Homicide: A Sociological Explanation 0240th Edition

Echoing Durkheims Suicide, this book focuses on one important phenomenon to explain larger currents in American society. Leonard Beeghley examines the historical and cross-national dimensions of homicides and evaluates previous attempts to explain it. He finds the sources of Americas murder rate in the greater availability of guns, the expansion of illegal drug markets, greater racial discrimination, more exposure to violence, and sharper economic inequalities. He deftly blends the evidence related to each of these factors into a well-reasoned sociological analysis of the nature of American society.

Features

Highlights how sociology can be used to explain problems and seek solutions
Distinguishes between structural and social psychological levels of analysis
Provides a constrasting perspective to Messner & Rosenfelds widely assigned Crime and the American Dream
Uses metaphors and analogies in order to make sociological ideas meaningful to students
Employs an engaging writing style to place the analysis in the scholarly literature
Offers clear explanations of Durkheim, Weber, Merton, and others, that show their usefulness for understanding modern life