期刊名称：International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy
印刷版ISSN：2202-7998
电子版ISSN：2202-8005
出版年度：2016
卷号：5
期号：3
页码：111-113
DOI：10.5204/ijcjsd.v5i3.350
语种：English
出版社：Queensland Uuniversity of Technology
摘要：This compact book is part of the Routledge Series, *New Directions in Critical Criminology’, edited by Walter DeKeseredy. Both Steve Hall and Simon Winlow are co-directors of the Teesside Centre for Realist Criminology, a centre which has become noted in the UK and elsewhere for its successful conferences and critical engagement with the domain assumptions of the discipline. Emanating from the vibrant work of this centre, this book offers a whirlwind tour of the current state of post-war criminology and endeavours to suggest that the time is now right for what the authors call an 'ultra-realist1 criminology. In making this call it is fair to say that they make no claims that this version of criminology will address all the discipline's contemporary ills but they are concerned to 'present a stripped-down synopsis’ of 'the foundations of a new theoretical framework' (p. 2). The terrain covered in the 154 pages of this book is vast and it would be easy to become distracted by the conflations and elisions made within it as the authors move assertively towards their goal. It is not my desire in this review to engage in that level of critique. Anyone intending to use this book as a reference point can explore such specifics for themselves. My intention here is to consider more generally the discontent with the current state of criminology expressed by these authors and to offer some thoughts on the extent to which their expressed agenda has the capacity, albeit tentative, to move the discipline forward.
