Customer Reviews

Runaway Kids and Teenage Prostitution: America's Lost, Abandoned, and Sexually Exploited Children

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Anticipating an objective account of a serious social issue, I found instead in _Runaway kids and teenage prostitution_ a curious mix of scientific research, media sensationalism, and conservative Christian moralizing. The cautious reader must diligently check the "facts" reported in this work against their sources as listed in the extensive endnotes. While some of the book is grounded in solid social science research, its weakness is that it juxtaposes this with pseudo-science and claims made by the Christian right. Far too many of Mr. Flowers' child prostitution "experts" are journalists concerned more about appealing to a mass market than conducting objective research. A thorough critique of this approach is provided by Dr. Philip Jenkins in his book, _Moral panic: Changing concepts of the child molester in modern America_ (1998, Yale University Press).

This is a very pressing social problem in the US, which receives little attention. One explanation is that we have decided that some people in our society are expendable. I thought that the book dealt fairly with the issue, with a good mix of facts, interviews, and our moral obligation as a society to protect our children. Don't let the Canadian comrade's review scare you away. Read the book and decide for yourself. The least it will do is bring to the forefront, a problem that typically receives a back burner in our collective psyche.