Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2015 - Social & Behavioral Sciences — Sociology — Law & Society

Univ. of California law professor Avirams nuanced humonetarianism analysis has the potential to become a classic in the study of how social contextin particular, times of financial crisisinfluences incarceration policies.  Her balanced and well-researched critique of the smart on crime approach, featuring neoliberalism and the right on crime ideological paradigm including aspects of the prison industry complex, illustrates clearly how cutting back out-of-control spending for mass incarceration may unite opposing political interests, but also can be a double-edged sword in terms of protecting human rights.  Aviram's review of the social science and legal literature is outstanding, as is her use of four key carceral issues as case studiesdeath row, war on drugs, privatization, and inmate as consumerto document the mixed results of financial prudence following the 2007 financial crisis.  Moreover, she grounds her contemporary and often California-focused examples within the larger historical and regional experiences of multiple US incarceration forms.  When relevant, Aviram adds cross-cultural comparisons to further strengthen her perspective on humonetarianism and its future.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

Road maps are archaic in this technological era is a simplistic retort to this critical societal problem.  Kelly (sociology, Univ. of Texas) provides an analytical, evidence-based, futuristic path to bring society to a viable, greatly needed reformation in the US criminal justice system.  His goal is to elaborate the policy failure generated from the past four decades that has entailed substantial cost to US society.  An opening outline summarizes the development of criminal justice policy over 53 years.  Subsequent chapters ask critical questions about crime-control accomplishments and linkages to the dominance of prison sentencing, creating monstrous prison populations.  This ushers in a demanding inquiry: are there alternatives?  Answers arise from evaluative research evidence applied to innovative practices.  The central focus is on the failed war on drugs.  Kelly clearly unravels failed crime-control policy components.  Reformation in sentencing points to alternative action for offenders, which he elaborates with careful attention to improvement in community-based operations.  Kelly assesses current outcomes using cost-effectiveness analysis to identify impacts on local, state, and federal levels.  The concluding chapter is a realistic analysis of the challenges to needed innovative changes in the criminal justice system.  A clearly written but complex book deserving careful attention from all persons.  Excellent bibliography.Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.

This exceptional text on the complex subject of the fear of crime in the US examines a myriad of perspectives and variables from multiple disciplines along with their potential confounding relationships.  The book opens with a very thorough overview of the study of crime and its direct and indirect impact on fear and then further explores from a research standpoint related complexities, including the extensive history of methodologies and interpretation of validity measures.  The authors closely examine gender and victimization, particularly with regard to the perception of crime, vulnerability, socialization, and social demographics.  Further, this work considers closely the factors of socioeconomics, age, ethnicity, and minority status as they effect the reaction and response to fear among individual groups and individual residential environments.  There is an insightful exploration of personal experience and indirect victimization, including perspectives from victim behavior and psychological and physical consequences.  This excellent work concludes with a discussion of how the findings might support new policy development and additional new research.  All social science collections.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

The words sex offender are often blown out of proportion, and sociologist Horowitz (St. Francis College, Brooklyn) argues successfully for a closer look at this particular label.  This is a comprehensive study of the way that society tries to protect children yet has gone overboard and ended up damaging the families of people who have been convicted of this offense.  The author has collected demographics, statistics, and, most compelling, case studies of sex offenders and their families.  It is clear after reading this book that in a misguided effort to protect children, US society has created a new category of people who have been convicted and condemned to lives as pariahs.  Yes, there are people out there who deserve the label, but for every one of them, there are many more who made innocent mistakes and are now condemned to decades of shame and guilt.  Especially compelling are stories about entrapment by law enforcement, unjust laws, and seizure of property by the state.  The author should be applauded for her brave, well-researched stance.  A highly readable book for criminal justice and social science collections.Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.