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Revised and Updated Edition
Crown
April 2004
On Sale: March 30, 2004
288 pages ISBN: 140004619X EAN: 9781400046195 Paperback
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Non-Fiction
In 1984, this groundbreaking book presented a chilling
profile of the criminal mind that shattered long-held myths
about the sources of and cures for crime. Now, with the
benefit of twenty years' worth of additional knowledge and
insight, Stanton Samenow offers a completely updated edition
of his classic work, including fresh perceptions into crimes
in the spotlight today, from stalking and domestic violence
to white-collar crime and political terrorism. Dr. Samenow's three decades of working with criminals have
reaffirmed his argument that factors such as poverty,
divorce, and media violence do not cause criminality.
Rather, as Samenow documents here, all criminals share a
particular mind-set--often evident in childhood--that is
disturbingly different from that of a responsible citizen. While new types of crime have grown more prevalent, or at
least more visible to the public eye--from spousal abuse to
school shootings--little has changed in terms of our
approach to dealing with crime. Rehabilitation programs
based on the assumption that society is more to blame for
crime than the criminal, an assumption for which a causal
link has yet to be established, have proved to be grossly
inadequate. Crime continues to invade every aspect of our
lives, criminal court dockets and prisons are oppressively
overcrowded and expensive, and recidivism rates continue to
escalate. To embark on a truly corrective program, we must begin with
the clear understanding that the criminal chooses crime; he
chooses to reject society long before society rejects him.
The criminal values people only to the extent that he can
use them for his own self-serving ends; he does not justify
his actions to himself. Only by "habilitating" the criminal,
so that he sees himself realistically and develops
responsible patterns of thought, can we change his behavior. It is vital that we know who the criminal is and how and why
he acts differently from responsible citizens. From that
understanding can come reasonable, compassionate, and
effective solutions.
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