Review by Choice Review
Braithwaite is coauthor of Brent Fisse's Impact of Publicity on Corporate Offenders (CH, May'84) and a prolific scholar in the area of white collar crime. He employs shame, a rather old-fashioned concept, which becomes less passe when used to describe the moral indignation evoked by white collar crime, to construct a theory that specifies the types of shaming that control rather than cause crime. The purpose of the book is to demonstrate that shaming has the capacity to control common crime as well as white collar crime. Rather than lay waste existing theories and replace them with an alternative explanation, the author innovatively integrates the theory of reintegrative shaming with the explanations provided by control, subcultural, opportunity, and labeling theories into a cognitive learning theory framework that separates reintegrative shaming from stigmatization. This is an ambitious and optimistic book, which will doubtless stimulate much debate among criminologists, sociologists, and nonacademic policy makers. The excellent bibliography, index, and extensive list of references will enhance its usefulness as a research guide. Upper-division undergraduates and above. P. M. Wickman SUNY College at Potsdam
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
