The Roots of Evil: A Social History of Crime and Punishment (Sutton History Classics) [Paperback]

Christopher Hibbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2003 | Series: Sutton History Classics

In this age of burgeoning prison populations, of fascination with details of crime whether by psychopaths or politicians, this re-issue of Christopher Hibbert's classic social history of crime and punishment is timely. The author's immensely readable narrative takes the reader through the lurid story of crime, detection, conviction and punishment. He discusses murder as a lust and murder as a trade: mutilation, torture, lynching and flogging: the guillotine, the gallows and the gas chamber; outlaws of the forest and the street; the Surete,Scotland Yard and the FBI; sexual crimes,police corruption and under-age offenders. From the Dark Ages to the measured steps to the reform of penal sanctions of more recent years, this balanced guide to society's ills is a compelling read.Throughout, Hibbert argues that cruel punishments will inevitably have the effect of creating cruelty. There is no book like Hibbert's currently available: intelligent, wide-ranging and accessible. The issues of crime and punishment and of society's responsibilities in this regard continue to be debated and popular culture seems to be obsessed with crime. Liverpool University reports something like a hundred applicants for every place on its criminal profiling course. Hibbert's engrossing and eminently balanced account has never been more timely.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Hibbert was born in Leicestershire in 1924 and educated at Radley and Oriel College, Oxford. He served as an infantry officer during the war: was twice wounded and was awarded the Military Cross in 1945: Described by Professor J.H.Plumb as a writer of the highest ability' and in the New Statesman as a 'pearl of biographers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: The History Press (October 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750933348
• ISBN-13: 978-0750933346
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,446,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history of how civilizations have dealt with crime, October 18, 2007

By 

David Penso (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roots of Evil: A Social History of Crime and Punishment (Paperback)

This book is a very thorough review on how societies dealt with the problem of crime including its relationships to criminals such as pirates being used initially in the naval armed forces, used against other criminal elements like Jonathan Wild and the development of the convict system in Australia and the penal system in the USA.

It primarily deals with Britain and the United States. For example, it discusses how they developed law enforcement authorities starting wtih London and then New York and then elsewhere.

It's a very thorough read on societies' relationship to its criminal element and how the criminal element operated within society and the evolution of societies' means of dealing with it.