A Lombroso Mini-Classic by Graeme R. Newman and Claude

Cesare Lombroso was one of the founders of modern criminology—and one of its most controversial figures. Best remembered for his theory of the “born criminal,” Lombroso also devoted enormous attention to the social, economic, environmental, and institutional forces that shape criminal behavior.

First published in English in 1911, Crime: Its Causes and Remedies ranges remarkably widely. Lombroso examines climate, poverty and wealth, alcohol, education, family background, heredity, age, sex, immigration, urbanization, prisons, political conditions, and criminal associations. He then turns from explanation to prevention, asking what governments and criminal justice systems can actually do about crime.

This Read-Me.Org Modernize Classic makes Lombroso’s sprawling original accessible to a new generation. The abridged and adapted edition follows the three-part structure of the original—the causes of crime, its prevention and treatment, and the application of criminal anthropology to punishment—while providing historical context and critical commentary.

Lombroso’s work contains ideas that now seem strikingly modern alongside others—including his racial theories and biological determinism—that have long been rejected. The result is not merely a historical curiosity, but a fascinating case study in the possibilities and dangers of attempting to make crime a subject of scientific measurement. The volume also considers Lombroso’s continuing relevance to contemporary questions about imprisonment, alcohol and violence, environmental influences on crime, risk prediction, and the relationship between biology and behavior.

A compact introduction to a foundational—and deeply controversial—work in the history of criminology.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. p.72.