The 10 Best Criminology Textbooks

Those who truly want to understand how lawbreakers think and act — from learned childhood behavior to the calculations performed by career felons — should read Criminology: 11th Edition (around $144). It eschews current events to focus instead on the basic underpinnings of the science.

If you hate being told what to think, you'll appreciate Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies (around $90), as it simply lays out all the available research, evidence, and prevailing theories for you to consider as you come to your own conclusions.

Criminology: Theory, Research, and Policy (appx. $88) covers some of the densest content you'll find in any text, but it does so in an engaging manner that never gets dull. It explores the interplay between the three factors listed in its title, as well as their effects on society.

You'll be exposed to the complete gamut of illicit practices in Introduction to Criminology: Theories, Methods, and Criminal Behavior (appx. $75). In addition to street crime, it also covers white collar offenses, mob activity, and even environmental violations.

Research Methods in Crime, Justice, and Social Problems (about $67) walks students through the steps of preparing and presenting research. It holds readers' hands the entire way, ultimately leaving them feeling capable of completing a project themselves.

Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction (about $94) is largely focused around a single theme; namely, whether crime is indicative of personal or societal failings. It forces students to take a deep, analytical look at the connection between policy and practice.

Go deep inside the mind of an evildoer with Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach (appx. $123). It probes the psyches of violent offenders in an attempt to discover where they went wrong, as well as possible methods for avoiding the creation of future criminals.

As the name suggests, Introduction to Criminology: Why Do They Do It? (about $83) pays particular attention to the motivations behind felonious activity. It uses modern methods to do so, as its views are informed by feminism, the rise of the internet, and more.

Reading Criminology: The Core (around $107) feels more like sitting down for a "Law & Order" marathon than it does studying for a test. It's filled with examples of real-life crimes, and is told in such a way that the reader stays hooked well through the end of the chapter.

If your eyes start rolling back in your head while trying to comprehend the various theories involved in the discipline, you can give them a break with Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice (around $85). It's filled with empirical research and cold, hard facts.