older brother confront a neighborhood thief to retrieve a stolen jacket. I saw him, at six, get robbed of sixty-one cents after he'd been trusted to walk to the store alone. (Alone! At six! Every cell of 'mom' in me sat up and waved her arms and shrieked when I read that.) I was worried when he found a knife in the gutter, and alarmed when he bought a gun.

I thought it was gut-wrenching, convincing, necessary, heartbreaking, and really REALLY well executed.

Full review on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/201...

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know the heart of the book is Canada's personal experience on the battlefield of the South Bronx, an experience that informs his thorough and creative response(s) to the battlefield that is now young soldiers with guns. But I was distracted, as others have mentioned, by the seeming contradiction between glorifying the fights in which he engaged as a youth and the peacemaking he endorses in his work with youth, particularly in Harlem today. Also, the book was organized in a confusing way and poorly edited (e.g. diffuse and defuse are two different verbs with two different meanings, yet are used interchangeably in the book). Perhaps newer editions have updated this (I was reading a paperback version purchased in 2003).