Crime and Human Nature/the Definitive Study of the Causes of Crime

Assembling the latest evidence from the fields of sociology, criminology, economics, medicine, biology, and psychology and exploring the effects of such factors as gender, age, race, and family, two eminent social scientists frame a groundbreaking theory of criminal behavior

Since its establishment, the field of American criminology has been dominated by liberal scholars. But, over the past ten years, neoconservatism has become a force in criminology. Wilson, the leading advocate of this right-ward move, and Herrnstein, who is noted for his work on I.Q., race, and meritocracy, have written what should become the major source on this important development in criminology. Its moderate, Aristotelian behavioral theory is reminiscent of Edward Banfield's Unheavenly City Revisited and Ernest Van Den Haag's Punishing Criminals , but this book probably will have greater impact than either of these or any of Wilson's and Herrnstein's earlier writings. It will be praised by many and criticized by others who will complain that it does not expose the proper ``myths about crime,'' does not explain why ``the rich get richer and the poor get prison,'' and turns attention away from the corrupting influence of modern institutions. Essential reading for anyone seriously interested in crime or human nature. John Broderick, Sociology Department, Stone hill College, N. Easton, Mass.
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