description: First published in 1959, The Cool World is the most famous of Warren Miller's work (all of which is relatively unknown) about a youth gang called the "Crocadiles" in 1950's Harlem, New York City. Narrated in the first person by the protagonist and Crocadile member Duke, The Cool World recounts the story of Duke and his gang's adventures and travails as they deal with street life in the ghetto and a rival gang called the Wolves. Drug dealing, fights, prostitution, guns, and gambling are rampant throughout this engaging, slim novel that rarely has a dull moment. Written entirely in African-American street vernacular of the time, Miller—a caucasian academic—accomplished a great, and mostly unnoticed, linguistic and narrative feat with this novel.
language: English
title: The Cool World
titlecomplete: The Cool World
characters: Duke Custis
genres: Fiction, African American, Novels
ratings_count: 133
places: Harlem, New York City, New York
awards: awardedAt: -315590400000
name: National Book Award Finalist
category: Fiction
publisher: Little Brown & Company