Recently in Books Category

Dexter By Design

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http://www.amazon.com/Dexter-Design-Novel-Jeff-Lindsay/dp/0385518366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267130550&sr=8-1

 

I recently just finished the latest of Jeff Lindsey's books about everyone's favorite serial killer; Dexter by Design. This book is the fourth in the Dexter Series, of which the Showtime Show Dexter is loosely based off of. Most people are aware of the show but few people are aware of the fact that the show actually started off as a book series by crime writer Jeff Lindsey. In the fourth installment of the series, the character Dexter faces a very unique kind of criminal: a performance artist murderer. Someone is leaving a trail of very decorative bodies scattered around Miami and it is up to Dexter and his sister Deborah to find out who exactly would want to hallow out a human stomach and fill it with a tropical fruit basket for all of Miami to see. But things are not what they seem. I really enjoyed this book because it put a lot of twists on what exactly motivates one to kill. Without giving away too much of the book, the main suspects intentions seemed to be motivated by art as the killer tries to capture human emotion and anguish in a permanent canvas. I am very excited to read Lindsey's next novel (due to come out sometime this year). Rumor has it that Dexter will meet a cannibal in this fifth novel and I eagerly wait to see how Lindsey will incorporate this into the series. For those who follow the show, the Dexter books do NOT follow along with the show. They are very similar but they contain very different plotlines and character twists. I highly recommend reading this series if anyone is interested in this type of literature. Though a lot of what takes place in these types of stories can be sort of laughed at by what we learn in class, they are very interesting and highly entertaining books which give sort of a different spin on what we learn about in class. I highly recommend looking into them if you love to read a good mystery book.

The Reader

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Bernhard Schlink's novel, The Reader, is one of my all favorite novels because it not only deals with law and psychology but it also is a piece of Holocaust literature. The novel follows narrator, Michael Berg, as he retells his past in three epic parts. The novel begins in West Germany in 1958, almost 13 years after WWII. When Michael was a teenager, he had an affair with a 36 year old train conductress named Hanna. Their relationship was mostly sexual but Michael began to grow strong feelings for Hanna. Hanna was very "down to business" with Michael and very closed off about her past. One of her favorite things to do with Michael was to have him read to her after they had made love. There affair lasts several months until one day Hanna disappeared. Part II of the novel opens several years later with Michael beginning law school. As one of his assignments for law school, Michael observes a war crime trial that attempts to interrogate and punish those who committed war crimes in the Holocaust. On trial is a group of middle-aged women who were active SS officers during WWII and helped guard one of the concentration camps. Michael is shocked and surprised to find out that Hanna was amongst those who were accused.

I do not want to spoil what happens for those who wish to read this book and/or watch the movie, but Part III deals with Michael's life after the trial and what has became of him and Hanna. In Part III several questions are raised that have to do with both the legal world and psychology. One of the main questions that are raised is what are the second generation suppose to do with their Nazi past. In an interview, Schlink has said that one of his favorite professors in school had a visible swastika tattoo. How are the children of the perpetrators suppose to deal with the guilt of their parents as the events of the Holocaust become common knowledge in the 1950s and 1960s? And who can we persecute legally for those who were involved with what had happened in the Holocaust? Surely those who committed murders, but weren't those who committed the murders in fact just following the governments orders? Who can we hold responsible for their actions and where the perpetrators just victims themselves? These are all the things that the book deals with. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the Holocaust, history, or international law.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Reader-Bernhard-Schlink/dp/0753801728/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265914414&sr=8-6 

 

Nothing Lost

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During Christmas break I read a book entitled Nothing Lost.  At first I found the book very confusing because there is a very large number of characters, but after finishing it the entire plot all came together at the end.  This book was written by John Gregory Dunne and definitely applies to psychology and law.  After reading this book I became much more knowledgable on how attorneys, lawyers, judges, and politicians play a major role in the criminology field.  What I found most interesting was how much politics influenced court cases.  This is a ficticious book, but portrays the day to day worklife of prosecutors and defense attorneys in great detail.  Even when it comes to behind the scences love affairs and unlawful decisions based on the fact that one of the attorneys is married to a wannabe congressman.  The author loves to jump around from chapter to chapter, but the reader gains an appreciation of the law beginning at a crime and going through an investigation and finishing with a trial.  The twists in this book along with the dry humor make it an enjoyable read, plus a person interested in psychology and law has a lot to gain from reading it.

 

 

Books (Text and Reference)

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Here is a list of textbooks and reference books related to Psychology & Law.

Barrett & George, Race, Culture, Psychology and Law

Bartol & Bartol, Psychology and Law

Bergman & Asimow, Reel Justice

Brewer & Williams, Psychology and Law: An Empirical Perspective

Chase, Movies on Trial

Costanzo, Psychology Applied to Law

Eisen, Quas, & Goodman, Memory and Suggestibility in the Forensic Interview

Felson, Crime and Everyday Life

Friedrichs, Law in Our Lives

Garner, Black's Law Dictionary

Greene, Heilbrun, Fortune, & Nietzel, Forensic Psychology

Huss, Forensic Psychology

Kapardis, Psychology and Law: A Critical Introduction

Levine, Wallach & Levine, Psychological Problems, Social Issues, and Law

Lind & Tyler, The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice

Livingston, Crime and Criminology

Memon, Vrij, & Bull, Psychology and Law

Monahan & Walker, Social Science in Law

Ogloff, Taking Psychology and Law into the 21st Century

Roesch, Hart, & Ogloff, Psychology and Law

Roesch, Zapf, & Hart, Forensice Psychology and Law

Saferstein, Forensic Science Handbook

Schuller & Ogloff, Introduction to Psychology and Law: Canadian Perspectives

Walker & Shapiro, Introduction to Forensic Psychology

Wrightsman & Fulero, Forensic Psychology

Wrightsman, Forensic Psychology

Wrightsman, Green, Nietzel, & Fortune, Psychology and the Legal System

 

Books (General Readership)

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The following are books that are useful as readers or for book report assignments. Please feel free to add additional titles in the comments section.

 

Active Liberty

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0307263134/002-1523136-0036840?v=glance

Actual Innocence

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451203658/qid%3D1029343202/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-1334532-6018213
 

 Anatomy of Motive

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671023934/qid=1075402638//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl14/104-2449508-7352752?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Case of a Lifetime: A Criminal Defense Lawyer's Story

http://www.amazon.com/Case-Lifetime-Criminal-Defense-Lawyers/dp/0230614337/ref=pd_sim_b_5

College Students' Guide to the Law

http://www.amazon.com/College-Students-Guide-C-L-Lindsay/dp/1589790898/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262011215&sr=1-4

Convictions: A Prosecutor's Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins and Enron Thieves

http://www.amazon.com/Convictions-Prosecutors-Battles-Against-Kingpins/dp/0374531773/ref=pd_sim_b_4

A Cop's Life

http://www.amazon.com/Cops-Life-Stories-Heart-Behind/dp/0312940017/ref=pd_sim_b_5

Cops: Their lives in their own words

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671685511/qid=1029957796/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-2777705-2011124?s=books&n=507846

Courtroom 302: A Year Behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse

http://www.amazon.com/Courtroom-302-American-Criminal-Courthouse/dp/0679752064/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Defending the Devil: My Story as Ted Bundy's Last Lawyer

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688108237/qid%3D1029959449/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-2777705-2011124

Eyewitness Testimony

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0674287770/ref=pd_sim_books/103-1334532-6018213

Fraternity Gang Rape

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0814779026/qid=1029343686/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1334532-6018213

How to Argue and Win Every Time

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312144776/qid=1029959118/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2777705-2011124

Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618087281/qid=1136483827/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-7445806-9744127?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688128165/qid=1029344012/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/103-1334532-6018213

The Language of Confession, Interrogation, and Deception

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761913467/qid=1029958714/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/104-2777705-2011124

Last Chance for Justice: The Juror's Lonely Quest

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0965711501/qid=1029861502/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-1334532-6018213

Law School Confidential: The Complete Guide to the Law School Experience

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/031224309X/qid=1093374289/sr=ka-2/ref=pd_ka_2/102-0916068-4077719

Letters from Law School: The Life of a Second Year Law Student

http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Law-School-Second-Year-Student/dp/0595009751/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262011645&sr=1-6

Lush Life

http://www.amazon.com/Lush-Life-Novel-Richard-Price/dp/0312428227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261960167&sr=8-1

The Making of a Cop

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671665251/qid=1029957918/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2777705-2011124

Mindhunter : Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671528904/qid=1093374407/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-0916068-4077719

Minds on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology

http://www.amazon.com/Minds-Trial-Great-Cases-Psychology/dp/019518176X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262015118&sr=8-3

Mystic River

http://www.amazon.com/Mystic-River-Dennis-Lehane/dp/0060584750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262010059&sr=1-1

The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312141238/ref=pd_sim_books/103-1334532-6018213

No Higher Calling, No Greater Responsibility: A Prosecutor Makes His Case

http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Calling-Greater-Responsibility-Prosecutor/dp/1555916627/ref=pd_sim_b_1

No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court

http://www.amazon.com/NO-MATTER-HOW-LOUD-SHOUT/dp/0684811952/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262011645&sr=1-1

Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption

http://www.amazon.com/Picking-Cotton-Memoir-Injustice-Redemption/dp/0312376537/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Police Interrogation and American Justice

http://www.amazon.com/Police-Interrogation-American-Justice-Richard/dp/0674035313/ref=pd_sim_b_5

Portraits of Guilt: The Woman who Profiles the Faces of America's Deadliest Criminals

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671034863/qid=1029861062/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1334532-6018213

The Prosecutors: A Year in the Life of a District Attorney's Office

http://www.amazon.com/Prosecutors-Year-District-Attorneys-Office/dp/0525947124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262011828&sr=1-1

Snitches: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice

http://www.amazon.com/Snitching-Criminal-Informants-Erosion-American/dp/0814758509/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Snitch Culture: How Citizens are Turned into the Eyes and the Ears of the State

http://www.amazon.com/Snitch-Culture-Citizens-Turned-State/dp/0922915636/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Surviving Justice

http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Justice-Wrongfully-Convicted-Exonerated/dp/1932416234/ref=pd_sim_b_6

Telling lies: Clues to deceit in the marketplace, politics and marriage.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393321886/qid=1029958435/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-2777705-2011124

Trance on Trial

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0898623405/qid=1029958053/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2777705-2011124

True Blue: Police Stories by those Who have Lived Them

http://www.amazon.com/True-Blue-Police-Stories-Those/dp/0312995377/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262011404&sr=1-4

True Stories of False Confessions

http://www.amazon.com/True-Stories-False-Confessions-Warden/dp/0810126036/ref=pd_sim_b_3

True Witness

http://www.amazon.com/True-Witness-Science-against-Misidentification/dp/1403964300/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262010226&sr=1-1

With Justice for None

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140133259/qid=1029860752/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1334532-6018213

Witness for the Defense

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312084552/qid=1029343507/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1334532-6018213

The Wrong Guys: Murder, False Confessions, and The Norfolk Four

http://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Guys-Murder-Confessions-Norfolk/dp/1595584013/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Inside the Mind of BTK

http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Mind-BTK-Thirty-Year-Notorious/dp/0470325151/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283258625&sr=8-2

The Echo from Dealey Plaza: The True story of the first African American on the White House Secret Service detail and his quest for justice

http://www.amazon.com/Echo-Dealey-Plaza-American-assassination/dp/0307382028/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314713124&sr=8-1

Orange is the New Black

http://www.amazon.com/Orange-New-Black-Womens-Prison/dp/0385523394/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314713174&sr=1-1

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates

http://www.amazon.com/Other-Wes-Moore-Name-Fates/dp/0385528205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314713209&sr=1-1

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