The Carny Kid: Survival of a Young Thief

by Kenneth Kahn

From the Projects to the Penthouse As the only Jewish family in the Ramona Gardens housing projects, Kenny tells the spellbinding story of being the oldest child of two small-time carnival thieves who make their living as traveling gypsies and then graduate to dealing heroin from their cockroach-infested apartment. It's an inside view of carnival life, of living in a cocaine-selling shooting gallery apartment and of surviving a gang-dominated existence...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0976111500
• ISBN13: 9780976111504
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Pendant Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 4.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

What a great book!

I met the author on a flight coming back from Brazil at the beginning of this year. He was an interesting person with a great sense of humor. He sent us his book to read. I was surprised when I read his book at the horrible things he had to go through - living in the LA slums, having parents that used drugs, and finally having polio. He makes his life story very interesting and keeps you engaged throughout the story. I was very fascinated with his carnival life. We had a carnival that came though the town where I grew up on the east coast, and I enjoyed going to it. My friends told me that there had to be some scam if you could win some big prizes for just a dollar. According to Ken, this is the least of it. His life in the carnival is a great story. However, this book is much more than just carnival life. It is book about kid who had many challenges growing up and has become very successful. I can't wait for the sequel to come out. One more thing - This book should be a must read for all the kids that go to Inner city schools. Sometimes in those schools it seems like there is very little hope of ever getting to prosperity. The carnival kid should give those kids hope that if Ken could do this so can they. I am surprised that I have not heard of other people (other than sport stars) that have made it out of the slums and into success. Hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did.

Kahn Do

The human spirit is alive and well and living in Kenny Kahn! I had no expectations for the journey I would be taking when I opened this book, but while reading it, I was rapt in each step of the journey. Kahn's travels through his early years and especially his carnival "education" became my awakening from the Midwest values with which I was raised (though I will admit I have not just fallen off a turnip truck). I kept thinking how Dickensian this life appeared. I kept asking asking myself, do people really do these things? Do people really believe that it is okay to cheat and that it helps balance the world between the haves and have nots? I will never walk down the rows of carnival games and believe that I can actually win one of those adorable stuffed animals; but, I will probably still try. Though the book has a lot about carnival life and the story about Shorty is captivating; it is the life and the thoughts of the young man growing up in his challenging environment that is the intriguing story. Kahn is so touching in relaying his experiences and thoughts that at times I felt like a voyeur in a therapy session. Acts of kindness and small, incidental good deeds are remembered in detail. For those of us in education, we need to recognize how important even small details and actions are when we relate to students. Sometimes a simple smile and good morning at a classroom door may be the one shining moment in some of our students' days. Dedication and bringing all you can to support learning into the classroom is recognized by students. Kahn dedicates his book to Raymond V. Lopez, the teacher who made the difference in his life and career. Sometimes we forget that school is more than a place for learning--it is the safe haven from a threatening or uncaring outside world. Kahn reminds us of this in his book. Art Buchwald, upon being questioned about what makes a person like him funny, responded, "a very unhappy childhood". After reading Kahn's book, I know why he does stand up comedy and has a comedy routine he takes to law schools. Forget Kahn's being a highly successful and high-powered lawyer when you read this book as the only important thing you need to know about Kahn is what he shows us about the indomitable human spirit that is in all of us and how we all have the ability to impact others' lives, not necessarily with great deeds such as the cure for cancer, but with kindness that feeds the human soul. I will never take an orange and break it into its segments without thinking of Kahn and his inspiring book. You need to read the book to understand.

If you persevere and devote endless effort, you can achieve victories that many take for granted.

The success or failure of first person accounts invariably depends on how effectual are the narrative powers of the author. How often have we read the first few pages of someone's autobiography and grumbled- this is torture and downright boring. Such, however, is not the case with Kenneth Kahn's The Carny Kid Survival of a Young Thief. This is a book packed to the rim with revelatory memories of the author's painful childhood, growing up as the only Jewish kid in the project neighborhood of East Los Angeles, known as Ramona Gardens. Kahn candidly and courageously opens up and shares his perspectives concerning his dysfunctional family that centered on his heroin addicted parents, poverty, child neglect, crime, loneliness, surviving attacks by street gangs, his bout with polio, rejection, and his touring during the summer months with his parents, who worked the annual carnival scene in various US and Canadian towns. Perhaps, the most endearing aspect of the book is the recognition that knowledge is power, as he discovered a whole new world in books and school. As the author states: "no matter how bad things got at home or how desperately broke we were, the beautiful campus offered a safe haven. For five years, it had been my savior, my security blanket..." It is within the confines of the school walls, where Kahn found solace from the tragic experiences he was obliged to endure. The author's insider information pertaining to the shocking and routine scams perpetuated on naïve customers playing the games of chance at the annual carnivals are eye openers. In fact, as Kahn points out, there were some scams that were so inherently evil that they required special permission from local law-enforcement to even set them up on the fair grounds. I doubt if these revelations will be well received by the petty thieves that operate these scams! Kahn's no-nonsense first person account is tragically one of many, as evidenced by the thousands of cases of run-away children coming from homes similar to his. No doubt, the narrative will captivate some readers and reduce others to tears, however, let us hope in the end an invaluable lesson will be learned- if you persevere and devote endless effort, you can achieve victories that many of us take for granted. Norm Goldman, Editor Bookpleasures.com

Kenny is the Bomb!

Kenny Kahn's book is so entertaining - and informative, too. I did not expect to be so pleasantly surprised. Every chapter is a story in itself. Every story keeps you reading, keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next. It's not the most grammatically correct book on the market, but it's entertaining and it provides unique insight into several worlds and ways of life that most of us have no clue about. And, I really believe it has reawakened for me some sort of belief and faith in the possibilities for every child, regardless of life circumstances. Thank you, Kenny Kahn.

East L.A. Story: Rising Above the Projects of Los Angeles

We seldom hear the life stories of people like Kenny Kahn, because people like Kenny usually don't live long enough to TELL their stories. Fortunately, this child of heroin-addicted, con-artist parents did survive, and he shares his tale with a frankness and humor that belies the hardship he experienced. It was the late Fifties in booming, optimistic America, and gangs, ghettos and junkies seemed an unlikely development in sunny southern California. But this was the harsh reality of the only Jewish teenager in the Ramona Gardens projects of East L.A. Virtually on his own from age five, and living by his wits and creativity, Kenny found safe havens from a roach-infested home and gang-ridden neighborhood in school, library, sports - even Hebrew confirmation classes. Afraid to seek help from the authorities but in constant fear of his parents' raging addiction and neglect, he found outlets for his pent-up aggression on the football field and his thirst for affection with neighborhood girls. Kenny sees it all: carnies, gang members, and people of every class, color and circumstance, with colorful names like Horseface Joe and No-Sox Bob. He learns about humanity from the bottom up, discovering that human goodness exists at every level -- sometimes in the most unexpected places. His perseverance and tolerance are fully tested during a serious bout with polio and a grueling rehabilitation period to regain his ability to walk. The battleground of his childhood years had prepared him well, and he fights to succeed and graduate at the top of his class. Today he's a prominent defense attorney who has helped bring justice to the lives of immigrants, minorities and indigents. This book is a testimonial to gritty determination and personal achievement, by a classic American "self-made man." A promised second book will cover Kenny's college years in Berkeley, California, smack in the middle of the Vietnam-era social/sexual revolution. I look forward to the next leg of this incredible journey.