Criminology : Explaining Crime and Its Context [Paperback]

Stephen E. Brown (Author), Finn-Aage Esbensen (Author), Gilbert Geis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0870841157 | ISBN-13: 978-0870841156 | Publication Date: January 1, 1998 | Edition: 3 Sub

This highly acclaimed criminology text presents an up-to-date review of rational choice theories, including deterrence, shaming and routine activities. It also incorporates current examples of deterrence research regarding domestic violence, drunk driving and capital punishment, and features thought-provoking discussion of the relativity of crime. The authors explore the crime problem, its context, and causes of crime.

The organization of the text reflects the fact that the etiology of crime must be at the heart of criminology. It examines contemporary efforts to redefine crime by focusing on family violence, hate crimes, white-collar misconduct with violent consequences, and other forms of human behavior often neglected by criminologists.

Extensive discussion of evolving laws are included, and while the prevalence of the scientific method in the field of criminology is highlighted, the impact of ideology on explanations of crime is the cornerstone of the book.

• Comprehensive introductory text, emphasizing the ideology of crime.


• Boxes throughout each chapter highlight the text with figures, features and highlights.


• Each chapter concludes with key terms and concepts, key criminologists, key cases.
  

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen E. Brown is a Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice and Department Head at Western Carolina University. He received the Ph.D. in Criminal Justice and Criminology from The University of Maryland in 1979. He went through the professorial ranks at East Tennessee State University, serving as Department Chair for 11 years and leaving as Professor Emeritus in 2008. Brown has published articles in a number of journals, including Criminology, Journal of Criminal Justice, Journal of Criminal Justice Education, Criminal Justice Review, Youth and Society and Social Science Quarterly. His areas of research interest have been broad, covering topics such as family violence, deterrence, delinquency, and application of statistics within criminology. He has served as a Trustee on the board of The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and as editor of The American Society of Criminology's The Criminologist. He is currently working with several colleagues in assessing pedagogical challenges in teaching social science statistics.

Finn-Aage Esbensen is the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Youth Crime and Violence in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and is currently serving as Department Chair. He has held research positions at the Center for Criminal Justice at Harvard Law School; Catholic University; the Behavioral Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado; and the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado. He received both his B.A. (German and Sociology) and M.A. (Sociology) degrees from Tufts University and his Ph.D. (Sociology) from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Gilbert Geis is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society at the University of California, Irvine. He is a former president of the American Society of Criminology and recipient of its Edwin H. Sutherland Award for outstanding research. He has also been given research awards by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Western Society of Criminology, the American Justice Institute, and the National Organization for Victim Assistance. Geis received his undergraduate degree from Colgate University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Before joining the Irvine faculty, he taught at the University of Oklahoma and California State University, Los Angeles. Geis has published more than 400 articles on various aspects of crime and criminal justice.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 602 pages
• Publisher: Anderson Pub Co; 3 Sub edition (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870841157
• ISBN-13: 978-0870841156
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,919,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad introduction, August 6, 2010

By 

David - See all my reviews

This review is from: Criminology, Seventh Edition: Explaining Crime and Its Context (Paperback)

Criminology is a broad topic and therefore, any treatment designed to be utilized during a semester-long course must, by necessity, be selective in the information presented. The book is divided into three sections: the first part addresses "Foundations for Criminology," the second, reviews the various criminological theories, and the third covers types of crimes. It is the third section that I found lacking. In the preface of the book the authors state that they had to cut back on material for this edition - my sense is that most of the reduction came from this third section. If you are a professor using this book in a class I would recommend skipping the third section entirely and supplementing with a text that does a better job of not only describing crimes, but how criminological theory relates to these offenses. Again - not a bad book.

3.0 out of 5 stars Fluff, January 29, 2012

By 

James - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Criminology, Seventh Edition: Explaining Crime and Its Context (Paperback)

Perhaps it is because criminology has yet to mature and struggles to present itself as a science, but this book, like many others in the social sciences, spends many pages to articulate even the most simple concepts. Honestly, it could've been condensed to perhaps half its size, removing all the unnecessary repetitions and useless filler text.

3.0 out of 5 stars No Table of Contents nor page numbers, January 19, 2012

By 

Keith Nelson (Pullman, Wa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Criminology: Explaining Crime and Its Context (Kindle Edition)

This is a required text in my course. However, I am clueless why my Kindle edition does not contain a table of contents! Also, we utilize APA Formatting in all our professional writing. Citing material from this text is therefor problematic as there is no ability to cite specific page numbers. I am reading the text on an iPad 2, which works fine. I am only rating the kindle edition three stars, because there is a one star deduct for the lack of a table of contents, and a one star deduct for the inability to discern page numbers.