Customer Reviews

Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform & Rebuild Their Lives

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dr. Maruna shines the bright lights of objectivity, intellectual courage, and scientific inquiry, into a dimly understood subject, one which too many people would rather ignore: Specifically, why is criminal recidivism so commonplace, what are the social policies and practices that discourage rehabilitation, what beliefs about criminal behavior do we need to re-examine, how do some offenders manage to reconstruct their lives in spite of all the barriers, and what should we be learning from them. He doesn't preach, he doesn't harangue, he just presents the facts in a convincing and very readable manner, and enlivens the text with a variety of case histories and interviews. Sure to be appreciated by the general public as well as behavioral scientists and correctional experts, "Making Good..." is destined to be a classic in its field.

Winner of a 2001 American Society of Criminology Award for Most Outstanding Contribution To Criminology, this meticulously researched book describes the process through which hard-core criminal recidivists desist from crime to lead productive lives.

As the pendulum begins to turn from a crazed rush to incarcerate, there is more and more interest in the topic of prisoner re-entry. What can help criminals turn their lives around and become productive citizens? This book is a great starting point for answering this complex question.

"People act in ways that agree with the stories or myths they have created about themselves."

A powerful tool for understanding how the self functions in criminal persisters and desisters (or in anybody for that matter). Does not purport to have all the answers, but does offer an insightful analysis and foundation for seeking solutions.

One of my goals in life is to help inmates make there lives positives ones. This is my first book I've read on criminal reform and I am absolutely in love with it (and very lucky to find it). It has also been a learning experience for my life (a desisting one). `Shadd Maruna has written a classic in my library. Looking forward to any follow-ups!

If you read this Dr. Maruna, thank you for your book. It will help me when I get out of college.

Along with this I currently just picked up "Inside Rikers" by Jen Wynn (sp?). For all others interested in other titles.