This fascinating book analyzes 13 control failures in human history, from Robespierre's promotion of the French Revolution, to Hoover's efforts to stop the Great Depression, to the intelligence failures of 9/11. Assessing the causes of 10 additional historical cases, the author's comparative analysis shows how each leadership failure was caused by an expansion of the range of control attempts, their scope, and/or their diversity. A leader's or other actor's attempts to broaden the range of control targets have been most important in causing great human failures. The analysis is timely during an era when war, global warming, and other vexing problems plague our society.

One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now: What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, often astonishing book, a former Lehman Brothers Vice President gives us the straight answers—right from the belly of the beast. In A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, Larry McDonald, a Wall Street insider, reveals, the culture and unspoken rules of the game like no book has ever done. The book is couched in the very human story of Larry McDonald’s Horatio Alger-like rise from a Massachusetts “gateway to nowhere” housing project to the New York headquarters of Lehman Brothers, home of one of the world’s toughest trading floors. We get a close-up view of the participants in the Lehman collapse, especially those who saw it coming with a helpless, angry certainty. We meet the Brahmins at the top, whose reckless, pedal-to-the-floor addiction to growth finally demolished the nation’ s oldest investment bank. The Wall Street we encounter here is a ruthless place, where brilliance, arrogance, ambition, greed, capacity for relentless toil, and other human traits combine in a potent mix that sometimes fuels prosperity but occasionally destroys it. The full significance of the dissolution of Lehman Brothers remains to be measured. But this much is certain: it was a devastating blow to America’s—and the world’s—financial system. And it need not have happened. This is the story of why it did.

What is social control? How do social controls become part of everyday life? What role does the criminal justice system play in exerting control? Is the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness a form of social control? Do we need more social controls to prevent terrorist atrocities? In this new edition of his popular and engaging introduction, James J. Chriss carefully guides readers through the debates about social control. The book provides a comprehensive guide to historical debates and more recent controversies, examining in detail the criminal justice system, medicine, everyday life, and national security. Assuming no specialist knowledge on the part of readers, Chriss uses a rich range of contemporary examples to illustrate the ways in which social control is exerted and maintained. The updated edition includes new and expanded discussion of the 2011 Tucson shootings, post-9/11 counterterrorism laws in the transition from the Bush to the Obama administrations, the death of bin Laden, racial profiling, housing segregation and white flight, hate crimes, (counter)surveillance and flash mobs, the diagnosis of conditions such as ADHD, and agents of socialization in the areas of work and consumption, religion, the family, and the mass media. This new edition of Social Control: An Introduction will be essential reading for students taking courses in deviance and social control, and will also appeal to those studying criminology, the sociology of law, and medical sociology.

The Handbook of Social Control offers a comprehensive review of the concepts of social control in today's environment and focuses on the most relevant theories associated with social control. With contributions from noted experts in the field across 32 chapters, the depth and scope of the Handbook reflects the theoretical and methodological diversity that exists within the study of social control. Chapters explore various topics including: theoretical perspectives; institutions and organizations; law enforcement; criminal justice agencies; punishment and incarceration; surveillance; and global developments. This Handbook explores a variety of issues and themes on social control as being a central theme of criminological reflection. The text clearly demonstrates the rich heritage of the major relevant perspectives of social control and provides an overview of the most important theories and dimensions of social control today. Written for academics, undergraduate, and graduate students in the fields of criminology, criminal justice, and sociology, The Handbook of Social Control is an indispensable resource that explores a contemporary view of the concept of social control.

The Handbook of Deviant Behavior presents a comprehensive, integrative, and accessible overview of the contemporary body of knowledge in the field of social deviance in the twenty-first century. This book addresses the full range of scholarly concerns within this area – including theoretical, methodological, and substantive issues – in over seventy original entries, written by an international mix of recognized scholars. Each of these essays provides insight not only into the historical and sociological evolution of the topic addressed, but also highlights associated notable thinkers, research findings, and key published works for further reference. As a whole, this Handbook undertakes an in depth evaluation of the contemporary state of knowledge within the area of social deviance, and beyond this considers future directions and concerns that will engage scholars in the decades ahead. The inclusion of comparative and cross-cultural examples and discussions, relevant case studies and other pedagogical features make this book an invaluable learning tool for undergraduate and post graduate students in disciplines such as criminology, mental health studies, criminal theory, and contemporary sociology.

Science and Sociology is from beginning to end an exploration of what this implies for the social sciences, and sociology in particular. The authors argue that over the last several decades, sociology has become less a science and more a quest for isolated assessments of situations, whether they come from demographic analyses, survey research, or ethnographic studies. Above all else, this book is an attempt to promote and advance scientific sociology, and we write at length specifying the how and why of this objective. With this objective in mind, the question becomes: What would a scientific sociology look like?

This comprehensive reader seeks to equip the aspiring student, based anywhere in the world, with a comprehensive introduction to the study of terrorism.