Why read Violent Land?

Book cover of Violent Land: Single Men and Social Disorder from the Frontier to the Inner City

Book description

This book offers a look at violence in America - why it is so prevalent, and what and who are responsible. David Cartwright takes the long view of his subject, developing the historical patterns of violence and disorder in this country. Where there is violent and disorderly behaviour, he shows,…

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American history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Violent Land as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Martin Daly

Author

Florida-based historian David Courtwright is best known for his analyses of the history of drug addiction and the drug business in the United States, but this volume is a fact-filled page-turner on America's lethal violence problem. Courtwright describes a frontier culture in which a reputation for violent capability was an essential social asset and persuasively explicates its similarities with the situation that faces single young men in America's underserved inner cities to this day. The interdisciplinary scope of Courtwright's scholarship guarantees that any reader will learn a great deal from his book. I found it unputdownable.

From Martin's list on The best nonfiction books about why people sometimes kill one another.