The origins of American criminology

This volume shows criminology to be a human enterprise. Ideas are not driven primarily-and often not at all-by data. Theories are not invented solely as part of the scientific process; they are not inevitable. The volume demonstrates that humanity is what makes theory possible. Diverse experiences-when we were born, where we have lived, the unique trajectories of our personal life courses, the disciplines and academic places we have ended up-allow individual scholars to see the world differently