Crime And Punishment In American History

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY OCT 4, 1993

This wide-ranging history, full of quirky details and thoughtful analysis, is a valuable synthesis of research tracing the tensions between American liberty and its costs. Following a brief section on the colonial period and the role of religion and ideology in criminal justice, Friedman, a Stanford law professor, explores important changes in the 19th century, such as the evolution of penitentiaries, the professionalization of the police, the explosion of swindles in a newly mobile society. Approximately half the book is devoted to the 20th century, with its own increase of crime and controversies over such issues as plea bargaining, the death penalty and laws regulating morality. Friedman's predictions on the future are scanty and not particularly optimistic. He sees few practicable solutions for crime, which he views as an organic part of the society it preys upon. ``Perhaps--just perhaps--the siege of crime may be the price we pay for a brash, self-loving, relatively free and open society.'' History Book Club alternate.