Skip to main content

My Review of "Inside the Criminal Mind"

Samenow's Inside the Criminal Mind is an odd book to review.  Samenow, a research psychologist, says criminal behavior is 100% voluntary.  It is a product of disordered thought patterns that are almost entirely congenital.  Poverty doesn't cause crime, Samenow claims.  Nor do bad parenting, peer pressure, drug use, or any of the other "standard excuses".  Some kids are born anti-authoritarian thrill seekers and will remain so pretty much no matter what.  The only hope is to get criminals to intensively examine their thought patterns, and change them through sheer force of will.

Originally written in 1984, I have to wonder:  Is this book merely a product of its time?  That is, does it represent the best of the cultural thinking that went into personal responsibility and individualism that was so rampant in America in the mid-1980s?

Because, let's be honest:  Inside the Criminal Mind has a glaring problem.  To quote another 1980s cultural artifact:  "Where's the beef?"  After having finished the book, I never saw the evidence to Samenow's argument.  There are plenty of charts and graphs.  But we never really get beyond the anecdotal evidence:  Bill, a 23 year old shoplifter, and Leroy, a 30 year old drug dealer. 

I'm in the process of earning my degree in Emergency Management, so it would be nice to see the numbers, the statistical studies, that support Samenow's thesis.  And Inside the Criminal Mind left me wanting more.

I think criminality has a lot more to do with personality than most academics.  But I've long enough to know that we can't entirely dismiss environment.  Not in the way this book does.

Inside the Criminal Mind is a bracing read, make no doubt about it.  But its idea needs a second look.  Because I think Samenow's answer here is just too simplistic.

I received this book free, from the Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Review of "Come as You Aren't"

Come as You Aren't: A Role-Playing Game for Adventurous Couples is a simple role-playing kit for couples who want to explore and experiment in ways to seduce one another that they simply wouldn't have imagined otherwise.  The set is meant to offer one partner who draws a Who, a What, and a Where card at random and places them in an envelope for the other partner.  From there, it's up to them to enact the scenarios as they see fit. The instructions are printed on the back cover of the box and the deck comes with a few blank cards for couples to customize. This is a fun little gift for couples -- and just in time for the holidays. I received a free copy of this game from the Blogging for Books review program in exchange for my honest review here.

My Review of "Roadfood"

Jane & Michael Stern's Roadfood gives us another (this is the 10th edition!) gastro road trip across the US.  Roadfood is like a road map through backroads and interstates for some of the best food in each state and region in the US. Roadfood celebrates venues most travelers would never venture near, let alone enter.  Most of the state-by-state listed restaurants are, however, for dining on the cheap.  Like Litton's in Knoville, TN -- which really does have amazing burgers. While one could hardly map a road trip by the Sterns' restaurant finds -- some cities, like Chicago, are overrepresented, while the rest of Illinois is all but ignored -- this fun and fanciful volume is pure pleasure. I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

My Review of "Born to Be Awkward"

Born to Be Awkward is a collection of those pictures that I simply can't resist on Facebook -- photos of children whose awkward moments are memorialized and shared for the rest of us to chuckle and give thanks that our own photos have never seen the light of day. It's full of awkward childhood photos.  I was crying so hard from laughing when flipping through this book.  This book is 160 pages long and would make the perfect gift for any parents to be or even just a wonder coffee table book. Born to Be Awkward even has a place, in the back of the book, to share those personal photos -- so put them in, place them on the coffee table, and bring hours of laughter for friends and family. I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.