Violence and abuse in society Books

Book SynopsisA diverse group of contributors offer different perspectives on whether or not the different experiences of the US military and the broader society amounts to a “gap” - and if the American public is losing connection to its military. They analyse extensive polling information to identify those gaps between civilian and military attitudes on issues central to the military profession and the professionalism of the military.

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Book SynopsisIn August 1986, Alice Auma, a young Acholi woman in northern Uganda, proclaiming herself under the orders of a Christian spirit named Lakwena, raised an army called the “Holy Spirit Mobile Forces.”

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Book SynopsisWar in Pre-Colonial Eastern Africa examines the nature and objectives of violence in the region in the nineteenth century. It is particularly concerned with highland Ethiopia and the Great Lakes.Trade Review“An important and thoughtful overview that reminds us that African military history is worth studying in its own right, and that it illuminates much else about ‘state and society.’” * African Studies Review *“(A) much needed counterpart to studies already done on precolonial warfare in other geographical regions of Africa.... Through well-organized chapters, Reid shows how the East African societies...had a refined sense of the meaning of warfare and its influence on identity, respect, royal inheritance, nationhood, and community.” * International Journal of African Historical Studies *Table of ContentsContents: I THEORY & CONTEXT African War in Historical & Theoretical Perspective Antiquity & Inheritance Restorative Violence & the Weight of History II ARMIES Tools & Tactics Organisation & Function III PROCESS, IMPACT & CULTURE Cost & Profit War & Economic Change Violence & Society The Resolution & Avoidance of Conflict The Culture of Conflict Conclusions: War & the Making of State & Society

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Book Synopsis“These two volumes clearly demonstrate the efforts by a wide range of African scholars to explain the roots, routes, regimes and resolution of African conflicts and how to re-build post-conflict societies.Trade Review“(The Resolution of African Conflicts’s) contribution to the current debate on conflict in Africa cannot be overemphasized. It is a must-read for all professors and graduate students of African conflicts, researchers, policymakers, statesman, elites, and all those interested in peace on the continent.” * The Historian *

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Book Synopsis“Africa is no more prone to violent conflicts than other regions. Indeed, Africa’s share of the more than 180 million people who died from conflicts and atrocities in the twentieth century is relatively modest.…Trade Review“One of the major achievements of the book is pointing without complacency to the African causes of the conflicts, while not precluding the colonial legacy as ‘the most powerful precipitant’ of wars in Africa.” * The International Journal of African Historical Studies *

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Book SynopsisCarlos Guevara Mann argues that Panamanian militarism, a consequence of the breakdown of legitimacy that occurred in the early nineteenth century, is more a manifestation of a deeply-rooted political tradition than an isolated phenomenon of the late twentieth century.Trade Review“Panamanian Militarism is both the fruit of the author’s intellectual labors and a testament to his passionate and personal concern for this issue.”“This book…is a succinct and lucid summary of the subject which makes its case persuasively.” * Journal of Latin American Studies *

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Book SynopsisFor hundreds of years, military intervention in another country was considered taboo and prohibited by international law. Since 1992, intervention has often been described as an international responsibility, and efforts have been made to give it legal justification.Trade Review“Talentino does a wonderful job of outlining the theory and applying its central tenets to a wide range of ethnic conflicts. International humanitarian workers, policymakers, military leaders, and government officials will find the book useful.”

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Book SynopsisThe participant''s essential guide to reflection and personal growth Beyond Anger and Violence: A Program for Women Participant Workbook is the participant''s personal place for reflection, reactions, and learning, during and after management sessions. The activities inside reinforce program lessons about anger and violence, including how families, relationships, communities, and society affect one''s life. In learning about the relationships between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, participants can begin to grasp a better self-understanding that will help them manage anger in a healthier, more productive manner. They''ll develop new skills for communication, conflict resolution, and decision-making, and will be introduced to a variety of calming techniques. Beyond Anger and Violence is a 40-hour, evidence-based program designed for women who have difficulty managing anger. Based on a social-ecological model, the program addresses the factors that put Table of ContentsIntroduction xi Orientation Session 1 Overview of the Program 1 Your Workbook 2 Group Introductions 3 Topics Covered in this Program 3 Group Agreements 4 Triggers and Coping Tools 5 Five Senses 6 Breathing and Exhaling 6 Statistics on Violence in the United States 7 Definition of Violence 9 The Social-Ecological Model (People in the Environment) 9 Creating a Container 13 Discovering Your Anger Style 15 Assignment 17 Self-Soothing Activity: Palms Down, Palms Up 18 Part A: Self 19 Session One: Thinking Our Thoughts 21 The Spiral of Violence and Nonviolence 22 Cognitive Distortion 23 My Typical Distorted Thinking 25 Feelings Inside and Outside 27 The DVD of What I Want My Words To Do To You 28 Understanding Keila 28 Understanding Me 30 Assignment 32 Session Two: Feeling Our Feelings 35 Identifying Feelings 36 Beliefs About Feelings 39 Intensity of Feelings 40 Emotional Wellness 44 Feelings and the Body 45 When Feelings Threaten to Overwhelm You 46 The Observer Self 47 Assignment 48 Session Three: Violence and Trauma in Our Lives 49 Types of Abuse 50 The Process of Trauma 50 Calming Strategies 54 Two Calming Activities 54 Daily Anger Log 56 Assignment 57 Session Four: The Effects of Trauma 59 Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey 60 The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study 62 The Effects of Trauma and Substance Use on the Brain 63 Risk Factors for Addiction 64 Personal Experiences with Substances 65 Triggers and the Body 67 Yoga Poses and the Mind-Body Connection 70 Assignment 70 Session Five: Women and Anger 73 Understanding Our Anger 74 Words for Anger 75 Meeting a Feeling 76 The Anger Funnel 77 Anger Triggers 79 Hidden Anger 80 Self-Inflicted Violence 81 Personal Anger Inventory 82 Assignment 88 Session Six: Tools for Managing Anger 91 Anger Management Strategies 92 Anger Dos and Don’ts 93 Self-Reflection Tool 95 My Personal Best 99 Assignment 100 Session Seven: Understanding Ourselves 101 DVD of What I Want My Words To Do To You 102 Understanding My Anger 104 Understanding My Behavior 106 Becoming Whole 108 Assignment 110 Part B: Relationships 111 Session Eight: Our Families 113 Self-Soothing Activity: Deep Breathing 114 Risk Factors 114 Family Sculpture 115 The Cost of Violence 116 Feelings and the Family 117 The Family Anger Questionnaire 118 Wheel of the Nurturing Family 122 Assignment 125 Session Nine: Communication 127 Communication Styles 128 Nonverbal Communication 129 Communicating Emotions 130 Strategies for Creating Connection in Communication 131 Responses to Stress 132 Assignment 134 Session Ten: Power and Control 135 The Power and Control Wheel 136 Types of Abuse in Relationships 140 The Violence Continuum 142 Escalation and De-escalation 144 Assignment 145 Session Eleven: Conflict Resolution 147 Fair Fighting 148 Words, Words, Words 150 Impulse Control 151 The Equality Wheel 153 Assignment 155 Session Twelve: Creating Our Relationships 157 Falling in Love 158 Love and Addiction 159 Contrasting Intimate Relationships and Addictive Relationships 160 How to End a Relationship 161 Assignment 162 Part C: Community 163 Session Thirteen: Our Communities 165 Self-Soothing Activity: Progressive Muscle Relaxation 166 Our Communities 169 Visualization 170 Friendship 173 Assignment 174 What’s in a Name? 176 Session Fourteen: The Importance of Safety 177 Safety in the Community 178 The Four Kinds of Safety 179 Environment and Behavior 181 Safe and Unsafe Environments 182 Safety and the Body 183 Community Maps 184 Assignment 187 Session Fifteen: Creating Community 189 DVD of What I Want My Words To Do To You 190 Crossroads 192 Making Good Decisions 194 Assignment 196 Session Sixteen: The Power of Community 199 DVD of What I Want My Words To Do To You 200 Activity: Writing About a Kind Act 201 Assignment 202 Part D: Society 203 Session Seventeen: Society and Violence 205 Self-Soothing Activity: Breathing in the Positive 206 Reviewing the Risks for Violence 207 The Culture Wheel 208 Institutional and Cultural Supports for Domestic Violence 210 Working to End Violence 212 Art as an Expression of the Levels of Violence 215 Assignment 217 Session Eighteen: Creating Change 221 Health, Harmony, and Wholeness 222 The Spirals of Transformation 224 Assignment 226 Session Nineteen: Transforming Our Lives 227 Visualization 228 The Role of Remorse in Transformation 229 The Process of Transformation 230 Making Amends 231 Forgiveness 232 Assignment 233 Session Twenty: Honoring Ourselves and Our Community 235 The Relational Wheel 236 Are You Becoming the Person You Want to Be? 238 ORID 239 Appreciation 241 Appendix 1: Daily Anger Log 243 Appendix 2: Self-Reflection Tool 251 Appendix 3: Yoga Poses 261 1. Breath of Joy 261 2. Seated Pigeon’s Pose 262 3. Modified Triangle 263 4. Twisted Branches to Open Wings 264 References 267 About the Author 271 About the Cover 273 Feedback Form 275

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Book SynopsisA People Best Book of Summer A New York Times Most Anticipated Book of the Summer A riveting investigation into a cold case asks how much control women have over their bodies and the direction of their lives.Trade Review"Dykstra casts a searing light on racism, sexism, and the stigma of being a ‘bad’ girl. This is the perfect blueprint for any true crime writer moved to investigate a cold case." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Paula’s story is riveting—not only for her time, but for our own. This book is fascinating, heartbreaking, and empowering all at once." -- Abby Sher, coauthor of Sanctuary"A sharp and seductive investigation into the unsolved death of a young woman fifty years ago becomes, in Dykstra’s telling, an investigation into the genre of dead-girl true crime itself. A bracing and powerful book, unsentimental and sleek, and a roadmap for actual change." -- Lacy Crawford, author of Notes on a Silencing"A vivid, unflinching account, with its share of rage and sensitivity, equal in power and tenderness, What Happened to Paula is the story of the daring task of living in a female body. This deeply moving investigation is required reading for anyone who is or knows a woman." -- Mira Ptacin, author of Poor Your Soul and The In-Betweens"A book like no other. A murder mystery. A powerful exploration of what it means to be a vibrant woman in this cold, unfeeling, and somehow, still wonderful world. Debut author Katherine Dykstra will blow your mind." -- Marcy Dermansky, author of Very Nice"The most chilling thing about What Happened to Paula is that although Paula died fifty years ago, her story could be that of a teenage girl in 1990 or 2000 or today. This is essential reading, as gripping as any thriller." -- Julia Dahl, author of Invisible City and The Missing Hours"The missing-girl narrative can create a sort of pleasing cleanliness around the idea of violence against women: a heinous act, an innocent girl, all to be properly vilified and mourned. What Happened to Paula upends and unpacks all the smaller, subtler, scarier violences that live inside of this: what of all the ways the girl wasn’t innocent, what of all the ways none of us are?" -- Lynn Steger Strong, author of Want"A missing person, an unsolved mystery — but this is no typical true crime book. Instead, Dykstra looks at the context, the life Paula lived, in all its small moments of violence and violation, before she was murdered. Thoughtful and thought-provoking." -- Kate Tuttle - Boston Globe"A provocative true-crime page-turner on how sexism, racism and public opinion set up women for violence." -- People"What Happened to Paula resists the true crime genre...The book doesn’t rely on [Paula’s] homicide to be the climax. It resists playing into the very problem it is critiquing. The book is an unspooling of all the people and systems that conspired in Paula’s death. It has not one cause, but too many." -- Tana Wojczuk - BOMB"What Happened to Paula is not only the story exploring theories about the crime that ended Paula's life; it also reflects on other true crime stories with women as their victims, including rape and rape-murder stories, and on the burdensome costs of being born in a female body. What Happened to Paula is sobering, insightful, and a highly recommended addition to both true crime and women's issues collections." -- Midwest Book Review"Rather than simply trying to piece together a perpetrator from the facts of the case, Katherine Dykstra takes a different, more thoughtful, approach to Paula’s story, examining how stifling community standards, antagonism against interracial relationships, and assumptions about “bad girls” worked in tandem to condemn Paula and bury her story." -- Molly Odintz - CrimeReads

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Book SynopsisIlluminating the moral views on violence, from the moral restraint of the just-war tradition through pragmatic nonviolence to principled variations of pacifismTrade Review “The book is strong when it exposes our culture’s uncritical acceptance of war, when Cady shows that violent means are not likely to result in pacific ends and that peace has a harmonic and cooperative content and is not merely the absence of war. Moreover, the author shows that the usual objections against pacifism are answerable….A worthy contribution to the discussion of the morality of war." —Choice “Cady is to be applauded for authoring a book which is a thought provoking and original contribution to peace and war studies. Teachers and students alike will benefit from his analysis which challenges us to critique the usually subconscious assumption of warism, to more critically investigate the ‘wealth of pacifisms’ which exist, and to explore the often ignored successes of nonviolence in history.”—Teaching Philosophy “With his fair, careful, and balanced presentations of the ‘richness and variety’ of the various positions on the moral continuum of war and peace, Duane Cady has gone a considerable way in making ‘constructive relationships’ possible. Consequently, all who care and think about the issues of violence and war are in his debt.”—International Social Science Review Table of ContentsPreface to the Second Edition Preface to the First Edition Introduction: A History of the Idea of Pacifism 1 Warism 2 A Just-War Continuum 3 Means and Ends 4 A Pacifist Continuum 5 Positive Peace 6 Objections 7 I mplications Afterword: Nonviolence and the War on Terror Notes Index

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Book SynopsisInterdisciplinary and international in scope, this volume forms the foundations for a Durkheimian sociology of violence, exploring the political anthropology of war, the rapport between power and the sacred, and various forms of contemporary irrationalism ranging from mass-mediated suicide to torture at Abu Ghraib.Table of ContentsAbstracts. 1. Introduction: On violence as the negativity of the Durkheimian: between anomie, sacrifice, and effervescence (S. Romi Mukherjee). 2. Durkheim’s theory of violence (Mike Gane). 3. Durkheimism: a model for external constraint without a theory of violence (Jacques Plouin). 4. Durkheim, the question of violence and the Paris Commune of 1871 (Susan Stedman Jones). 5. Durkheimian sociology, biology and the theory of social conflict (Jean-Christophe Marcel and Dominique Guillo). 6. ‘‘Change only for the benefit of society as a whole’’: pragmatism, knowledge and regimes of violence (Ivan Strenski). 7. Festival, vacation, war: Roger Caillois and the politics of paroxysm (S. Romi Mukherjee). 8. Durkheim’s concept of de´re`glement retranslated, Parsons’s reading of Durkheim re-parsed: an examination of post-emotional displacement, scapegoating and responsibility at Abu Ghraib (Stjepan G. Mestrovic and Ryan Ashley Caldwell). 9. ‘‘A new kind of fear’’: Jean Baudrillard’s neo-Durkheimian theory of mass-mediated suicide (Alexander Riley). From political emergencies and states of exception to exceptional states and emergent politics: a neo-Durkheimian alternative to Agamben (Ronjon Paul Datta). References. Index.

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Book SynopsisExplores the legal justification for state-sanctioned violence

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Book SynopsisExplores the legal justification for state-sanctioned violence

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Book SynopsisDomestic abuse is an ugly, but all too real, problem that is often not dealt with well within our churches. Eryl Davies tells the stories of domestic abuse survivors – both men and women – who have been let down by their churches’ reactions. How are we to respond biblically to such situations? How do pastors and church leaders address this problem when both victim and abuser are part of their congregation? As well as making the reader aware of the reality of this issue, Davies gives helpful guidelines and suggestions for church leaders dealing with cases of domestic abuse.Trade ReviewWriting with patience and care Eryl acknowledges the courage of sufferers, and brings scripture to bear on the sin of domestic abuse. Helpful pastoral advice is presented, and a clear biblical understanding of marriage presented. The chapter on divorce is particularly stimulating. -- Philip Swann (Pastor, Llanelli Free Evangelical Church & Lecturer in Pastoral Theology, Evangelical Movement of Wales Training Course)… wakes us up to the disturbing reality that the church is not immune to the horrors of domestic abuse … Yet this is not something the church knows how to handle. Davies gives us the data and tools we need to dig our heads out of the sand and help those in danger! -- Natalie Brand (Bible teacher and author of ‘Priscilla, Where Are You? A Call to Joyful Theology’)… blends personal accounts, biblical insight, and pastoral wisdom. I wept as I read sections of the book, and was forced to think deeply about what I believed and taught. I pray that this book would help many to find safety and love in the church. -- Jonathan Thomas (Pastor, Cornerstone Church, Abergavenny, Wales; author, ‘Intentional Interruptions: Learning to be Interrupted the Way God Intended’)… a must–read for all in church leadership, especially in Bible–believing churches, and perhaps particularly in independent churches. It should also be read by as many Bible–believing Christians as possible. -- Hector Morrison (Principal, Highland Theological College, Dingwall)

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Book SynopsisWhat do the Catholic Church, college sports, Hollywood, prisons, the military, fraternities and politics have in common? All have extraordinarily high rates of sexual and intimate partner violence and child sexual abuse. Sexual and intimate partner violence is part of the landscape that women and children live with. Women and children are subjected to high levels of sexual and intimate partner violence and in the era of #metoo, Gender, Power and Violence provides a nuanced analysis of the ways in which the organizational structure of an institution, like a college campus or Hollywood, can create an environment ripe for sexual and intimate partner violence and even child sexual abuse. Gender, Power, and Violence looks at the problem of sexual and intimate partner violence through cases, observing the role that institutions play in facilitating and perpetuating gender based violence, and provides a more complex understanding about the ways in which institutional structures create an environment that facilitates and perpetuates gender based violence. Angela J. Hattery and Earl Smith touch on current events that have highlighted the pervasiveness of gender based violence across the institutions they interrogate throughout the book, but also in the entertainment industry, the government, and television journalism. Gender, Power, and Violence gives the reader a better understanding of what factors shape who will be perpetrators, who will be victims, and how organizations respond (or not) when sexual or intimate partner violence or child sexual abuse is reported. It also offers recommendations for transforming these institutions so that they are safe for women and children of all genders.Trade ReviewHattery and Smith’s timely book is a searing, incisive look at how and why gender-based violence persists, the institutions that enable it, and the impact that it has on various groups in society. This accessible, powerful book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand this pervasive problem—and more importantly, for anyone who wants to start thinking about solutions. -- Adia Harvey Wingfield, Washington University in St. LouisToo often we choose to engage in complicit silence and numbness in response to the rampant gender-based violence that seeps through our country, particularly through our male-dominated institutions. But this book reminds us that we must do more. Each chapter is a timely rallying point for not only saying #MeToo, but for saying #LetsAct to create a cultural shift where gender-based violence is eliminated once and for all. -- Holly Kearl, Author of Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for WomenIn Gender, Power and Violence, Angela J. Hattery and Earl Smith illuminate the empirical connections between gender-based violence and homosocial organizations—especially those that glorify boys’ and men’s violence. The book’s timely and important message is that ending gender-based violence requires moving beyond sensitivity training and social media campaigns, to serious efforts at institutional transformation. -- Michael A. Messner, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, University of Southern CaliforniaAngela Hattery and Earl Smith's book, Gender, Power, and Violence, is an excellent introductory text for courses on gender based violence. The authors present a comprehensive intersectional analysis how sexual and intimate partner violence is supported by institutional structures—an analysis that is necessary, if we are to truly end the epidemic of violence and the devastating impact of its concomitant trauma. -- Claire N. Kaplan, PhD, Program Director, Gender Violence and Social Change and Men's Leadership Project, University of VirginiaThis book contributes to the literature on sexual and gender based violence by examining the institutions in which these phenomena occur and the power structures that justify and facilitate this type of violence. The authors attempt to situate violence within the context of power and oppression. This analysis is timely and necessary in order to understand interpersonal violence from a macro perspective. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this book will be a useful tool for students and laypersons alike who seek to understand the complexities of gender based violence and who wish to prevent future occurrences of violence and harm. -- Karen Holt, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Michigan State UniversityThis book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in understanding the power dynamic of institutional gender-based violence and the role of institutions in perpetuating sexual violence. For decades, people pointed the finger primarily at Athletes and Frat Guys. "Gender Power and Violence" outlines the role of ALL institutions in perpetuating, permitting and protecting offenders of all types of sexual violence. From the Catholic Church to Congress, from prisons to parliament, from Hollywood to The Hague, from Boy Scouts to band leaders, from the military to media moguls - institutions have played a major role in harboring predators, providing them with a steady stream of prey and in protecting repeat offenders 'for the sake of the institution.' " Fortunately, the #MeToo movement has pulled the curtain back to expose the power dynamics that exist within hierarchical institutions. As a former Division 1 Athlete, I am certainly not pointing the finger at ALL athletes or all actors or all priests or all politicians. However, institutions possess inherent power dynamics that the 10% of bad guys are drawn to. Rape is about power and control - phenomena that exist in all institutions from Penn State to prison to politics. As a result of wanting to maintain that power, institutions put their reputation before individual people - often at the expense of victims. The epidemic of gender-based violence will continue until institutions are willing to admit they have a problem. It is up to Hollywood, Washington, DC and Wall Street to put people before profits and to STAND up for the lowest member of the totem pole at any institution. When institutions are willing to treat the custodian with the same respect as the CEO or hold the Pope just as accountable as his parishioners then - and only then - will we see change. The President should be held to an even higher degree of ethical standards than the peasant.. Like the Homeland Security slogan says, "if you see something, say something" - it is up to us to live by the mantra that "if you see something, DO something" especially when it comes to institutions. Only then will we, as a society, be able to protect victims and help them to truly become survivors. -- Keith Labelle, PhD, Assistant Director of Bystander Intervention Training, University of Rhode IslandThis is a compelling, accessible, and polemical interrogation of rape culture and gender based violence in U.S. institutions. Rather than simply describing male abuse of power the authors end each chapter with potential strategies and solutions for each institution, ending with a “call to arms” in the final chapter to change institutional practices to change society. -- Jennifer Marchbank, Professor, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, Simon Fraser UniversityIn an analysis that is both broad and incisive, Gender, Power and Violence provides a fresh vantage point on an epidemic that is anything but new. Zooming out from individual victims and perpetrators to the institutions where gender-based violence is rampant, Hattery and Smith connect the dots, arguing compellingly that these structures have the power to either perpetuate or address a devastating social problem. -- Lauren B. Cattaneo, Associate Professor, George Mason UniversityTable of ContentsPREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2: THEORY, HISTORY, AND TERMINOLOGY CHAPTER 3: FRATERNITIES CHAPTER 4: THE MILITARY CHAPTER 5: PRISONS CHAPTER 6: SPORTSWORLD CHAPTER 7: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CHAPTER 8: HOLLYWOOD, WASHINGTON, AND THE #METOO MOVEMENT CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSIONS AND A CALL TO ACTION

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Book SynopsisAny murder causes pain and suffering that ripple through families and communities—of both the victims and the perpetrators—but premeditated murders cause the worst kind of damage. The Allure of Premeditated Murder is about the worst kinds of premeditated homicide in which the perpetrator plans an attack over a period of days, weeks, or months, leaving behind massive carnage and unspeakable suffering. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with murderers, sociologists Jack Levin and Julie B. Wiest help readers understand why such vicious murders occur and what we can do to minimize their incidence. Throughout the book, they examine why people engage in acts of premeditated murder—planning and implementing terrible violence against others—from the perpetrator’s viewpoint. By juxtaposing the motivations for these hideous homicides against everyday social circumstances, these often-baffling crimes are explained in an easy-to-understand manner that paves the way for promising solutions. In the process of examining the characteristics of premeditated murder, the book also addresses those questions that are commonly asked about this kind of violent crime but usually unanswered. How could a killer have enjoyed his murderous rampage when he committed suicide right afterward? Why do sadistic killers sometimes regard their murders as great accomplishments? What can be done to effectively reduce the likelihood of this kind of homicide? As violence remains such a prominent and troubling topic nationwide, The Allure of Premeditated Murder successfully explores the reasons behind the worst violence as well as the most promising solutions.Trade ReviewThis is, by far, one of the most comprehensive and well-researched scholarly works I have come across in quite some time. It is clever, masterfully written, and even a bit risky. This book is a 'must' for anyone who is interested in the systematic study of murder, both experts and non-experts alike. Levin and Wiest cover a wealth of material that is sure to be an invaluable resource for homicide researchers, criminal justice practitioners, policymakers, and students. I highly recommend this book. -- Robert Worley, Associate Professor and Director of Criminal Justice, Lamar UniversityThe recent arrest of ex-policeman Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, of Sacramento, reputed to be a serial killer in the 1970s and 1980s, propels The Allure of Premeditated Murder into the spotlight as a very relevant book. This text includes meticulous research of a wide variety of murders, insights into the motives of the murderers, and most, importantly, how well planned they are over months if not years. This book is an outstanding resource for law enforcement, students, clinicians, and community leaders as gun violence, especially of strangers, becomes more of a reality in America. The lessons learned in this book will advance murder investigations as well as provide serious debate over prevention of such crimes. -- Ann Wolbert Burgess, Professor, Boston CollegeFocusing on the myriad of benefits killers derive from their crimes—benefits that outweigh the possible pains of punishment in the calculus of deterrence—Levin and Wiest offer a fascinating and unique look into the mindset of murderers. With a blend of criminological perspicacity and journalistic flair, they have produced a provocative and exceptionally readable addition to any library on violence. I, for one, shall keep this volume within reach on my bookshelf of favorites and often-cited works. -- James Alan Fox, PhD, The Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy at Northeastern University; author of Violence and Security on Campus: From Pre-School through CollegeLevin and Wiest offer a fascinating argument that some mass murderers get more pleasure from planning their crimes than from actually committing them. If more people would realize this, maybe their violent fantasies would stay safely in their imaginations and no longer have such devastating consequences for the rest of us. -- Adam Lankford, Criminology Professor, The University of AlabamaIn their new book The Allure of Premeditated Murder, Jack Levin and Julie Wiest offer insight into the most insidious form of homicide, first degree murders where killers plan their violence in advance. These types of murders may seem more difficult to understand than emotion-driven crimes of passion, but Levin and Wiest reveal the many ways in which these crimes may be better understood by analyzing the viewpoints of the perpetrators themselves. By considering the roles of fantasy, thrill, power, greed, infamy, revenge, sadism, and hate in premeditated killing, this book is a major contribution to the literature on homicide. -- Eric Madfis, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Washington TacomaThe Allure of Premeditated Murder: Why Some People Plan to Kill offers a fascinating compendium history of serial killings and mass murders from the 1940’s to present day, many of which made national headlines. I was reminded of many of the events that received national attention and learned some details that revealed the potential reasons as to how & why such atrocities could occur. The authors not only provide summaries of these events and offer points of views from both the perpetrators and investigators, but they also offer opinions as to what solutions may and may not work to prevent the future development of serial killers and mass murderers. I recommend this book to all those involved in discussions and legislation on public safety issues. If it is true that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana), it is essential that they consider the facts and opinions provided by these authors. -- Dennis Hilliard, Director RI State Crime Laboratory; Adjunct Professor, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RILevin and Wiest provide a unique exploration of a subject that has dominated the public’s attention for years. The ample, detailed examples used to illustrate the motivations and contexts of different types of premeditated murder contribute significantly to our understanding of this relatively rare but greatly feared social problem. The authors deliver a candid discussion of both the strategies that are likely to be effective in reducing premeditated murder and those that are not. The book is a must read for homicide scholars, policy makers, and the general public. -- Wendy Regoeczi, Professor and Chair, Cleveland State UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments The Most Hideous Homicides: An Introduction Chapter 1: Planning Is the Payoff Chapter 2: Going Out in a Blaze of Glory Chapter 3:The Thrill of the Hunt Chapter 4: Mind over Murder Chapter 5: Justice Is in the Weapon of the Beholder Chapter 6: Helping Yourself to Murder Chapter 7: Death for Dollars Chapter 8: Prevention: What Works and What Doesn’t Work Chapter 9: An Epidemic of Epidemic Thinking About the Authors

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Book SynopsisWinner of the African Studies Association’s 1999 Herskovits AwardA boldly critical look at structural violence relating to the 1994 Rwanda genocideAiding Violence expresses outrage at the contradiction of massive genocide in a country considered by Western aid agencies to be a model of development. Focusing on the 1990s dynamics of militarization and polarization that resulted in genocide, Uvin reveals how aid enterprises reacted, or failed to react, to those dynamics. By outlining the profound structural basis on which the genocidal edifice was built, the book exposes practices of inequality, exclusion, and humiliation throughout Rwanda.

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Book SynopsisPsychiatrists define cruelty to animals as a psychological problem or personality disorder. Legally, animal cruelty is described by a list of behaviors. In Just a Dog, Arnold Arluke argues that our current constructs of animal cruelty are decontextualized-imposed without regard to the experience of the groups committing the act. Yet those who engage in animal cruelty have their own understandings of their actions and of themselves as actors. In this fascinating book, Arluke probes those understandings and reveals the surprising complexities of our relationships with animals. Just a Dog draws from interviews with more than 250 people, including humane agents who enforce cruelty laws, college students who tell stories of childhood abuse of animals, hoarders who chronically neglect the welfare of many animals, shelter workers who cope with the ethics of euthanizing animals, and public relations experts who use incidents of animal cruelty for fundraising purposes. Through these case studies, Arluke shows how the meaning of \u0022cruelty\u0022 reflects and helps to create identities and ideologies.Trade Review"Through courageous research Arluke set aside his judgment to explore how abusers see their behavior. He has given us a sociological understanding of animal abuse that recognizes the situational quality of cruelty and its ability to shape identity...In Just a Dog, Arnold Arluke uses cruelty to raise questions about what it means to be human. He also adds to our understanding of the complex and conflicting ways we humans regard other animals." -Contemporary Sociology "Arluke (Regarding Animals), an authority on animal cruelty, believes that in order to formulate effective programs and policies to combat such behavior, society must have an in-depth understanding of why people mistreat or neglect animals and of the cultural and social factors that encourage abuse. Wisely, the author keeps passages describing specific examples of cruelty to a minimum, and he refrains from making moral judgments." -Publishers WeeklyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Just a Dog One- Agents: Feigning Authority Two- Adolescents: Appropriating Adulthood Three- Hoarders: Shoring Up Self Four- Shelter Workers: Finding Authenticity Five- Marketers: Celebrating Community Conclusion : Cruelty is Good to Think References Index

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Book SynopsisA new edition of the classic book on what constitutes moral behavior during wartimeTrade Review"For those who relish ethical debate or for others who merely wish to take a deeper look at the moral values that underpin their profession, Axinn provides a rich commentary." -Military ReviewTable of ContentsPreface to the 2008 edition Preface to the original edition 1. Introduction 2. Morality: Why Sacrifice Myself? What are moral questions? 3. Military Honor and the Laws of Warfare: When Can I Lie to the Enemy? 4. Hostilities: All Is Not Fair 5. Prisoners of War 6. Spies 7. Non-Hostile Relations with the Enemy 8. War Crimes, Remedies, and Retaliation (Dirty Warfare) 9. The Dirty-Hands Theory of Command 10. Torture 11. Nuclear Devices and Low-Intensity Conflicts 12. Conclusions Appendix 1. Are the Hague and Geneva Conventions Obsolete? Appendix 2. Topics Not Considered in the Text Appendix 3. Test on the Laws of Land Warfare Notes Brief Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA new edition of the classic book on what constitutes moral behavior during wartimeTrade Review"For those who relish ethical debate or for others who merely wish to take a deeper look at the moral values that underpin their profession, Axinn provides a rich commentary." -Military ReviewTable of ContentsPreface to the 2008 edition Preface to the original edition 1. Introduction 2. Morality: Why Sacrifice Myself? What are moral questions? 3. Military Honor and the Laws of Warfare: When Can I Lie to the Enemy? 4. Hostilities: All Is Not Fair 5. Prisoners of War 6. Spies 7. Non-Hostile Relations with the Enemy 8. War Crimes, Remedies, and Retaliation (Dirty Warfare) 9. The Dirty-Hands Theory of Command 10. Torture 11. Nuclear Devices and Low-Intensity Conflicts 12. Conclusions Appendix 1. Are the Hague and Geneva Conventions Obsolete? Appendix 2. Topics Not Considered in the Text Appendix 3. Test on the Laws of Land Warfare Notes Brief Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFirst published in French in 1979, The Ambivalence of Scarcity was a groundbreaking work on mimetic theory. Now expanded upon with new, specially written, and never-before-published conference texts and essays, this revised edition explores René Girard’s philosophy in three sections: economy and economics, mimetic theory, and violence and politics in modern societies. The first section argues that though mimetic theory is in many ways critical of modern economic theory, this criticism can contribute to the enrichment of economic thinking.The second section explores the issues of nonviolence and misrecognition (méconnaissance), which have been at the center of many discussions of Girard’s work. The final section proposes mimetic analyses of the violence typical of modern societies, from high school bullying to genocide and terrorist attacks. Politics, Dumouchel argues, is a violent means of protecting us from our own violent tendencies, and it can at times become the source of the very savagery from which it seeks to protect us.The book’s conclusion analyzes the relationship between ethics and economics, opening new avenues of research and inviting further exploration. Dumouchel’s introduction reflects on the importance of René Girard’s work in relation to ongoing research, especially in social sciences and philosophy.

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Book SynopsisAccording to political theory, the primary function of the modern state is to protect its citizens-both from each other and from external enemies. Yet it is the states that essentially commit major forms of violence, such as genocides, ethnic cleansings, and large-scale massacres, against their own citizens. In this book Paul Dumouchel argues that this paradoxical reversal of the state's primary function into violence against its own members is not a mere accident but an ever-present possibility that is inscribed in the structure of the modern state. Modern states need enemies to exist and to persist, not because they are essentially evil but because modern politics constitutes a violent means of protecting us against our own violence. If they cannot-if we cannot-find enemies outside the state, they will find them inside. However, this institution is today coming to an end, not in the sense that states are disappearing, but in the sense that they are increasingly failing to protect us from our own violence. That is why the violent sacrifices that they ask from us, in wars and even in times of peace, have now become barren.Trade ReviewThe primary function of the modern state is to protect us from our own violence. Paul Dumouchel uncovers the hidden paradox behind this classical thesis: why do states commit massive violence against their own citizens? The Barren Sacrifice is a powerful, lively, and clear contribution to penetrate into the heart of new forms of modern and contemporary political violence." - Stefano Tomelleri, Professor of Sociology, University of Bergamo

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Book SynopsisThis book is a response to Friedrich Nietzsche’s provocative question: How much and how does ressentiment condition our daily life? During the twentieth century we witnessed veritable eruptions of this insidious emotion, and we are still witnesses of its proliferation at various levels of society.This book explores, according to René Girard’s mimetic theory, the anthropological and social assumptions that make up ressentiment and to investigate its genesis. The analysis of ressentiment shows that this emotion evolves from mimetic desire: it is an affective experience that people have when a rival denies them opportunities or valuable resources (including status) that they consider to be socially accessible. It is a specific figure of mimetic desire that is typical of contemporary society, where the equality that is proclaimed at the level of values contrasts with striking inequalities of power and access to material resources. This dichotomy generates increasing tension between highly competitive and egalitarian mimetic desires and growing social inequalities. The ressentiment is ambiguous, and its ambiguity is that of mimetic desire itself, which we cannot dismiss from our lives. In that it provides occasions of conflict and baseness, ressentiment can fuel violence, discord, and injustice, but it also can open opportunities for growth and justice, and for inventing institutions that are better adapted to the transformations of our contemporary society.

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Book SynopsisIn the Margins Book Award Winner Shawn Harrington returned to Marshall High School as an assistant coach years after appearing as a player in the iconic basketball documentary film Hoop Dreams. In January of 2014, Marshall’s struggling team was about to improve after the addition of a charismatic but troubled player. Everything changed, however, when two young men opened fire on Harrington’s car as he drove his daughter to school. Using his body to shield her, Harrington was struck and paralyzed. The mistaken-identity shooting was followed by a series of events that had a devastating impact on Harrington and Marshall’s basketball family. Over the next three years, as a shocking number of players were murdered, it became obvious that the dream of the game providing a better life had nearly dissolved.All the Dreams We've Dreamed is a true story of courage, endurance, and friendship in one of America's most violent neighborhoods. Author Rus Bradburd, who has an intimate forty-year relationship to Chicago basketball, tells Shawn’s story with empathy and care, exploring the intertwined tragedies of gun violence, health care failure, racial assumptions, struggling educational systems, corruption in athletics—and the hope that can survive them all.Trade Review"With heart and verve, Rus Bradburd takes us on this extraordinary journey of friendship, contrition, and heroism, all in the confines of a storied basketball program on Chicago's West Side, all amid the persistent violence of the city. It's one compelling read." Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here"Two decades after the film Hoop Dreams , the stories unfolding at Marshall High School are more important than ever before. Anyone interested in courage, stamina, education, race, health care, guns, or American society will find All the Dreams We've Dreamed a riveting read. Shawn Harrington is an American hero, and his story needs to be heard." Arne Duncan, former US Secretary of Education, founder of C.R.E.D."This unflinchingly honest work insinuates its way into the reader's psyche the way only great books can. Unforgettable." Booklist

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Book SynopsisOn July 20, 2012, twelve people were killed and fifty-eight wounded at a mass shooting in a movie theater in Colorado. In 1999, thirteen kids at Columbine High School were murdered by their peers. In 2012, twenty children and seven adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. Thirty-two were killed at Virginia Tech. Twelve killed at the Washington Navy Yard. In May 2014, after posting a YouTube video of retribution and lamenting a life of loneliness, rejection, and unfulfilled desires, a lone gunman killed six and wounded seven in Isla Vista. All of these acts of violence were committed by young men between the ages of eighteen and thirty.Mass violence committed by young people is now an epidemic. In the first fourteen school days of 2014, there were seven school shootings, compared to twenty-eight school shootings in all of 2013. The reasons behind this escalating violence, and the cultural forces that have impugned a generation, is the subject of the important new book The Spiral Notebook.New York Times-bestselling author Stephen Singular has often examined violence in America in his critically-acclaimed books. Here he has teamed with his wife Joyce for their most important work yet — one that investigates why America keeps producing twenty-something mass killers. Their reporting has produced the most comprehensive look at the Aurora shooting yet and draws upon the one group left out of the discussion of violence in America: the twenty-somethings themselves.While following the legal proceedings in the Aurora shooting, The Spiral Notebook is full of interviews with Generation Z, a group dogged by big pharma and anti-depressants and ADHD drugs, by a doomsday/apocalyptic mentality present since birth, and by an entertainment industry that has turned violence into parlor games.Provocative and eye-opening, The Spiral Notebook is a glimpse into the forces that are shaping the future of American youth, an entire generation bathed in the violence committed by their peers.

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