Adrian Raine is the Richard Perry University Professor of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. For more than three decades he has been exposing the biological roots of violence and putting together the pieces of neurocriminology, a new and challenging field of inquiry which looks into the causes and cures of crime.

Using illustrative material on the case studies and profiles of well-known criminals and serial killers including Richard Speck, Ted Kaczynski, Henry Lee Lucas, and others, Raine discusses the impact of genes, the role of environment, and the possible effects of brain damage on the attitudes and behavior patterns of criminals. He believes: "Biology is not destiny. We can unlock the causes of crime with a set of biosocial keys forged from a new generation of integrative interdisciplinary research combined with a public-health perspective."

In his discussion of the factors which may predispose a person to crime and violence, Raine includes a look at the knotty question of free will. Even more controversial is his advocacy of improving our approach to crime prevention and emphasizing rehabilitation rather than the retributive instinct that dominates our justice system today.

No single theory of crime and violence can give us all the answers and the transformation we seek. Rain's thought-provoking book sheds light on several important issues in this ongoing debate.