Rage in the Streets: Mob Violence in America

Stephanie Zvirin

A subject not routinely covered in books for young people receives some timely, close-up attention by a respected chronicler of modern history and politics. Cutting a generous path across American history, Archer has assembled a compelling collection of examples of mob violence--from the Boston Tea Party to the violence that took place after the Chicago Bulls won their third National Basketball Association Championship in 1993. In clear, straightforward terms, he sets down the circumstances surrounding each event, which is presented separately and is introduced by a heading in boldface type. Organized topically, the instances reveal a range of cultural and social causes for mob disorder, including intolerance and prejudice as well as a few less readily thought of as inducements to violent response--for example, taxes and poverty. Unfortunately, with the exception of a cogent introduction, which talks about the psychology of riots, and a concluding chapter that speaks to the futility of such demonstrations, there's little to help readers pull together the vast array of information that's before them. More background and interpretation would have helped make this, still quite a good book, even better and more useful to students. There are no specific footnotes, but Archer does include a list of further readings, which he's combined with a bibliography.