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.

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