The fast-paced field of criminology, its most current research, the fascinating examples that help you understand criminological theory and criminal justice policy -- you'll read about them all in this nationally acclaimed introduction to the field. Author Larry J. Siegel also gives you something that is equally important: coverage so fair and unbiased that you'll be in the driver's seat, forming your own opinions about criminology's most hotly debated issues. Should criminals be punished or rehabilitated? Are criminals themselves victims of a corrupt and biased society or evil, selfish people who can only be deterred through punishment? Siegel gives you the facts and the tools to think critically about issues like these -- so you can draw your own conclusions! Book jacket.