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This interdisciplinary analysis looks at punishment not simply as a sanction employed by the state, but as a pervasive feature of social organization in past and contemporary societies.

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CHOICE Review

Harding and Ireland's study is a much needed addition to the literature of punishment in general and criminal punishment in particular. The authors enlighten some dark corners in the realm of penal sanctions, but their primary purpose is to show that punishment per se is a valid subject for study. In fact, much of the book discusses forms of punishment that are not state sanctioned. According to the authors, "The source of penalty lies diffuse throughout human society and is drawn upon by different social groupings as they emerge and develop their own normative framework." In this context, the "diffusion" referred to often takes place within the family, business, social, professional, educational, and other constructs. Because the concept of punishment is atomized, Western societies in particular assign significant collateral consequences to criminal punishment that go far beyond the penalty of the criminal law itself. These forms of "second punishments" are lucidly discussed. Notes, bibliography, and index. Graduate level. -J. C. Watkins, Jr., University of Alabama