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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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

States of Denial - setting the record straight
This review is in response to the offensive one posted on this website. Clearly the reviewer who rated this excellent book with one star and made what I regard as slanderous comments about the professionalism of one of the most illuminating thinkers of our time, is driven by ideological objection to Cohen's analysis.

We can only speculate, because the text has been removed, which act of genocide he would deny or argue had been portrayed as something less than the one the evidence of corpses or the disappeared shows reveals to all those who want to see.

The other reviewer on this site has captured the essence of States of Denial. While Professor Cohen will be best remembered by most people for his influential book Folk Devils and Moral Panics, States of Denial is his seminal work that shows the process of collective justification of atrocities. In doing so he exposes the futility of searching for evil people to explain such atrocities. An essential read for anyone concerned with human rights, justice and understanding humanity.

I didn't know I knew what I didn't know
This is one of those "it should be required reading" books. Although his emphasis is on the larger mass atrocities and sufferings, Cohen examines denial from the personal to the political, from harmless "I'm not eating as many cookies as I really am," to the most horrendous "It's not torture; it's just heavy pressure" to the apathetic, "Gee, 5000 Ruwandans killed this week; I wonder how the Giants did last night." He concisely reviews the explanations of denial--Freudian, cognitive, etc--and neatly identifies the different types, styles, motives and cultural and personal collusions. Cohen's writing is clean, engaging, to the point, neither tediously over-intellectual nor patronzing, obviously well-researched and professional. He assumes his reader is familiar with basic social and political sciences and history and doesn't belabor points others have made. Most importantly, the book is compassionate, not in a gooey, all-is- forgiven and understood sense, but in its acknowledgement of denial as a universal of human behavior. Cohen handles an uncomfortable subject, not knowing what we know, a behavior of which we are all guilty, in a straight-forward, non-accusatory fashion. One has the sense that Cohen has not only being willing to see what goes on in a way that few have the courage to do, but that he has also refused to see, as we all do, and come to terms with his own denials, that his fastination with denial is not only as an observer but as a participant as well.

Incompletely researched accusations of the most serious kind
I wrote a review of what I take as a significant distortion and failing of this book.I note that this review has not been posted on the site.I am wondering why? ... Read more

Product Description
Escape Attempts chronicles the multitude of ways we attempt to escape from the dullness of our daily routine. Through such diverse venues as hobbies, vacations, psychotherapy, art, music, games, fantasy, romantic love, sex, gambling, and mass culture, we persuade ourselves and others that we are truly individuals, capable of creating distance between ourselves and the world. Escape Attempts not only addresses the precariousness of these activities, but also celebrates the human struggle to rise above one's social destiny. ... Read more

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This third edition will publish on the 30th anniversary of its original publication.Stanley Cohen's study of Mods and Rockers in the 1960's was a foundational text both in terms of investigating the workings of subcultural groups and identifying the concept of a 'moral panic' generated by the media, which lead to groups being vilified in the popular imagination, and inhibits rational debate about solutions to the social problems such groups represent.Cohen's classic study of 'deviant' subcultures and the 'moral panic' they generate is reissued with a new author's introduction commenting on the demonization of asylum seekers (refugees) and on the recent 'name and shame' campaign against pedophiles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

quaint Mods and Rockers
British society has traditionally and perhaps rightly prided itself on its tolerance of eccentrics and alternative views. Seeing all of this as contributing to a robust people's democracy. But there were also those regarded as deviants. Cohen's 3rd edition spends a lot of space on Britain of the 1950s and 60s; looking at the disaffected youths of that time. The Teddy Boys and the Mods and Rockers.

Unintentionally, to a current reader, the times and travails of British society may seem quaint. Cohen shows how these deviates raised real alarm amongst the Establishment. Whereas now to many, these groups are remembered in the rosy twinge of nostalgia. With hindsight, we now know that they were never any real threat to society.

Note also that while this 3rd edition came out in 2002, almost all of the new stuff seems confined to a long introduction. There is nothing in this that refers to the punk rock scene of the 1970s, which was also regarded with alarm.

Instead nowadays, the internal dangers to Britain from Islamist terrorists seems more troubling than the Mods and Rockers ever were. ... Read more

Product Description
The first edition of this book, published in 1995, commemorated the work of Sheldon L. Messinger at the Center for the Study of Law and Society at the University of California, Berkeley. While the scope and orientation of this new second edition remain the same, excluded are all personal tributes and references to Messinger's own contribution to the study of punishment and social control. In recognition of the continued growth and diversity of interest in this field, new chapters have been added and some of the original chapters have been updated and revised. ... Read more

Product Description
The first edition of this book, published in 1995, commemorated the work of Sheldon L. Messinger at the Center for the Study of Law and Society at the University of California, Berkeley. While the scope and orientation of this new second edition remain the same, excluded are all personal tributes and references to Messinger's own contribution to the study of punishment and social control. In recognition of the continued growth and diversity of interest in this field, new chapters have been added and some of the original chapters have been updated and revised. ... Read more

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The work of Stanley Cohen over four decades has come to acquire a classical status in the fields of criminology, sociology and human rights. His writing, research, teaching and practical engagement in these fields have been at once rigorously analytical and intellectually inspiring. It amounts to a unique contribution, immensely varied yet with several unifying themes, and it has made, and continues to make, a lasting impact around the world. His work thus has a protean character and scope which transcend time and place.This book of essays in Stanley Cohen's honour is only to build on and reflect some of his many-sided contributions. It contains chapters by some of the world's leading thinkers as well as the rising generation of scholars and practitioners whose approach has been shaped in significant respects by his own. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Riddled with historical errors.
This is a sloppily written and poorly researched book. Major errors appear on the opening page (Herman Rosenthal was one of the few gangsters not to have had a nickname; Cohen repeatedly refers to him as "Beansie"--the monicker of the similarly named "Rosenfeld" who was actually a partner of the murder victim.) Big Jack Zelig is incorrectly identified as William Alberts (his true name was Selig Harry Lefkowitz--a biography, THE STARKER, is being published in February 2008.) Photos are badly labeled. Some of the gangsters are still changing identities even now, years after their deaths. Two pictures (Sam Schepps and Harry Vallon) are captioned differently than the same photos in Andy Edmond's much better AGAINST THE EVIDENCE, which is now out of print but worth reading.
This book is a good guide to the inaccurate reporting on the Becker case, since it seems to rely mostly on newspaper accounts of the trial that were invariably highly unfavorable to the defense. But it should in no way be considered historical fact. Corrupt policeman Becker was an unsavory character, but he went to the chair for a murder that he did not commit. The District Attorney hounded him to his death for political advantage. Cohen portrays this even more unsavory man as some kind of hero.
SATAN'S CIRCUS by Mike Dash is an immensely superior work in every way.

A Gem for Crime Buffs
Author Stanley Cohen has done a thorough job in investigating the murder of gambler Herman "Beansie" Rosenthal in the Times Square area of New York City in 1912.A good portion of the book deals with the trial of the actual murderers by the shady names of Gyp the Blood, Lefty Louie, Dago Frank and Whitey Lewis, and the two trials of the man convicted of orchestrating the hit of Rosenthal, Lieutenant Charley Becker.Becker apparently enlisted three others (Bald Jack Rose, Bridgey Webber, and Harry Vallon) to set up the hit on Rosenthal who then hired the four hitmen to carry out the actual assassination.Becker was afraid of Rosenthal exposing Becker's involvement in shady operations in his police department, and the only way to silence Rosenthal was to place him in the past tense.I feel Becker's mistake was to involve three middlemen who then turned state's evidence against Becker to save their own neck.The four actual hitmen paid the supreme price for their involvement in Sing Sing's electric chair in 1913.Despite two trials Becker also kept a date with the electric chair in July of 1913, a few months after the actual hitmen.The fact that Becker was a police officer who faced execution in Sing Sing made this story front page news from the time of the murder until his execution.The book involves several people in addition to those already mentioned, and I found it hard to keep everyone's role in the drama straight.That, however, is my problem.I feel the author did a wonderful job on this book, and if you enjoy crime stories this one is a dandy.Two sets of pictures show the main characters in addition to New York landmarks in the 1910's such as The Tombs and the Criminal Courts Building connected by the Bridge of Sighs, Rector's Restaurant, New York's Lower East Side, the Tenderloin District (Times Square area), the Hotel Cadillac near the site of the murder at the Metropole Hotel, children hawking newspapers with the cry of "Extra", the building where Lefty Louie and Gyp the Blood were arrested in Queens, and children licking huge blocks of ice in front of a grocery store to ward off the stifling July heat.The pictures, I felt, gave me an idea of what New York City was like during the 1910's.Those who enjoy crime stories will want to make this book a permanent addition to their library. ... Read more

Product Description
Ann and Diane are twins, both beautiful. As children theyhad often played at switching identities to confuse the grownups. WhenDiane is killed in a car crash on the way back from the airport, Anncannot resist the temptation of her sister's exciting life. Shedecides to play Diane-this time for good.

But she is not prepared for the ultimate, chilling consequences of her"Diane Game," that by pretending to be her sister, she actuallybecomes Diane. ... Read more

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This volume surveys the history of Modern art, from the turn of the century to approximately 1970. A unique and unprecedented partnership between the Guggenheim Museum and the Musée national d'art moderne brings together more than 300 paintings, sculptures and drawings by over 150 artists, including Joseph Beuys, Jean Dubuffet, Max Ernst, Yves Klein, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock. The Musée and the Guggenheim represent two distinct kinds of museums: a public, government-run institution and a private museum. The former is one institution within a multidisciplinary cultural center; the latter has grown from a private collection of non-objective painting into a network of international museums of Modern and Contemporary art. One originally celebrated almost exclusively the Modern art produced in France, the other various abstract painters from the European avant-garde. Thus does Rendezvous allow a dialogue between two museums renowned for their contributions to the history of Modernism.Edited by Lisa Dennison and Bernard Blistène. ~Essays by Mark C. Taylor, Yve-Alain Bois, Jean-Louis Cohen and Stanley Cavell.Hardcover, 10 x 12 in./709 pgs / 400 color 75 BW0 duotone 0 ~ Item D20388 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Just sit back - browse and enjoy!
I've had this book for some years now and it's one of the best pure "browsing" art books around - lots of excellent plates and solid commentaries.It's like a taking a virtual tour of two fantastic museums from the comfort of one's lap.When it comes to art, the French are our friends! ... Read more

Product Description
It happened in the 1949-50 college basketball season. The unranked City College team ("five street kids from the City of New York-three Jews and two blacks") outstripped the competition from the Midwest to take the titles in both the NCAA championship and National Invitation Tournament. The feat was unprecedented, and never again duplicated. Sadly, the scandal that followed it-and ended with the indictment of twenty players (for shaving points) as well as fourteen fixers-left New York bereft of big-time college basketball. Cited by Sports Illustrated as one the twenty-five best literary sports books ever published and the basis for the award-winning HBO documentary City Dump, which has been optioned for a major film, The Game They Played comprises both a history of the fixed and dumped college basketball games from the late 1940s to the early 1960s and a morality tale that contemplates the nature of justice in America. It poignantly tells the story, too, of dreams that were lost, illusions broken, and kids betrayed by the sad truths of greed and corruption. ... Read more

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A biography of the poor boy turned journalist turned explorer, who discovered the Nile's source and dreamed of bringing civilization to the heart of Africa. ... Read more

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Dealing with the methodological and data analytic problems in developmental research, this book presents solutions advanced from the disciplinary perspectives of psychology, behavior analysis and behavioral systems, sociology, and anthropology. Topics addressed include:
* the metatheoretical issues about the relationship between data and theory
* the identification and analysis of age, cohort, and time-of-measurement effects
* the assessment of quantitative and qualitative change
* the use of group and single-subject designs for control by systematic variation
* the use of systems methodology to investigate the developmental continuity and organization of behavior
* the analysis of data from repeated measures designs
* the use of structural equations and path analysis to test causal hypotheses
* the use of structured relational matrices to study development and change

This unique volume offers students an unusually wide range of research tools for identifying and studying specific developmental problems.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

AgainstCriminology Review
I received the book in excellent condition.No visable wear and tear.I have not read very far into the book, so if anyone is looking for feedback as to the contets of the book, I cannot provide those at this time. ... Read more