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The title that the authors have chosen for this book, The Causes and Cures of Criminality, suggests that it may be just another book specu­ lating on the sociological evils that need to be put right for "everything in the garden to be lovely." If this is the expectation, the reader could not be more mistaken. The recurrent theme, in fact, is a strong accent on psychological experiments. Both authors have tackled the theoretical and practical side of crime through an exhaustive literature review of past experi­ mental work. Hans J. Eysenck has concentrated on the constitutional and biological theory of criminality, whereas Gisli Gudjonsson has con­ cerned himself more with a review of ongoing research into therapy and possible prevention of antisocial behavior. Part I goes into considerable detail on the causes of criminality, stressing much of the strangely neglected area of individual differences in personality. Research studies point to a very heavy involvement of heredity in the causation of criminality, but the authors are careful to acknowledge that much can be done environmentally to discourage a life of crime once those persons who are at risk have been identified.

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CHOICE Review

Largely from a psychological perspective, this study presents an exhaustive review and discussion of the crime-prone personality and genetic and environmental factors responsible for criminal behavior. Both Eysenck and Gudjonsson have published extensively on personality. The book is divided into two sections: Part 1 contains four chapters that focus on personality and individual differences in the biological bases of personalities prone to criminal behavior; Part 2 offers three chapters on sentencing, punishment, and rehabilitation. This reviewer highly recommends the book for professionals subscribing to individualistic and biological explanations for the causes of criminal behavior, but professionals and students from other social science disciplines will find the material less applicable to their field of expertise and/or knowledge. Those who seek a broader spectrum for understanding criminal behavior should also read other theoretical explanations of the causes of criminal behavior, e.g., George B. Vold's Theoretical Criminology (3rd ed., 1986). Finally, although the work under review is instructive and informative in presenting a massive amount of factual, empirical, and experimental evidence for the causes of criminality, a less exhaustive listing of research results throughout the chapters is sorely needed. Too many studies are cited without much attempt to separate less important from more important findings. -P. J. Venturelli, Valparaiso University