{"product_id":"the-rat-that-got-away-allen-jones-9780823231027","title":"The Rat That Got Away: A Bronx Memoir","description":"\u003cem\u003eThe Rat That Got Away\u003c\/em\u003e is an inspiring story of one man's odyssey from the streets of the Bronx to a life as a professional athlete and banker in Europe, but it is also provides a unique vantage point on the history of the Bronx and sheds new light on a neglected period in American urban history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAllen Jones grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx at a time-the 1950s-when that neighborhood was a place of optimism and hope for upwardly mobile Black and Latino families. Brought up in a two-parent household, with many neighborhood mentors, Jones led an almost charmed life as a budding basketball star until his teen years, \u003cstrong\u003ewhen his once peaceful neighborhood was torn by job losses, white flight, and a crippling drug epidemic. \u003c\/strong\u003eDrawn into the heroin trade, first as a user, then as a dealer, Jones spent four months on Rikers Island, where he \u003cstrong\u003eexperienced a crisis of conscience and a determination to turn his life around.\u003c\/strong\u003e Sent to a New England prep school upon his release, Jones used his basketball skills and street smarts to forge a life outside the Bronx, first as a college athlete in the South, then as a professional basketball player, radio personality, and banker in Europe. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA brilliant storyteller with a gift for dialogue\u003c\/strong\u003e, Jones brings Bronx streets and housing projects to life as places of possibility as well as tragedy, where racism and economic hardship never completely suppressed the resilient spirit of its residents. \u003cstrong\u003eA book that will change the way people view the South Bronx.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Allen Jones\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 082323102X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780823231027\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Fordham University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.97lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.34w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2009 pg. 71","brand":"Allen Jones","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44254742610175,"sku":"9780823231027","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_7ca371eb-eadd-42d7-8426-08efd9144efd.jpg?v=1694614118","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-rat-that-got-away-allen-jones-9780823231027","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}