The Birth of Criminology

The readings collected here are written by a range of thinkers, including Marxists, anarchists, feminists, and critical race theorists such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Frederick Engels, Karl Marx, and Harriet Martineau. Unlike similar readers, this one devotes attention to the classical school of criminology. Another noteworthy feature is an entire section on critical thought in law, crime, and punishment, covering important precursors of contemporary critical criminology. The selections in this reader are longer than those in other readers that present work in criminology written before the 20th century. Each reading is preceded by a brief introduction summarizing the content, offering context, and giving information on the author. Each reading's original b&w historical illustrations, charts, and tables have been retained. Sections cover the emergence of the classical school; physiognomy, phrenology, and the Italian school; moral statistics and the 19th century French school; and the roots of critical criminology. The book's readership includes students and researchers in criminology, sociology, history, and social sciences. DiCristina is affiliated with the University of North Dakota. Aspen Publishers is now Wolters Law & Business. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)