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Crime and the American Dream (Wadsworth Series in Criminological Theory) |  | Authors: Steven F. Messner, Richard Rosenfeld
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $82.95
Buy Used: $25.00
as of 3/22/2010 06:16 CDT details
You Save: $57.95 (70%)
New (23) Used (33) from $25.00
Seller: textbookoverstock
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 384903
Media: Paperback
Edition: 4
Pages: 160
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.3 x 0.5
ISBN: 0534619584
Dewey Decimal Number: 364
EAN: 9780534619589
ASIN: 0534619584
Publication Date: February 28, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
How has America's over-emphasis on the pursuit of materialistic gain contributed to the it's high rate of violent crime? CRIME AND THE AMERICAN DREAM is an easy-to-understand book that offers clear coveral of criminological theory, using institutional anomie theory as a foundation.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 I liked it! March 7, 2010
jillmcg
Interesting idea, that our need to always have the newest and best (most expensive) things has contributed to our crime problem. I recommend this book highly. The price is outrageous, would def. look for a used copy.
 Same old content in a new box April 16, 2007
A. Zaplatynsky (Manlius, NY United States)
1 out of 11 found this review helpful
"Crime and the American Dream" is a retread of the same old "Blame America First" argument that prevails in academia. No country on the planet has opportunities for upward mobility as those that exist in the USA. Envy, the desire for shortcuts and a "something for nothing" sense of entitlement did not originate in 1776. We have redefined poverty such that expensive sneakers, cell phones, and large screen TV's are seen as necessities. Want to see poverty that might actually drive people to crime, then visit Manila, Mexico City. or Bogota. Our worst slums would be luxury for millions.
Intriguing hypothesis July 1, 2000
Prof. R. Paris (Arlington, Texas United States)
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is certainly a worth-reading book. Its application of Durkheim's and Merton's anomie theory to the crime dynamics of American society is tightly reasoned and very appealing. The thesis that unusually high crime rates in the US are the dark side of the success promoted by the American ethos seems to account for many of the observed facts. The book follows an excellent logical development and provides appealing explanations for the etiology of the main American nightmare. Unfortunately, it lacks a truly comparative perspective, since it practically ignores crime in the underdeveloped countries. Compariong with Western Europe is hardly enough. And the last ten pages, where the authors provide their recipe for combatting crime, are, to say the least disappointing. By proposing actions which are obviously non-viable, the authors transform their whole argument into an interesting, even fascinating, but useless academic exercise. One final point: The tendency of the authors to add "political correctness" to citations is unforgivable. What an author said anywhere between 150 and 80 years ago, should be cited as he/she wrote. Thus, in page 105, the introduction of a "her" in a citation of Marx is unnecessary and smacks of opportunism. The same can be said of the citation of James Truslow Adams in page 106, where the authors introduce a "and women". And before I forget, the table on page 103 places Australia and New Zealand low in homicide but also low on decommodification (monstruous word!), whereas Finland is higher in decommodification than the UK, but also higher in homicide. Don't these contradictions fatally weaken the argument of this chapter?
How True It Is June 29, 2000
Greg Spencer (Cape Girardeau, MO United States)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was privileged to have Dr. Rosenfeld as a professor while majoring in criminology. I found his course and his research fascinating. This book is very well written and an interesting theory. Having recently become a public defender representing indigents charged with felony offenses, Dr. Rosenfeld's theory is right on the mark. American crime is a serious problem, with its roots deep in american culture and expectations. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the true roots of american crime.
Interesting application of Anomie theory November 28, 1999
Manuel Wanskasmith (Seattle, WA, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was a textbook in my university criminology class, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It applies the theory of anomic strain to the United States as a whole and proposes that it is the cause for crime and deviance. Many of the ideas and themes presented in it ring true with sentiments of Americans today, with the gap between the upper and lower class growing larger and larger.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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