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Crime and Nature
Crime and Nature , written by the always innovative and original Marcus Felson, is the first text to provide students with a unique, new perspective for thinking about crime and how modern society can reduce crime′s ecosystem and limit its diversity.
408 pages, Paperback
First published March 7, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 20, 2012
I really hated this book. It was a form of criminological torture. The man does not make metaphors about crime relating to nature. He claims that crime is a sentient being and thus should be analyzed as any other creature in nature.
His theoretical framework rests entirely in routine activity theory and thus avoids any discussion of irrelevant matters such as the offender, the victim, or societal issues that may have influenced things like 'motive'. In RAT the focus is on the convergence of offender, target, and the lack of a guardian.
While Felson has many interesting concepts within the book, he frequently starts a new idea only to stop midway through the explanation and change the subject which leaves the reader feeling frustrated. He may have had valid reasons for not wAnting to expand upon many of his ideas (such as the need to avoid stepping on toes in another researcher's work) but this leaves his own work incomplete.
I felt like the parts of his work that weren't sheer common sense thinking (especially for one versed in the discipline), were simply incomplete. I would not recommend this book to any but graduate students with a firm dedication to study environmental criminology or routine activity theory. And even those academics should be forewarned that at points, the man sounds like a raving lunatic.
His theoretical framework rests entirely in routine activity theory and thus avoids any discussion of irrelevant matters such as the offender, the victim, or societal issues that may have influenced things like 'motive'. In RAT the focus is on the convergence of offender, target, and the lack of a guardian.
While Felson has many interesting concepts within the book, he frequently starts a new idea only to stop midway through the explanation and change the subject which leaves the reader feeling frustrated. He may have had valid reasons for not wAnting to expand upon many of his ideas (such as the need to avoid stepping on toes in another researcher's work) but this leaves his own work incomplete.
I felt like the parts of his work that weren't sheer common sense thinking (especially for one versed in the discipline), were simply incomplete. I would not recommend this book to any but graduate students with a firm dedication to study environmental criminology or routine activity theory. And even those academics should be forewarned that at points, the man sounds like a raving lunatic.
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November 9, 2017uncle
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews