Beggars and Thieves: Lives of Urban Street Criminals

His last book, Warehousing Violence, found anthropologist and criminal justice professor Fleisher hanging out with the guys in federal prison. Now, armed with introductions from some of the men he met there, he takes to the street corners of Seattle to meet and mix with thieves, addicts and lifelong criminals. The book is presented as several case studies in anthropological ethnography, which makes it read much like a textbook; but while the writing may be stilted, the material never is. Fleisher told the street people exactly who he was and what he was doing, and they often responded with similar candor. He learns their language, their habits and what their tattoos and body markings mean. What he has trouble discovering is their childhoods. Most refused to speak about anything that happened to them before the age of 11 or 12, but those who did invariably described a home life that included alcohol, drugs and frequent ``wuppin's,'' beatings all of the interviewees claimed they deserved. Fleisher has been studying criminals for 15 years and his recommendation for breaking the cycle of crime has the pragmatic and unsentimental ring of someone who knows their world well--remove brutalized children from criminal parents as soon as possible, he says, and do not give them back. This sad and sobering book raises many questions and offers some bold and controversial answers. (Nov.)