If one culprit is suspected above all others for encouraging society to become more violent and unfeeling, it is television. This medium, which has become so pervasive in the last 50 years, seems to play an enormous role in the lives of the vast majority of people. But who controls the content which exerts such an enormous influence and to an extent controls the people? What are they doing now and what will they be doing tomorrow? Is violence essential to sell toothpaste and hamburgers? What are our children becoming and what will their children be like? Will every child carry a gun or other weapon just waiting for someone to trigger their violent nature and ignite their preprogrammed anger?

Originally a Unesco project, this annotate bibliography results from more than 4,600 requests to media scholars and researchers for research reports, publications, and other information relating to violence and terrorism. Although there is an international cast to the materials, most are from the U.S. Even though violence and terrorism permeate our myths and legends, there is increasing concern with their effect on viewers. This bibliography is particularly timely, with entries through spring 1987. The sections of the work (mass media content, mass media effects, pornography and the media, terrorism and the media) give a better idea of the work's scope than does the title. Choice [T]he annotations are clearly written, succinctly descriptive of the original work's research with test groups, and evaluative of research results. Reference Books Bulletin This bibliography focuses on research and scholarly works relating to violence and terror. Consisting primarily of articles published in scholarly journals and books, this comprehensive work examines major topics such as violence and mass media content, violence and mass media effects, terrorism and the mass media, and pornography. Also included are articles from popular journals, reports published by the United States and other governments, conference papers, and dissertations. Each entry consists of the bibliographic citation and a short abstract; many of the sources include studies from other countries where relevant research has been conducted. The compilers' introduction provides a clear definition of violence and terrorism as they are dealt with in this volume and offers an interesting overview of various aspects of the subject.

This unique book offers insight into a new social science concept, authoritative communities. Unlike any other volume, Kline’s work facilitates the continuing dialogue about the needs of children and teens and society’s responsibility to nurture its greatest human capital. The report that led to the development of this volume, Hardwired to Connect, identified a need in today’s children and youth and communicated a solution that society believes is valid.