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Book details

Theories of Delinquency

An Examination of Explanations of Delinquent Behavior

by Donald J. Shoemaker

Published 2004320 pagesISBN 978-0-1951-6845-7

"Theories of Delinquency provides a comprehensive survey of major theoretical approaches to the understanding of delinquent behavior. It includes discussions and evaluations of all major individualistic and sociological theories, presenting each theory in a standard format with basic assumptions, important concepts, and critical evaluations of the relevant research. Theories covered include biological and psychological explanations, anomie and social disorganization, differential association, drift theory, labeling theory, critical theories, and explanations of female delinquency. Now in its fifth edition, Theories of Delinquency contains updated discussions of these theories, with special attention given to developmental theories of delinquency. It also offers coverage of international aspects of delinquency theory. Clearly written and consistently organized, Theories of Delinquency is important reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in crime and delinquency."--BOOK JACKET.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Themes to notice

Nonfiction

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Content notes

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Reading experience

Dark tone · Steady pace

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

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ToneDark
LuminousDark

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Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

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PeakRelative emotional intensity
Theories of DelinquencyDonald J. Shoemaker
Powerful4.9/5

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Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA standard-length read320 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 2004
Primary categoryNonfictionExplore similar books below
ISBN-13
978-0-1951-6845-7
Language
English
Edition record
OL9350942M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
  2. Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
  3. How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.