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Crime and the American Dream, 5th Edition

Steven F. Messner, Richard Rosenfeld

  • Copyright 2013
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2012-06-14T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $217.95 See pricing and ISBN options
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Crime and the American Dream 5th Edition by Steven F. Messner/Richard Rosenfeld
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Overview

Authored by Steven Messner and Richard Rosenfeld, both highly respected scholars and researchers, CRIME AND THE AMERICAN DREAM, 5th Edition is the seminal work in a major segment of criminological theory. The foundation of the book is institutional anomie theory (an offshoot of Mertonian anomie theory), which the authors posit helps to explain why America's over-emphasis on the pursuit of materialistic gain contributes to the country's high rate of violent crime. Featuring a very clear and accessible writing style, this is a theory book that students will actually understand.

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Meet the Authors

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Steven F. Messner

Steven F. Messner is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Sociology at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and has taught at Columbia University and Nankai University in the People's Republic of China. His research has focused primarily on the relationship between features of social organization and violent crime rates. His other books include PERSPECTIVES ON CRIME AND DEVIANCE, (with Allen E. Liska), THEORETICAL INTEGRATION IN THE STUDY OF DEVIANCE AND CRIME, (with Marvin D. Krohn and Allen E. Liska), and CRIME AND SOCIAL CONTROL IN A CHANGING CHINA (with Jianhong Liu and Lening Zhang). Dr. Messner has also authored numerous articles and book chapters on the topic of criminal violence and is a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology.

Richard Rosenfeld

Richard Rosenfeld is a Curators Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a past President of the American Society of Criminology. He has written several articles on violent crime, crime statistics, and crime control policy, and his current research focuses on explaining changes in crime rates over time. He is an ASC Fellow and has served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Law and Justice.

What's New

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  • The authors have updated statistics, data, and research references to reflect the most current information available.
  • Expanded discussion of timely, high-profile topics includes financial scandals such as the recent conviction of Bernie Madoff as well as the changes in U.S. social life instigated by the September 11th terrorist attack.
  • The Fifth Edition addresses the recent (post 1990s) decline in crime rates and the current risks of criminal victimization in major U.S. cities.

Features

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  • This text is a seminal work in criminological theory. Institutional anomie theory, developed by Messner and Rosenfeld and the foundation of this text, is now cited in virtually every current Criminology text.
  • A very clear and accessible writing style makes this a theory book that students will actually understand.
  • Brief and affordable, this text is a great accompaniment to mainstream Criminology texts as well as to other paperbacks used as a collection in Criminological Theory or Social Problems courses.

Table of Contents

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Preface.
1. A Society Organized for Crime.
2. By Any Means Necessary: Serious Crime in America.
3. Ships in the Night: Theoretical Perspectives in Contemporary Criminology.
4. Culture, Institutional Structure, and Crime.
5. Strengthening Social Institutions and Rethinking the American Dream.
References.
Index.

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  • ISBN-10: 1111346968
  • ISBN-13: 9781111346966
  • RETAIL $217.95
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Students: Buy now