Customer Reviews

Dangerous Strangers: Minority Newcomers and Criminal Violence in the Urban West, 1850-2000

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Kevin Mullen's "Dangerous Strangers" is a wonderful contribution to the field of criminology and violence studies. The book offers academics a new set of data and interpretations concerning the role that ethnicity plays on patterns of interpersonal violence. The author contrasts "structural" explanations with "cultural" explanations in an attempt to evaluate the relative importance of such social forces. Although many criminologists favor structural views and are wary to consider the role of culture (especially concerning ethnicity), Mullen provides strong support for the cultural thesis. For readers less familiar with this academic debate, first recognize that most homicides involve interpersonal disputes over money, romantic relationships, or other squabbles. Structural theorists think that non-cultural forces such as discrimination, unemployment and poverty lead to more frustration among individuals, and this in turn leads to violent forms of dispute resolution. Cultural theorists agree with this, but highlight that different populations have different cultural rules and values about how disputes should be resolved. In some societies, individuals can actually be punished by their peers for not acting aggressively to react to insults or to resolve disputes. Mullen does an excellent job illustrating that a variety of groups such as the Chinese, Italians, Irish, and Mexicans all were somewhat different in their preferences to deal with disputes. For example, the Chinese immigrants brought with them Tong organizations that eventually became involved in the vice industry. These organizations also had a strong sense of group loyalty and honor that resulted in many "tit for tat" killings to save face after one's organization had been slighted. Overall, Mullen is correct not to dichotomize the debate between culture and society, but to understand the complex interactions between these forces. In reality, BOTH social structure and culture are important!

Although of interest to academics, this book is also a great read for non-academic readers. The book is jargon free, and is easy to understand. Many of the anecdotes read like a fun crime novel! Being a university teacher, I also think this book would be great to still up conversation and debate in university classes concerning criminology, violence, and immigration. I sincerely hope the book is soon offered in a paperback so as to make the book more affordable to students! In sum, this is a great book for a variety of audiences!!!