Lawrence M. Friedman is Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor of Law at Stanford University. he is also the author
nof many books, including A History of American Law, Total Justice, The Republic of Choice, and The Roots of Justice.
Review
"An impressive panoramic history of the American criminal justice system."
--New York times Book Review
"An insightful book that is highly readable at the same time."
--Trial
"Friedman's book will become the definitive one-volume history of crime and the criminal process in the United
States. Because it successfully locates crime and the issues of criminal justice administration within the broader
context of American culture, it will appeal to students of history, law, and the social sciences. Indeed, it will
be indispensable to anyone who seeks to understand crime and criminal justice administration in America."
--Malcolm Feeley University of California at Berkeley
"The author has an astonishing fund of knowledge.... The writing is clear, crisp and blood-warm. And the narrative
is peppered with dozens of well-told vignettes about famous cases, colorful personalities and dramatic events."
--New York Times Book Review
Perseus Press Web Site, November, 2000
Summary
A major achievement . . . an impressive, panoramic history of the American criminal justice system, from the
Salem witchcraft trials to the acquittal of four Los Angeles police officers in the first Rodney King beating case.--New
York Times Book Review.
In a panoramic history of our criminal justice system from colonial times to today, one of our foremost legal
thinkers shows how America fashioned a system of crime and punishment in its own image. A Finalist for the Pulitzer
Prize in History, 1993.
"A major achievement. . . . An impressive panoramic history."
--New York Times Book Review
"Will become the definitive one-volume history of crime and the criminal process in the United States....Indispensable."
--Malcolm Feeley, University of California, Berkeley
"Likely to be the standard introduction to the history of criminal justice in this country well into the
twenty-first century."