It's all the rage

the long version

It's All the Rage takes off where Wendy Kaminer's witty, groundbreaking book on the self-help tradition, I'm Dysfunctional, You're Dysfunctional, left off: with the effects of popular psychology on criminal justice. There's something here to offend everybody. From the "abuse excuse" of the Menendez and Bobbitt cases and our confused notions of individual accountability, to middle-class fear of crime and the death penalty, to victims rights and concerns about TV violence, to federal anti-crime legislation and the politics of crime control, Kaminer shows that our discussions of criminal justice have been emotionally and demagogically driven and that knowledge has become irrelevant - for liberals and conservatives alike.