Joined by co-editors Theresa Severance and Alan Bruce, Joseph Jacoby continues to provide classic scholarly
works on criminology in their original form, allowing readers to share in the discovery and unfolding of powerful
ideas in the authors' own words. These writings from over the past two centuries represent the most influential
approaches to, explanations of, and social responses to crime. The Fourth Edition offers seventy-five selections,
thirteen of which are new to this edition. Included in this comprehensive volume are both authors whose work is
widely recognized as significant in itself, and authors whose work substantially influenced the thinking of subsequent
scholars.
This inclusive collection is organized into three sections, each of which opens with a brief editorial introduction
to provide context. Section I, The Classic Descriptions of Crime, contains writings whose primary contribution
is descriptive, although they also offer important theoretical insights. These works illuminate with great clarity
certain aspects of the phenomenon of crime. Section II, Theories of Causation of Crime, covers over two centuries
of theorizing about the causes of crime. Most of these writings are specifically about crime, although some emphasize
larger social issues that have direct implications for criminology. Section III, The Social Response to Crime,
includes writings that variously describe, theorize about, or advocate specific social responses to crime. Some
of the best works on the criminal justice process as it operates internally and as it functions in its social setting
are included here.