Arthur Miller says that Vincent Riccio is the only man he has ever met who has the three qualities required to work with juvenile delinquents: a deep love for kids, a psychological understanding of their needs, and the guts to walk into battlefield conditions unarmed.
For five years Riccio worked with the New York City Youth Board. For five years he shared the life of kids who took dope, who robbed, and fought, and sometimes murdered.
Riccio fought with the leaders of the gangs to bring them under control, but he had to fight the system at the same time—the ineffective social workers, sadistic police, callous officials.
His experience is not a success story, but it is a constructive shocker that could stimulate action.....