Synopses & Reviews
Andrew Karmen tracks a quarter century of murder in the city Americans have most commonly associated with rampant street crime. Providing both a local and a national context for New York's plunging crime rate, Karmen tests and debunks the many self-serving explanations for the decline. While crediting a more effective police force for its efforts, Karmen also emphasizes the decline of the crack epidemic, skyrocketing incarceration rates, favorable demographic trends, a healthy economy, an influx of hard working and law abiding immigrants, a rise in college enrollment, and an unexpected outbreak of improved behavior by young men growing up in poverty stricken neighborhoods. New York Murder Mystery is the most authoritative study to date of why crime rates rise and fall.
Review
“Karmen has written a book that anyone interested in the New York City crime story should read. Nobody has written about the NYC drop in crime more comprehensively or more even-handedly. This book assesses a complicated story with an air of confidence and produces a convincing analysis. Those who think they already know the story are bound to be surprised by what they read here, and those who want to draw policy conclusions for New York's experience will find Karmens reliable analysis helps them avoid some of the pitfalls in the cyclical fads of criminal justice reform.”
-Todd R. Clear,President of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Review
“Systematically debunks popularly accepted reasons for the crime crash by wedding closely analyzed statistical data with common sense and historical precedent. . . . After reading this book, one thing becomes certain: today's New York isn't what it used to be.”
-Villager,
Review
“With this elegant sweep, the author has parted the curtain to reveal a gaseous windbag behind the bombast attending the miraculous claims of today's wizards. Bravo.”
-Tony Bouza, Law Enforcement News
Review
“Karmen has written a book that anyone interested in the New York City crime story should read. Nobody has written about the NYC drop in crime more comprehensively or more even-handedly. This book assesses a complicated story with an air of confidence and produces a convincing analysis. Those who think they already know the story are bound to be surprised by what they read here, and those who want to draw policy conclusions for New York's experience will find Karmen’s reliable analysis helps them avoid some of the pitfalls in the cyclical fads of criminal justice reform.”
“New York Murder Mystery is long overdue. It provides a well-written, illuminating analysis of an issue often subject to self-serving and simplistic sound-bites. Guided by Karmen’s thoughtful and thorough presentation, we come to understand all the factors contributing to the last decade's crime drop. We learn to credit not only new police tactics, demographics declines, and a prosperous economy but also the many thousands of youth who practiced wisdom and discipline in avoiding the self-defeating behavior patterns of their older friends and relatives.”
“With this elegant sweep, the author has parted the curtain to reveal a gaseous windbag behind the bombast attending the miraculous claims of today's wizards. Bravo.”
“Systematically debunks popularly accepted reasons for the crime crash by wedding closely analyzed statistical data with common sense and historical precedent. . . . After reading this book, one thing becomes certain: today's New York isn't what it used to be.”
Review
“New York Murder Mystery is long overdue. It provides a well-written, illuminating analysis of an issue often subject to self-serving and simplistic sound-bites. Guided by Karmens thoughtful and thorough presentation, we come to understand all the factors contributing to the last decade's crime drop. We learn to credit not only new police tactics, demographics declines, and a prosperous economy but also the many thousands of youth who practiced wisdom and discipline in avoiding the self-defeating behavior patterns of their older friends and relatives.”
-Robert Gangi,Executive Director, The Correctional Association
Synopsis
This is the first and only complete edition of all the published writings of Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of the feminist movement. Wollstonecraft's writings include fiction, journalism, reviews, and diaries, and confirm her place in history as a signinficant force in the young rationalist movement in education and politics. The set features extensive footnotes, a comprehensive index, a general introduction, and specialist introductions to each selection, and is handsomely bound in pure wdoven cloth over millboard.
About the Author
Maryln Butler is on staff at University of Cambridge.
Janet Todd's most recent book is Mary Wollstonecraft. She is Professor of English at the University of East Anglia.