Crooks and Squares

'Crooks and Squares' is a study of crime as a way of life. By interviewing drug addicts and property criminals, Malin Akerstrom presents a study of the demands, attractions, and drawbacks of criminal lifestyles. She discovers which elements are exciting and which are dull; what the pros and cons are in comparison to a more conventional lifestyle; whether social workers are "more trouble than they're worth"; what problems exist for criminals, and their strategies for solving them. This study is valuable not only because it enriches our knowledge of a criminal's everyday life but because it helps us understand the cause of becoming and remaining criminal.

Foreword, Introduction, 1. Method and Samples, 2. Crime as Work, 3. Beating the System, 4. Business Orientation, 5. Thieves Claim Responsibility, 6. Time-Perspectives, 7. Social Skills, 8. The Philosophy of Money, 9. Looking at the Squares, 10. Rewards, Summary, Notes, Bibliography

Malin Akerstrom