Rating: 
Summary: Sound, insightful, useful
Review: There's an inherent fascination about the "bad guys" among us - people who rape, murder, mutilate and batter other people. Who does these kind of acts, and why? Popular sociology has trotted out all kinds of explanations: broken homes, TV violence, lack of old-fashioned values, permissiveness, bad neighborhoods, etc.; but whatever the supposed cause, it's been widely assumed that violent crimes are impulsive, unconsciously motivated, and predetermined. In a well-researched study on the work of the criminologist Lonnie Athens, who grew up in a violent home and could just as easily have become one of his subjects, Richard Rhodes explores Athens' theory that violent behavior is learned, conditioned, and rather than being impulsive, is the result of prior planning. Athens is firmly convinced that violent people know exactly what they are about and need to take full responsibility for their actions. But how did they get that way? Athens argues that severe violent behavior is the end-stage of a four-stage process beginning in childhood that he calls "violentization". At any stage, the process may be interrupted and a person turned away from a life of violence; but once the fourth stage has been completed and violentization has been internalized, the pattern is set and the damage is done. Rhodes shows that this process can begin in very early childhood, as it probably did with Perry Smith, Alex Kelly (the preppie rapist) and Mike Tyson; or it can begin relatively late, as was the case with young grunts who were de-socialized in Vietnam and learned to rape and kill defenseless civilians with gusto; Rhodes speculates that up to a third of Vietnam vets suffer long-term emotional damage directly resulting from their service in Vietnam that may remain with them for the rest of their lives. The problem I have with Rhodes' otherwise excellent book is that he and Athens appear to assume that without exception violent people have suffered from the same process of violentization; and if the subject denies having gone through this process, he or she is either consciously lying or unconsciously in denial. Ted Bundy, one of the most pathological personalities of the late 20th century, who seems to have enjoyed stalking his victims (all young women) almost as much as killing them, may have been a significant exception. The question of what makes some people incorporate violence as a lifestyle while others turn away from it has still not been unraveled in all its complexity, but Athens' work with violent offenders has helped us understand it to a significant extent.
Rating:
Summary: The Choice to Be Bad
Review: This is a biography of a criminologist (Lonnie Athens) who doesn't buy the "born bad" theory of criminology. Rhodes writes a personal and intellectual biography (the two are inseparable anyways) of a man who grew up in a violent home but didn't end up in prison. He carries his narrative of Athens' life and works past a mere recounting of the criminologist's experiences and writings by comparing Athens' findings with other classic studies of violence, often finding in what appear to be contradictory studies evidence of the truth that Athens uncovered by his unconventional approach of actually interviewing men and women who had committed violent acts. This book is for the politician and the voter who is looking for fresh and pragmatic insight into the problem of murder, rape, and assault.
Rating:
Summary: Finally a theory on violence that makes sense!
Review: This is one of the most interesting books that I have ever read. It rings true from start to finish. For example, one of the things that has always bothered me about the classic psychological theory of "senseless" violence is the assertion that it is a spontaneous, unconscious, act done by a person who loses control or goes "crazy." After much in-depth study, Dr. Athens asserts that the perpetrator does have conscious control over his/her actions. After all, as another criminologist points out, people don't commit their atrocities in front of a uniformed policeman, do they? So they DO exert judgment and control over their actions. And Athens goes on to explain what the payoffs are for supposedly random assaults. It is both chilling and enlightening reading.As far as the criticism that Athens ignores brain damage/abnormal neurology as a contributing factor, it is pointed out in the book that half of a group of violent criminals that were given eegs showed significant abnormalities while only 20 per cent of the nonviolent criminals did. However, as Rhodes points out, since battering is usually a part of violentization, this can very easily be a symptom and not a cause of violence. And, of course, it doesn't account for nonviolent people who also have unusual brainwave patterns. But sociobiologists are always looking for physical reasons for actions so they would naturally be antipathetic to Dr. Athens' ideas. I spent a lot of time saying, "AHA, so that's what's going on!!" as I read this book. I now feel that I finally have some understanding about what makes violent people tick. And forewarned is forearmed. By describing the intellectual and emotional reactions that set violent people off, this book helps the reader understand how to defuse potentially physical confrontations.
If you only read one book on criminality, let it be this one. It will explain more than a half-dozen others put together.
Rating:
Summary: Finally a theory on violence that makes sense!
Review: This is one of the most interesting books that I have ever read. It rings true from start to finish. For example, one of the things that has always bothered me about the classic psychological theory of "senseless" violence is the assertion that it is a spontaneous, unconscious, act done by a person who loses control or goes "crazy." After much in-depth study, Dr. Athens asserts that the perpetrator does have conscious control over his/her actions. After all, as another criminologist points out, people don't commit their atrocities in front of a uniformed policeman, do they? So they DO exert judgment and control over their actions. And Athens goes on to explain what the payoffs are for supposedly random assaults. It is both chilling and enlightening reading. As far as the criticism that Athens ignores brain damage/abnormal neurology as a contributing factor, it is pointed out in the book that half of a group of violent criminals that were given eegs showed significant abnormalities while only 20 per cent of the nonviolent criminals did. However, as Rhodes points out, since battering is usually a part of violentization, this can very easily be a symptom and not a cause of violence. And, of course, it doesn't account for nonviolent people who also have unusual brainwave patterns. But sociobiologists are always looking for physical reasons for actions so they would naturally be antipathetic to Dr. Athens' ideas. I spent a lot of time saying, "AHA, so that's what's going on!!" as I read this book. I now feel that I finally have some understanding about what makes violent people tick. And forewarned is forearmed. By describing the intellectual and emotional reactions that set violent people off, this book helps the reader understand how to defuse potentially physical confrontations.
If you only read one book on criminality, let it be this one. It will explain more than a half-dozen others put together.
Rating:
Summary: More sociology than true crime...Fascinating analysis
Review: Violence is epidemic in our soceity. Life in the post-Columbine era is saturated with media coverage of violent attacks on schools and businesses. The public and media are increasingly asking what causes violence. More people should read this book. People wish to blame violence upon graphic video games, television, or the easy accessability of firearms. However, according to Dr. Athens, the real cause of violence is that certain people are socialized to believe the violence is a legitimate, rational response to certain social situations. Athens interviewed violent felons in prison to look for similarities in their backgrounds. The four stage process of violentization that Dr. Athens articulates is fascinating. I am not saying it is 100% the final answer, but it is thought provoking and should be widely discussed. Anyone who seriously wants to work to make the world a less violent place should read this book. Anyone who would also like a glimpse into the mind of a criminal (to better avoid them or deal with them) will find this book rewarding. The book is very well written and accessible. The two most interesting aspects of the book from my perspective are: 1.) The explicit critique of psychiatry and its inability to explain criminal behavior in a satisfactory manner. As an attorney, I have followed many trials where the psychiatrists have to invent some temporary or permanent insanity to explain acts of violence, because these acts are so far beyond their experience that insanity is the only answer this sheltered individual can comprehend. To my mind, the field of psychiatry has not only done a great disservice to our court system with its naive approach, but a great injustice to our entire society. Dr. Athens and Mr. Rhodes explode the notion that people must be insane to commit extreme violent crime and give a closely reasoned, well documented explanation of why violence is a product of a person's socialization and seen from the violent actor's point of view, the violence is wholly rational. 2.) The analysis of how soldiers react to combat with specific examples from the Vietnam war was very illuminating. I have read books on crime, and books on soldiers' reactions to war, but I have never read a book that tried to explain both phenomena with a single, coherent theory. Anyone interested in reducing the amount of violence in our society should read this book. In attempting to talk about violent criminality people often trivialize violence by claiming it is the result of insanity or an "evil" personality. Dr. Athens provides us with a persuasive, rational framework of violent socialization. If social service organizations were to use Dr. Athens' theory (and refinements on it) as a basis to intervene in the lives of troubled youth, I believe our society would improve.
|
