Randolph Roth
Author of American Homicide
Works by Randolph Roth
Associated Works
Journal of the Early Republic: Winter 1992 Vol.12, No.4 — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Roth, Randolph Anthony (birth name)
- Birthdate
- 1951
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- historian
sociologist
university professor - Organizations
- Ohio State University
Members
Reviews
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 1
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 47
- Popularity
- #330,643
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 1
- ISBNs
- 4
But if you already know your history and you're willing to wade through this nearly 700-page tome, I think you'll find it worth your while. Roth did an in-depth study of homicide in America from colonial times to the present day, and his book covers every kind of murder except the murders of children and murders committed by children. (I think he plans to write another book about those.) Roth's theory is that the homicide rate in America is tied, not to the usual suspects like drugs and poverty and racial issues and the availability of weapons, but to confidence in government. When citizens trust their government, the homicide rate drops. When they lose faith in the government, the homicide rate rises. He claims this is the only trend that matches the homicide rate exactly. To determine people's confidence in government in the days before things like the Gallup poll, Roth uses the interesting method of tabulating how many new counties are named after national heroes.
Whether or not I agree with Roth's conclusions, I find his writing and his arguments fascinating, and I was impressed by the sheer volume of research he had to have done to create this book. I would recommend this to serious American history buffs, particularly those interested in crime history.… (more)