Choice Review

This collection from eminent and new scholars takes a broad social harm approach to the study of state crimes, which encompasses legally prohibited acts as well acts that have conveniently escaped legal definition because they serve the economic, political, military, and/or ideological interests of state elites and their regimes. Chapters divided into two sections follow a useful introductory chapter reviewing the development of the field and definitional debates. The first section revisits previous works, reflecting on advancements in the field and providing interesting examples and case studies of specific state crimes. The second section examines issues of accountability, impunity, and social justice, and explores the consequences of various social control responses initiated by both private and state-sponsored organizations on domestic and international levels. Predictably, the US bears the brunt of the attention; however, contributors also examine other states in developed and developing countries. There has been a paucity of research on state crime, but this volume, along with State Crime in the Global Age, ed. by William J. Chambliss et al. (CH, Jan'11, 48-3001), makes an important contribution to the literature and should not only stimulate further research on state crime, but also contribute to social policies that seek to reduce it. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. G. B. Osborne University of Alberta