"Anything that takes away from the terminally off key karaoke of so much that passes for theory in criminology is to be welcomed, and this is a fine effort to connect the study of crime and control to an innovative set of theoretical possibilities. A rip-roaring read that slaughters some sacred cows while throwing the odd baby out with the bath water."

- Richard Hobbs, University of Essex


"Boldly tackles big questions that the discipline has lately been unable or unwilling to confront. Steve Hall's compelling and original book should help to restart a crucial discussion about the connections between crime and an increasingly volatile and predatory global social order."

- Elliott Currie, University of California, Irvine



"This erudite and original book synthesizes a dazzling array of thought and evidence to interrogate criminological theory's dominant conservative and liberal perspectives... This reviewer is left with a sense of criminological theory's tiredness of intellectual ambition and scope, while Hall's book leaves a sense of rejuvenation and excitement."

- Colin Webster, British Journal of Criminology



"A beautifully written, accessible and yet theoretically rigorous piece of writing that should be read by everyone interested in crime, law and social order. The book should be read with an open mind and as a genuine response to the suffocating inability of criminology to free itself from the century old slanging-match between its liberal and conservative wings."

- Simon Winlow, University of York



Steve Hall uses cutting-edge philosophy and social theory to analyse patterns of crime and harm and illuminate contemporary criminological issues. He provides a fresh, relevant critique of the philosophical and political underpinnings of criminological theory and the theoretical canon's development during the twentieth century, and applies