"Rodríguez is a relentless truth-teller, an authentic visionary, a man of profound compassion...[In Hearts and Hands] he acknowledges the lessons we can learn from the social sciences, he scrutinizes what succeeds and what fails in the realm of public policy, but he never allows us to forget that the rescue of young people is also 'a spiritual quest.'" --Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Combining personal memoir, perceptive sociological analysis and astute advice about political organizing, Rodriguez, whose youth included 'drugs, jail, and gang warfare, ' writes movingly of how he turned his life around and dedicated himself to working with teens at risk. While attacking the image of teenage males as the primary instigators of violent behavior, R. focuses on the specific problems of young males, 'trying to negotiate their lives' in the face of enormous problems, with little in the way of adult models. Never sentimentalizing or sensationalizing his materials, R. writes honestly and incisively from experience, knowledge and compassion." --Publishers Weekly