Book Report "Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption

1. The purpose of the book review is to relate the material and ideas in the book Picking Cotton to material presented throughout the course. The book review is not an opportunity to simply give a chapter-by-chapter report on the book. The book review should be presented under the assumption that the reader has not participated in the course and does not have prior knowledge of the criminal justice system or race and crime. The review should be divided into sections 4 sections: a. The first section contains a short summary of the book. What do the chapters contain? What evidence does the author introduce that is unique to the book? Basically, this is the opportunity to demonstrate that you read the book and are able to summarize the contents without giving a chapter-by-chapter report. b. The second section should identify the major themes of the book. What concepts and foundations appear throughout the book? What is the message that he/she is attempting to convey? Why does it matter? c. The third section analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the book. Where is the author’s argument compelling and where does it fall short? d. The fourth section should place the book into the context of the information provided throughout the course (However, do not specifically mention our class). What does it add to the understanding of the topic? How does it compare to other materials on the subject? Does the book provide an accurate description of criminological theory, research, offender/victim typology, media presentations, public perception, etc.? This should comprise the majority of your review!!!!!