Review by Choice Review
Glenn's introductory handbook fills a void in ABC-Clio's "Contemporary World Issues" series: it examines the justice system from the standpoint of the victim and victim's family. The work addresses the rights victims have and have not been accorded, and the people and organizations involved in advancing these rights. The first chapter begins by contrasting the constitutional rights of criminals with the few recently developed laws intended to protect victims or prevent future victimization. There follows a chronology of major legislative, judicial, and other historical events that puts the history of victims' rights into context. Subsequent chapters include brief biographies of individuals prominently associated with the victims' rights movement; summaries of pertinent legislation, court cases, and federal investigative task forces; descriptions of nonprofit and governmental organizations providing victim assistance; and an annotated bibliography of print and nonprint resources. This bibliography seems overly broad, including entries about gangs, capital punishment, and drug abuse, but the proximate relationship of these topics to victims' rights, as well as the work's intended audience, makes this a relatively minor flaw. Recommended for general readers and lower-division undergraduates. M. A. Allan; New Mexico State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
More titles in the publisher's Contemporary World Issues series. Though all the books in this useful series follow the same general format, each offers something unique. Legalized Gambling, for example, has an extensive list of feature films with gambling themes. Campaign and Election Reform includes a compilation of fairly lengthy quotations from the Congressional Record and other sources. The fact that a number of titles in the series, including Legalized Gambling and Sexual Harassment, are now in their second editions proves that these continue to be hot topics.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
