This book comprised of theories and findings from researchers concerning youth gangs in the United States, is organized into the following five parts: (1) Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives on the Gang and the Community; (2) Defining and Measuring Gang Violence; (3) Diffusion, Diversity, and Drugs; (4) Assessing the Changing Knowledge Base; and (5) Public Policy Issues. Chapters and their authors are as follows: "Sociological Perspectives on Gangs: Conflicting Definitions and Concepts" (Ruth Horowitz); "Emic and Etic Perspectives on Gang Culture: The Chicano Case" (James Diego Vigil and John M. Long); "Street Gang Violence: Twice as Great, or Half as Great?" (Cheryl L. Maxson and Malcolm W. Klein); "Gang Imperialism" (Carl S. Taylor); "Cholos and Gangs: Culture Change and Street Youth in Los Angeles" (James Diego Vigil); "Chinese Gangs and Extortion" (Ko-Lin Chin); "Vietnamese Youth Gangs in Southern California" (James Diego Vigil and Steve Chong Yun); "Female Participation in Gangs" (Anne Campbell); "Social Processes of Delinquency and Drug Use among Urban Gangs" (Jeffrey Fagan); "New Wine in Old Bottles? Change and Continuity in American Gangs" (James F. Short); "Back in the Field Again: Gang Research in the Nineties" (John M. Hagedorn); "Why the United States Has Failed To Solve Its Youth Gang Problem" (Walter B. Miller); "Strategies and Perceived Agency Effectiveness in Dealing with the Youth Gang Problem" (Irving A. Spergel and G. David Curry); "Denial, Overreaction, and Misidentification: A Postscript on Public Policy" (C. Ronald Huff). Contains author and subject indexes and more than 320 references. (GLR)