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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1066092
EAN num: 9781416548461
ISBN number: 1416548467
Label: Scribner
Manufacturer: Scribner
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 240
Printing Date: April 08, 2008
Publishing house: Scribner
Sale Popularity Level: 82955
Studio: Scribner
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Product Description:
By turns harrowing, moving, and ultimately redemptive, this is a war story -- a war that rages out of control on the streets of the United States, claiming the lives of our loved ones and neighbors. In this memoir, complete with child soldiers, unspeakable violence, and eventual salvation, we witness the journey of an East Coast member of the notorious Bloods gang coming to terms with the lost boy he was and the transformation into the man he wants to become.
Unlike the child warriors of Mozambique and Sierra Leone, gang members and the wars they wage are the United States' homegrown nightmare. Lacking protection, support, or any alternatives, Dashaun Morris is forced into battle for the very first time at age eleven, in the streets of Phoenix, when a friend's older brothers put him in a car filled with 40s and weed smoke, put a gun in his hands, then make him point it at the men on the corner and squeeze the trigger. The targets are Crips, of course, and, as Morris writes, 'In the darkness of the streets, my childhood is murdered.... I am reborn -- a gangster.'
In this haunting, violent memoir, Morris takes us through an American childhood turned grotesquely inside out. In the fourth grade, he loses his very first friend in a drive-by shooting. By high school he is the man, a champion on the football field by day and a reputable banger on his 'hood turf by night.
Living the life of a gang banger, Morris does it all -- drug dealing, jacking, and continuing the aimless war with rival gang members -- almost opening fire one night on a close friend, a cheerleader, as she hangs out with young men he mistakes for Crips.
He eventually makes it to college on a football scholarship, but on the verge of being drafted by the NFL, Morris can't escape his gang-banging mentality and gets caught up in crimes that snatch away all future hopes. Sitting in a prison cell, he anticipates the birth of his very first child while counting the friends he's buried.
War of the Bloods in My Veins is part of Morris's redemption, a cry to his brothers that gang life is mental illness. It is a rare and brutally honest look into the relentless storm of abandonment, violence, crime, death, and the endless rush toward the complete and utter self-annihilation that plagues the lives of the young 'soldiers' who die every day in our streets.
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Rated by buyers 
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"War of the Bloods in My Veins" chronicles the life of DaShaun Morris. His story starts with him being 9 years old and having to move to Phoenix and live with his aunt to going to school and feeling as if he has no choice but to join a gang because of the war between the gangs on the streets. It explains how he is initiated into a gang, the feeling the gang represents to him, the feeling of belonging and family, how he gets caught up in gang activities from gunning down anyone in affiliation with a rival gang, and the friends he loses. This is the story of one man's pain and personal hell.
This was a difficult story for me to read, considering that this is a true story. It is so sad to see or hear of a child involved in so much violence and self destruction. In some ways I felt bad for young DaShaun, but then I began to get angry because of all the lives that were taken and it seems as if legally and on the streets he has gotten away with it. This is a bold book to have written considering he is writing about accounts of his life that are illegal and the murders he has committed. It's nice to know that he has changed his life, but what about the ones that were killed in cold blood because they wore the wrong color? They will never have the chance to change their lives. I guess the lesson to be learned in reading this book is for young kids to avoid getting involved in a gang.
Reviewed Author name: LeonaR
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His mother's absence made him utterly miserable. The age of nine can be a critical one for a young boy. It's make or break time and for Dashuan, who already felt like no one could or would ever love him, it was break time. Dashuan, later dubbed "Jiwe," was ready to join the real world, the world of the violent, the world of the Bloods . . . a world that would fully embrace him as a brother. It was love at very first sight and for many young men like Jiwe, it was until death do us part . . . literally
The chrome Saturday night special with grey electrical tape around the handle felt smooth in his ten-year-old hand, yet if he could harness his fear with a bit of electrical tape Jiwe might have gone for it. Soul and Q-Tip urged him on as he emptied the gun. Bodies of the Crips began to litter the ground. Later that night, as Dashuan "Jiwe" Morris related in his stunning memoir, WAR OF THE BLOODS IN MY VEINS: A Street Soldier's March Toward Redemption, something snapped in him. "The confusion of regret and acceptance gives me a throbbing headache. In time, I realize this night marks my very first recorded separation from self." Jiwe was growing up, growing up hard. By the end of the fourth grade his best friend, eleven-year-old Tray, was killed in a drive-by shooting. Blood is thicker than water and Jiwe would go on to avenge this death and any other slight a thousand times over. It was war.
Jiwe was a full-fledged Blood gangbanger. Nobody could call him a pussy or even dare to, but the lifestyle took its toll. Lives were torn apart by his fists, his gun and his anger and he knew it. His chances of getting a college education and a chance a berth in the NFL became nil once that gun and anger reared its ugly head on campus. Bloods weren't welcome in Delaware or much of anywhere else for that matter. "There are the moments when I am reminded that I'm trapped in a living nightmare." It was one he might never escape from and he knew that too.
Perhaps there was redemption for Jiwe somewhere. "What are you doing? You hurting her?," he anxiously questioned the doctor. A little baby girl was entering the world and no one would ever, ever hurt her. It was baby Da-Shana, Dashuan "Jiwe" Morris now had a chance with the birth of his own child. It was his time to redeem himself. Could he, can he?
I was heavily drawn into this book emotionally, empathetic for Jiwe's life circumstances and also for the people who were impacted by his lifestyle. Although unspoken, I feel that by writing this book Jiwe was trying to make amends with the world, while continuing to embrace his peers. Gangbanging is a lifestyle that is chosen for many simply by fate. Few would choose to live in fear every day of their young life, nor embrace the accompanying depression and suicidal ideation that often comes with it. I loved the feel of the book, the writing and its message. Kudos to Jiwe who poured his heart out to tell us his story . . . let's hope he makes an impact. Peace.
Deb Fowler (Roundtable Reviews)
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All in all the book was very well written and keept the reader
interested-
I have a better understanding of the war between the Gangs-
Urban Warfare between brothers is CRAZY!!
Rated by buyers -
well i will tell you this from an ex-blood gangbanger's point of view ... and yes" for the record im a female because this gang also have females doing things you couldnt imagine... you have no idea what its like to be us , so for those whose judging him i feel very offended , very first of all he's taking a risk everyday from rival gangbanger's,the fed's possibly, and also some bloods who feel that he's telling way too much information , and i take my hat off to him because in my book i couldnt even reveal my true identity because of the fear of feds, rivals, and quiet as kept my own supposedly homies. so for him to tell all , even if he knew it was risky ??? that was enough for me to believe that he was born to do this !!! ... anyone willing to make a sacrifice such as he did needs an standing ovation! to the critics we need you so much you'll make the book more popular... {" hi haters"} jiwe i love you keep doing what your doing... this gang world will take over the urban communities if more soldiers like you dont stand up and make a change god bless you, keep spreading the word. and dont lose focus! ... and besides this book is only for those who can recognize there is a problem, and by any means necessary we have to fix it! for as much is forgiven, the more is required !!! so thats why god didnt lock you in a cell and throw away the key , like some of the critics feel he should have done but , he released you to work for him! continue to keep the passion you have to save others, and god will continue to open doors no man can shut! and close doors in faces to the haters that no man can open. ya sis for life. love you...
Rated by buyers -
I couldn't put this book down, it took two days to read,only because i had to be torn away from it to go to work. The very first chapter was a little confusing but once you realize its a dream, the rest of the book is an easy read. It was eyeopening and inspirational. It gives hope that you can make a way out for yourself. That your past doesnt have to be your future. I will defintley pass this book along. AGAIN A MUST READ!
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