Stanely Cohen's study of deviant groups - society's "folk devils" - and the public and media reaction to them, is widely hailed as a classic of its kind. With great insight he reviews recent theory and criticism about the concept of "moral panics" and discusses the moral panics surrounding the folk devils of recent times.

Blocking out, turning a blind eye, shutting off, not wanting to know, wearing blinkers, seeing what we want to see ... these are all expressions of 'denial'. Alcoholics who refuse to recognize their condition, people who brush aside suspicions of their partner's infidelity, the wife who doesn't notice that her husband is abusing their daughter - are supposedly 'in denial'. Governments deny their responsibility for atrocities, and plan them to achieve 'maximum deniability'. Truth Commissions try to overcome the suppression and denial of past horrors. Bystander nations deny their responsibility to intervene. Do these phenomena have anything in common? When we deny, are we aware of what we are doing or is this an unconscious defence mechanism to protect us from unwelcome truths? Can there be cultures of denial? How do organizations like Amnesty and Oxfam try to overcome the public's apparent indifference to distant suffering and cruelty? Is denial always so bad - or do we need positive illusions to retain our sanity? States of Denial is the first comprehensive study of both the personal and political ways in which uncomfortable realities are avoided and evaded. It ranges from clinical studies of depression, to media images of suffering, to explanations of the 'passive bystander' and 'compassion fatigue'. The book shows how organized atrocities - the Holocaust and other genocides, torture, and political massacres - are denied by perpetrators and by bystanders, those who stand by and do nothing.

Stanley Cohen (1942-2013) has proven to be one of the most influential figures in the field of criminology and human rights within the last 40 years. His prolific work contributes not only to the study of crime, deviance and control but also to human rights. This volume brings together a broad selection of Cohen's published works which collectively testify to his lasting contribution to criminology and to the wide variety of themes with which Cohen was involved. Topics included in the collection are: reactions to deviance - including moral panics (from the late 1960s till the mid-1970s); punishment and social control (from the early 1970s till the late 1980s); and reactions to human rights violations - including denial (from the late 1980s onwards). In addition, the volume contains a biographical memoir written by Paul Rock which offers essential contextual information on Cohen's personal and professional background as well as a complete bibliography of Cohen's published works from 1966-2014.

“A landmark in the fight against the death penalty. Extensively researched and brilliantly written . . . The Wrong Men is a gem.” Martin Garbus, criminal defense attorney Every day, innocent men across America are thrown into prison, betrayed by a faulty justice system, and robbed of their lives—either by decades-long sentences or the death penalty itself. Injustice tarnishes our legal process from start to finish. From the racial discrimination and violence used by backwards law enforcement officers, to a prison culture that breeds inmate conflict, there is opportunity for error at every turn. Award-winning journalist Stanley Cohen chronicles over one hundred of these cases, from the 1973 case of the first ever death row exoneree, David Keaton, to multiple cases as of 2015 that resulted from the corrupt practices of NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella (with nearly seventy Brooklyn cases under review for wrongful conviction). In the wake of these unjust convictions, grassroots organizations, families, and pro bono lawyers have battled this rampant wrongdoing. Cohen reveals how eyewitness error, jailhouse snitch testimony, racism, junk science, prosecutorial misconduct, and incompetent counsel have populated America’s prisons with the innocent. Readers embark on journeys with men who were arrested, convicted, sentenced to life in prison or death, dragged through the appeals system, and finally set free based on their actual innocence. Although these stories end with vindication, there are those that have ended with unjustified execution. Convicting the Innocent is sure to fuel controversy over a justice system that has delivered the ultimate punishment nearly one thousand times since 1976, though it cannot guarantee accurate convictions.

The work of Stanley Cohen over four decades has acquired a classical status in the fields of criminology, sociology & human rights. His writing, research, teaching & practical engagement in these fields has been both analytical & inspiring. This book of essays in his honour only build on & reflect some of his many-sided contributions.

The incredible rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches true life story of acclaimed sports tout Brandon Lang, subject of the motion picture Two for the Money (Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey). Beating the Odds describes in vivid, colorful detail Lang’s rise from small time sports-phone tout to big time national exposure, his dramatic fall, and his subsequent rebirth in the internet age. Also describes the series of improbable events, while working as a golf caddie in Los Angeles, that eventually led Lang to the optioning of his story to Hollywood and the making of Two for the Money.

'Richly documented and convincingly presented' -- New Society Mods and Rockers, skinheads, video nasties, designer drugs, bogus asylum seeks and hoodies. Every era has its own moral panics. It was Stanley Cohen's classic account, first published in the early 1970s and regularly revised, that brought the term 'moral panic' into widespread discussion. It is an outstanding investigation of the way in which the media and often those in a position of political power define a condition, or group, as a threat to societal values and interests. Fanned by screaming media headlines, Cohen brilliantly demonstrates how this leads to such groups being marginalised and vilified in the popular imagination, inhibiting rational debate about solutions to the social problems such groups represent. Furthermore, he argues that moral panics go even further by identifying the very fault lines of power in society. Full of sharp insight and analysis, Folk Devils and Moral Panics is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand this powerful and enduring phenomenon. Professor Stanley Cohen is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics. He received the Sellin-Glueck Award of the American Society of Criminology (1985) and is on the Board of the International Council on Human Rights. He is a member of the British Academy.

This book provides a broad overview of all aspects of modern lymphokine research. It begins with the ways in which lymphokines play a role in the activation of the immune response and concludes with their participation in various facets of host defense. It devotes special attention to structure, mechanism of action, and range application. In addition, this fascinating work also shows how lymphokines are involved in other physiologic responses, such as reparative reactions involving fibrosis and angiogenesis. This is an excellent resource for students and investigators in the biomedical sciences, as well as clinicians who require up-to-date information about our current understanding of immune processes.

One of Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 Sports Books of All Time: The riveting story of the point-shaving scandal that shook college basketball to its core It was the ultimate Cinderella sports story. Unranked heading into the 1949–50 season, the City College basketball team delighted their hometown of New York City and shocked the rest of America by winning both the NCAA and NIT tournaments. An unprecedented feat that would never be duplicated, City College’s postseason grand slam was made all the more remarkable by the fact that, in an era when many premier teams were segregated, its starting lineup consisted of 3 Jewish and 2 African American athletes. With Hall of Fame coach Nat Holman and 4 of the starting 5 returning for the 1950–51 campaign, the stage was set for a thrilling title defense. Alas, it was not to be. City College’s season came to an abrupt end when 3 of its star players were arrested on charges of conspiring to fix games. The ensuing scandal, which would engulf 6 other schools and lead to the indictments of 20 players and 14 fixers, cast New York City sports under a dark cloud, derailed the careers of some of the game’s most promising young talents, and forever altered the landscape of college basketball. The basis for the award-winning HBO documentary City Dump, The Game They Played is a poignant portrait of the unforgettable moment when an unheralded team of local boys united New York City in both triumph and disgrace.

For Stanley Cohen, baseball is the prism through which he views the events of the last seventy years. In The Man in the Crowd, Cohen chronicles America’s changing mood and lifestyle from the years of World War II through the silent generation of the fifties, the revolutionary turmoil of the sixties through the social decay of the seventies, the excess of the eighties through the technological transformation of the nineties, up through the sobering uncertainty of the post- 9/11 present day. His narrative spans four generations as he recounts in sparkling prose how, for his immigrant father, sports was a means of assimilation into life in the New World; the warmth of watching his son and, later, his grandson both fall heir to his devotion; and how the game of baseball has provided his life with its truest sense of continuity.