Summary

This book is a broad introduction to the field of forensic psychology. It is written by one of the best known authors in the field, Curt Bartol. While students most often associate forensic psychology with criminal profiling, crime scene investigations, and serial murder, this text covers the many others areas where psychology has played a significant role in providing research knowledge to the civil and criminal justice systems. The book is a readable summary of contemporary research and practice across a broad spectrum of topics. Practical applications are discussed where pertinent, and case law discussions are found throughout the text. This book is likely to capitalize on the growing interest, both in popular media and in University departments where enrollments have been increasing steadily over the past several years.

· Comprehensive - This text covers a broad specturm of topics, articulately distinguishes between the different fields of Forensic Psychology for an audience with limited exposure to psychology, and introduces students to the field with a variety of contemporary examples throughout.

· Writing Style: Very accessible for undergraduate students, especially. Reviewers of the manuscript uniformly praised the book′s readability while maintaining a scholarly level of coverage.

· Insert Boxes - The Insert boxes illustrate the main points of the narrative through overviews of specific criminal justice case studies, as well as examples of criminal profiles, career possibilities, legal standards of proof, legal guidelines for investigations, and ethical guidelines for research and applications. Overall, these boxes have been designed to be a substantive, rather than add-on, part of the text and are likely to spark debate and discussion in the classroom.

· Chapter Summaries - The chapter summaries provide a succinct overview of the material covered in each of the chapters.

· End-of-chapter discussion questions and key concept lists will help students review the chapter material.

· The authors, Curt and Anne Bartol, have many years of combined experience in the Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice field in the classroom, as practioners, and as successful authors and researchers. Curt is the longtime editor of the journal, Criminal Justice and Behavior, along with Criminal Behavior 6/e, the top-selling textbook in that area.